Self-defense or danger to society: who and why owns weapons in the USA

In the summer of 2020, a Colorado man fired 24 shots during an argument over dog poop, resulting in the death of a woman and her boyfriend injuries. Fox News. This story is just one of many murders in the United States committed by disturbed people who legally own guns. Who owns guns in the US, why do people buy them, and are they all smart enough to keep a pistol or shotgun at home?

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Michael Close, 24, of Denver, accused of killing 21-year-old Isabella Tallas and injuring 27-year-old Darian Simon over an altercation over dog defecation, fired 24 semi-automatic rifle shots in the attack. It happened in June 2020, and on November 16, a preliminary hearing was held in the case.

Denver police investigator Joseph Trujillo testified that authorities found six shell casings in Close's apartment and 18 more outside his window, from which he leaned out of the shooting. Close is charged with murder and attempted murder after a man opened fire from his apartment at Tallas and Simon, who were walking their dog.

According to Trujillo, before opening fire, Close yelled at the couple after hearing them tell the dog in a harsh manner, according to Close, to “do business” in the garden near his windows.

“Are you going to train the fucking dog or just yell at it?” Close shouted from the window.

Simon told police that he tried to ignore Close before the shots rang out. The guy was hit by two bullets, and the girl was killed.

Following the June 10 shooting, Close fled the scene in his car and was arrested by the police later that day. The report said he was charged with first-degree murder and more than a dozen other charges. The detainee was denied bail.

According to Trujillo, Close cried and apologized when he was arrested. The suspect's girlfriend told police that he was diagnosed with a personality disorder and was battling substance abuse.

It turns out that there are quite a few gun holders in the United States with problems like Close.

Every fifth person is not himself

One in five gun owners in the United States uses drugs or has mental health problems, writes Newsweek.

According to a survey of 1 gun owners conducted by the Florida House Experience, one in three gun-owning Americans identify themselves as having a mental health disorder, with anxiety, mood swings and post-traumatic stress among the most common conditions.

33,7% of survey participants admitted that they use drugs, while almost 17% of gun owners said they do it every day. Cocaine, marijuana and Xanax (prescription drugs used to treat anxiety) are the three drugs most commonly used by gun owners, according to the survey.

In general, one in five gun owners identifies themselves as having a mental illness (not necessarily diagnosed by a specialist) or confirms that they are illegally using drugs.

The study was conducted to examine the culture of gun handling in the United States following the shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which killed 17 people.

Why do Americans buy weapons

Although self-defense is the main reason given by gun owners when talking about the reason for buying them, the survey showed that less than 9% actually had to defend themselves with their weapons. More than 23% of gun owners said they had never practiced gun handling.

While a majority of Americans believe stricter gun control is the best way to curb gun violence in the country, fewer than one in 10 suggested that providing or improving mental health services could help reduce the number of shootings.

“The United States holds more guns in the hands of civilians and has more gun-related homicides than any other country in the world, but mass shootings account for only a small percentage of violent deaths. Our study shows that most gun owners may be ill-prepared to handle them,” the study authors said.

On the subject: US arms sales hit all records in 2020

How many Americans own a gun

The exact number of gun owners in the United States is unclear due to the fact that there are no federal registration requirements or similar rules that would allow for an official tally. In fact, federal law prohibits the maintenance of a centralized register of firearms owned by individuals. Together.

About 40% of Americans say they or someone in their household owns a gun, and 22% of people (about 72 million people) report personal gun ownership, according to surveys from Pew, Harvard and Northeastern University. Over time, this rate has dropped from 51% of households owning guns in 1978. However, weapons purchases have reached historic highs in recent years and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Americans also own a disproportionate share of the world's firearms: the US is home to just 4% of the world's population, but it owns roughly 40% of the world's weapons owned by civilians, according to a 2018 report from the Swiss company Small Arms Survey. The SAS estimates that American civilians own 393 million firearms, ranking the first in the number of firearms per capita in the world. Harvard researchers have found that in developed countries, widespread gun ownership is associated with higher homicide rates.

According to a 2016 study by the University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, the United States is second only to Brazil in the number of firearm deaths and ranks 20th in the number of firearm deaths per capita with an indicator of 10,6 per 100 thousand people. When the United States is compared to other wealthy countries on this criterion, it stands out strongly: the death rate from firearms is 9 times higher than in Canada and 29 times higher than in Denmark.

According to Pew, 67% of gun owners cite protection as their reason for owning, 38% cite hunting, and 3 in 10 cite sport shooting. This is a marked change from the 1990s, when 57% of gun owners said they owned a gun for hunting or target/sport shooting.

A 2017 Harvard study, as well as an analysis of the 2015 National Firearms Survey, found that the majority of new guns purchased in the last 20 years are handguns, which now account for 42% of total firearms owned by citizens USA.

Protection or danger

Most believe that the guns they own make their homes safer. But research consistently shows that households with guns are actually less safe—with a markedly higher risk of accidents, suicide, and domestic homicide.

Research has shown that weapons in the home are far more likely to be used for suicide or murder than for self-defense. One of the first was a landmark study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1993, which showed that possession of a gun in the home was "permanently and independently associated" with an increased risk of murder. The authors also found that people who keep weapons at home are three times more likely to be murdered than those who do not.

A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in 2014 also found that access to firearms was associated with a doubled risk of homicide and a tripled risk of suicide.

And a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in July 2019 found that for every 10% increase in gun ownership at home, there was a significant (13%) increase in home gun homicide.

Some studies have also shown that states with higher gun ownership rates are higher in gun homicide rates.

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The future of gun ownership and violence

Arms sales surged during the pandemic and ahead of the 2020 presidential election. According to Small Arms Analytics & Forecasting, total sales of firearms in the first 8 months of 2020 exceeded sales for the whole of 2019.

A UC Davis study links the recent surge in firearms sales to an 8 percent increase in US violence. And it seems possible that an increase in gun sales could lead to an increase in the number of deaths from accidents related to firearms, which happened in 2013 after the surge in gun sales following the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

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