The National Shooting Sports Foundation’s (NSSF) 2021 survey shows America gained 5.4 million first-time gun owners.
It’s a three million decrease from 2020, but still, an impressive number, especially when you break it down.
The first-time gun buyers made up 29.6% of the guns bought in 2021 (sorry! I accidentally wrote 2022. I swear I’m not psychic!). About 23% of them went back and bought more guns after the first purchase.
People in general purchased more than one gun at a time in 2021.
It gets better because 46.8% of those first-time buyers asked about professional firearm training. Then 43.1% signed up for the classes. It is important to receive training on your firearms, especially if you’re handicapped like me!
The industry also saw a 44.5% increase among blacks and 33.2% of females as first-time buyers.
NSSF President and CEO Joe Bartozzi said: “We welcome these new gun owners to the greater community of law-abiding Americans who choose to own a firearm for lawful purposes, including self-defense, recreational target shooting and hunting. The surveys revealed that new gun owners are continuing to embrace their Second Amendment rights and nearly half of them are seeking out professional training. These trends show that not only is there still a strong interest in gun ownership but also that these new gun owners are interested in learning more about the safe and responsible handling, use and storage of firearms.”
The Economist pointed out that the diversity among gun owners is bad news for gun control advocates. The National African American Gun Association expanded by 25% in 2020.
People used to buy guns mainly for recreational or hunting purposes. Now self-defense takes the top spot:
Many of the newer gun-owners see firearms as an equaliser—a remedy for the vulnerability they feel. The Pink Pistols, an lgbt group, proclaims “armed queers don’t get bashed”. “God made man and woman, but Sam Colt made them equal,” goes a markswoman’s maxim. Women’s gun-ownership has always trailed that among men: women tended to shoot because men in the family did. But Robyn Sandoval, boss of A Girl and a Gun, a shooting group, increasingly sees women buying guns on their own initiative: a third of new joiners to her organisation in 2021 said they were the only shooter in their family.
I have guns for self-defense. I love my revolver and AR.
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