Gun roundup: first-time ownership spiked last year; recent polling shows rural-urban gaps, but some consensus

Here's some recent news and opinion about firearms:

Overall gun ownership nationwide jumped from 32 percent of Americans to 39 percent last year, according to University of Chicago survey data — well under the 50 percent level of half a century ago, but the biggest jump in recent decades," Marc Fisher reports for The Washington Post. "From the downtown streets left empty by the pandemic’s shutdowns to the sharp spike in homicides and the nationwide conflict over the role and behavior of police officers, a disorienting and often frightening year drove many decisions to buy guns, according to dealers and buyers alike." The Post offers portraits of a few first-time gun buyers and why they made the jump.

National Review correspondent Kevin D. Williams delves into the spike in gun and ammo purchases and speculates on what it says about America today. The trend "isn’t really about the guns" he writes. "It’s about a society that is, palpably, wobbling on the brink of something awful, with failing institutions, incompetent government, reciprocal distrust among rival social groups, and widespread simmering rage."

Finally, Route Fifty has a good overview of recent polling and analysis about gun violence.

According to May Pew Research Center and Gallup polling:

• About half of Americans overall think gun violence is a "very big problem," but rural Americans are far less likely to think so. About 65 percent of urban respondents see gun violence as a major problem, compared to 47% of suburbanites and 35% of rural dwellers.
• Rural Americans, whether Democrat or Republican, typically favor more expansive gun access. Among rural Republicans, 71% favor allowing K-12 teachers and school officials to carry guns, compared to 56% of urban Republicans and 33% of rural Democrats. And 51% of urban Republicans favor bans on assault-style weapons, compared to 31% of rural Republicans.
• Men are more than twice as likely as women to own a gun (45% vs. 18%).
• 48% of rural residents report owning a firearm, compared to 25% of suburban residents and 23% of urban residents.

An April Pew survey found that the number of Americans who favor stricter gun laws has declined in recent years. In Sept. 2019, about 60% of Americans favored such policies, but in April that fell to about 53%. According to that survey:

• About 38% of rural residents said gun laws should be more strict, and another 38% said they're currently about right. Nearly a quarter (23%) said gun laws should be less strict.
• When asked whether an increase in the number of gun-owning Americans would affect crime rates, half of urban respondents said there would be more crime, compared to 32% of suburbanites and 23% of rural residents.
• About 40% of rural residents say more gun ownership would result in less crime, compared with 32% of suburbanites and 19% of city dwellers.
• About 58% of urban residents said making guns harder to legally obtain would lead to fewer mass shootings, compared to 50% of urban residents and 36% of rural residents.

But, there is a general consensus on supporting firearm background checks, according to a June Quinnipiac poll.

• Among rural residents, 84% support firearm background checks for all gun buyers and 14% oppose it.
• 38% of rural residents support a nationwide ban on the sale of assault-style weapons, compared to 58% of suburban residents and 60% of urban residents.
• 42% of rural residents support a nationwide ban on the sale of high-capacity ammunition magazines, compared to 56% of suburban residents and 57% of urban residents.
• 63% of rural residents favor allowing the police or family members to petition a judge to remove guns from a person who may be at risk of violence, compared to 79% of suburban residents and 80% of urban residents.
• 36% of rural residents want to repeal a law that gives gun manufacturers broad immunity from being sued by victims of gun violence, compared to 42% of suburban residents and 50% of urban residents.
• When asked how police nationwide are doing, 65% of rural residents approved of the way police do their job, compared to 58% of suburban residents and 45% of urban residents.
• 84% of rural residents said they approve of how the police in their community are doing, compared to 81% of suburban residents and 61% of urban residents.