A 2024 Pew Research Study estimates there are more than 500 million civilian-owned guns in the United States. With a population of 345 million, this means the US has more firearms than people. Seventy-two percent of American gunowners say they do so for protection. Sixty-one percent believe it’s too easy to legally acquire a gun in the country.
I don’t own a gun. I’ve never shot one and have no desire to have one. The closest I’ve come is shooting a movie prop AK47. The experience was loud and grating and made me more gun-averse.
Given the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk and the increasingly volatile political climate, I wanted to know how many of my friends and family are gunowners. I live in Los Angeles, home to the second highest homicide rate in America (from USAFacts.org).
I’m a left-leaning Democrat with friends on both sides of the aisle. I asked 40 friends and family members if they own a gun. Twenty-eight were Democrat, 10 Republican, two Independent. I was surprised by the results.
Of my Democratic friends, only one person currently owns a gun. He lived a gun-free life until he was robbed at gunpoint in 1998 in front of his Hancock Park home. The event traumatized him. He applied for a gun permit and purchased a 9mm Smith & Wesson pistol for $500. He took a gun training course as mandated by the LAPD and now keeps the gun locked and loaded in his bedroom closet. Every few months he goes to a gun range to keep his skills sharp.
Two of my Democrat friends were gun owners at one point in their life but got rid of their firearms after they had kids. This means only 2.5 percent of my Democratic friends own guns. The national average among Democrats is 20 percent (Pew Research).
Among my 10 Republican friends, nine own guns and the 10th is in the market for a gun. All are men and are older than 40. This means 100 percent of the Republicans I spoke with are gunowners. The national average among Republicans is 45 percent (Pew Research).
I asked a 68-year-old friend who lives in Agoura Hills why he owns a gun. He said, “This is a crazy city, man. You have to protect yourself.” I reminded him he lives in the San Fernando Valley, an area statistically safer than Los Angeles from gun violence. He keeps reading about home invasion robberies in Encino and feels it’s only a matter of time until thieves with guns hit his neighborhood.
Another friend owns a jewelry store in downtown Los Angeles. He has three guns in the store. He’s brought them out on several occasions though he’s never fired a gun. “If you don’t own a gun, you’re an idiot,” he told me.
My sister moved from Napa Valley to Knoxville. She has two kids. In Napa, she didn’t own a gun. In Tennessee, she owns a Glock. “It was a housewarming gift from a neighbor. In California, neighbors bring bottles of Cabernet. In Tennessee, they give you boxes of ammo or gun cleaning kits.”
My sister’s an avid hiker but she’s avoided hiking near Knoxville. “You always hear gunshots in the woods, especially on weekends. People are hunting or taking target practice. I’m not worried about being intentionally shot. I’m worried about a stray bullet. Everyone has a gun here.”
According to Pew Research, 51.6 percent of Tennessee households own guns. Montana tops the list with 66.3 percent, while Massachusetts is at the bottom with 14.7 percent. California is at 28 percent (42nd out of 50 states).
Gun deaths are more likely in small towns than big cities. A 2022 Violence Policy Center study rated the top six states per capita for gun deaths as Mississippi, Wyoming, Louisiana, Alaska, Missouri, and Alabama. All are Red States. The same study found the lowest five states for gun deaths as Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island and New York. All are Blue States. Contrary to popular belief, Democratic blue areas are safer from gun violence than Republican red districts.
When I tell this to my Republican friends they think I’m an idiot. My Republican cousin asked, “If someone puts a gun to your head how are you going to protect yourself?” I tried explaining my view that if you don’t own a gun, you’re less likely to resonate with violent gun energy.
“You’re also more likely to get shot,” my cousin scoffed.
In 2009, the National Institute of Health studied 684 cases of gun-related assaults. They wanted to compare the likelihood of getting shot in an assault between gunowners and those who don’t own guns. The study concluded that gunowners are 4.5 times more likely to be shot in an assault than non-gunowners.
I’ve known five people who committed suicide via gunshot. Four were friends, one was a family member. A friend from high school shot himself in the head in 2003 after his clothing business went bankrupt. A friend who was a Vietnam veteran shot himself after learning he had Parkinson’s Disease. Another shot himself at 37 after losing a child custody case. In my early-20s, I attempted to take my own life. I’m certain if I owned a gun I’d no longer be here.
A 2024 study by AmericanProgress.org concluded that those living with handguns are two times more likely to die by homicide compared to those living in a gun-free household. Handgun owners are seven times more likely to be shot by their spouse than those who don’t own guns.
In November 2023, a 36-year-old man who lived across the street was shot and killed by a homeless woman. Several neighbors purchased guns out of fear. I was horrified but felt no increased urgency to buy a gun.
A psychologist friend ventured an opinion as to whether owning a gun makes someone safer. “It can make you feel safer,” she said. “This has value since feeling safer reduces stress and cortisol levels. As many of us have learned, feelings can have more power to influence us than facts.”
I asked this same psychologist what it means if you dream about a gun. “It can mean many things,” she said. “Guns can represent violence, rage and intense feelings. In Freudian analysis, guns are viewed as phallus symbols. Jungians view guns as destructive forces within the psyche. Dreaming of a gun may express vulnerability or feeling disempowered. If you’re shot in a dream, it might mean you’re feeling guilt or self-punishment. I have a friend who’s a Sufi who views gun idolatry as worshipping a false god since guns are given spiritual powers.”
The Russian playwright Chekov had a famous edict about guns. He said if you show a gun in the first act of a story, it has to be fired by the end of the play. This is kind of how I view gun ownership. If you own a gun, chances are it’ll be fired by the end of your life. It might even take your life. I prefer to keep the odds in my favor.