Opinion Surveys

We analyzed surveys of the American public over time. Household gun ownership levels have been decreasing in the United States since the 1980s. Most adults, and even most gun owners, favor most gun control laws short of bans on gun ownership.

Blendon, Robert J; Young, John T; Hemenway, David. The American public and the gun control debate. JAMA. 1996; 275:1719-22.

Young, John T; Hemenway, David; Blendon, Robert J; Benson, John M. Poll. Trends: Guns. Public Opinion Quarterly. 1996; 60:634-649.

We analyzed data from a national random-digit-dial telephone survey. National Rifle Association (NRA) members are similar to other gun owners in many respects, but they are more likely to own six or more guns. Unlike the NRA leadership, both NRA members and non-member gun owners support waiting periods and mandatory registration of handguns.

Weil, Douglas S; Hemenway David. I am the NRA: An analysis of a national random sample of gun owners. Violence and Victims. 1993; 8:353-65. See also Weil DS, Hemenway D. A response to Kleck (NRA). Violence and Victims. 1993; 8:377-85.

Using data from our National Firearms Survey, we find that among gun owners, over half of those who own handguns (55%) were willing to purchase a childproof gun. This suggests a substantial market exists for childproof guns among potential purchasers of new guns. This article contradicts the gun lobby assertion that there will not be a market for safer guns.

Wolfson JA, Teret SP, Frattaroli S, Miller M, Azrael D. The US public’s preference for safer guns. American Journal of Public Health. 2016; 106: 411-413.

Using data from our 2015 and 2019 National Firearms Survey, we found that two-thirds of US adults think that it is at least sometimes appropriate for providers to talk to patients about firearms.

Betz ME, Azrael D, Barber C, Miller M. Public opinion regarding whether speaking with patients about firearms Is appropriate: results of a national survey. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2016; 165:543-50.

Simonetti JA, Azrael D, Zhang W, Miller M. Perspectives on clinician-delivered firearm safety counseling during routine care: results of a national survey. Preventive Medicine. 2022; 158:107039.

Monthly we surveyed firearm researchers and found that scientific consensus on many gun issues. Results of short polls show agreement that more guns and weak gun laws cause serious public health problems, that the costs of gun availability are typically greater than the benefits, and that stronger gun laws may improve public safety and health. 84% of researchers agreed and only 8% disagreed with the statement “in the United States, having a gun in the home increases the risk of suicide.” The surveys provide information about agreement or lack of agreement on specific issues and about the quality of the scientific evidence.

Hemenway, David; Nolan, Elizabeth P. The scientific agreement on firearm issues. Injury Prevention. 2017; 23(4):221-25.

One way that guns get into the wrong hands is via gun sales without a background check. Using data from a HICRC nationally representative on-line survey conducted in 2015, we find that 72% of American adults agree with the statement that “whether it is legal or not, it is NOT acceptable to sell a gun to a stranger without a background check”; 11% disagree. Subgroups less likely to agree are young adults, men, conservatives, those with less than a high school education, and gun owners. Still, most Americans, including 64% of gun owners believe that selling a gun to a stranger without a background check is unacceptable behavior.

Hemenway, David; Azrael, Deborah; Miller, Matthew. Selling a gun to a stranger without a background check: acceptable behavior? Injury Prevention. 2018; 24:213-217.

Our 1999 National Firearm Survey of 2950 gun owners found that gun owners incorrectly ranked the likelihood of three types of firearm injuries for various groups (e.g., adolescents, persons with Alzheimer’s disease).

Rowhani-Rahbar A, Haviland MJ, Azrael D, Miller M. Perceptions of firearm-related harm among US adults living in firearm-owning households: a nationally representative study. Injury Prevention. 2022; 28:86-89.