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Gun Ownership in U.S. Homes Down

Over four decades.

Finally, some good news on guns. The number of American homes with guns has fallen over the last four decades, according to a national poll. It gets better: some drops are in the gun-lovin’ South and Western mountain states. The General Social Survey, taken even two years, shows a clear drop in the rates across many demographics in America. In the ’90s, 43 percent of households had guns, while in the 2000s, only 35 percent had firearms. In 2012, 34 percent of households had guns. The numbers are a sharp contrast with the idea that gun sales have been skyrocketing after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre—which may suggest that existing gun owners are just buying more.