Weekly Spotlight 12/1/23 – 12/7/23
Americans are increasingly supportive of Second Amendment rights and gun ownership
If you observe the established media narrative about guns and gun ownership in America, one might think that the country is moving rapidly toward supporting increased gun control and wariness of the right to firearm ownership. The 24-hour news cycle is riddled with stories that would have you believe Americans don’t cherish their Second Amendment or the importance of self-defense rights. While this could potentially be true in some urban bubbles, recent polling shows that Americans are growing more supportive of gun ownership. Also, one survey shows that nearly two-thirds of the country supports the Supreme Court decision that expanded concealed carry rights.
A November poll conducted by NBC News found that more than half (52 percent) of registered voters either own a gun or someone in their household does. What makes this figure significant? NBC News began tracking this data in 1999, and this is the highest percentage of voters claiming household gun ownership ever. It’s also a ten-point jump in the last decade and a six-point jump since prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the pollster who conducted the survey. This stark rise in American gun ownership is indicative of an accelerating trend in voters prioritizing their right to self-defense and their desire to own a firearm to protect themselves and their families (Pew Research Center recently found that 72 percent of American gun owners bought a firearm for self-protection).
Perhaps even more remarkable are the results of a Marquette Law School survey, which reported that 67 percent of American adults approve of the Supreme Court’s decision in NYSRPA v. Bruen, a landmark gun rights case that vastly expanded the right to carry a concealed firearm in public. This represents a slight uptick in support for the Bruen decision since Marquette conducted the survey in September. What makes this statistic particularly impressive is that the survey found that only 41 percent of adults approved of the job the Supreme Court is doing. In short, Americans prize their right to defend themselves, particularly amid rising violent crime in cities and global unrest.
In short, it’s becoming abundantly clear that despite common media narratives, Americans strongly support the Second Amendment. The biggest question that remains is whether this growing subsection of voters who own guns and support gun ownership will make their voices heard by advocating with their elected officials and going to the polls.
In many states across the country and in Congress, lawmakers have taken steps to restrict the ability of law-abiding citizens to own firearms. The Biden Administration has also grown the bureaucratic arm of government overseeing his radical gun control policy. The only way to curb this trend is for the majority of Americans who support the right to self-defense to get actively involved in the political process at the local, state, and national levels. The USCCA-FSL Action Fund is here to provide a platform to create an army of citizen lobbyists to stand up for their Second Amendment rights, and we hope you will take advantage of our resources.
To get involved, start by reviewing our NEW 2A legislative booklet.
OTHER NEWS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
Americans were out in full force buying guns during the start of the holiday shopping season. That’s the implication of the background check numbers released by the FBI on Monday. The agency, which oversees the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), reported a record number of checks on Black Friday 2023. This year’s 214,913 checks are up 5.5 percent from the previous record set in 2017 and ten percent from last year.
- The New York Times: Courts Strike Down Gun Control Measures In Two States
In the wake of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision last year that significantly limits what the government can do to restrict guns, states led by Democrats have scrambled to circumvent or test the limits of the ruling. A few have approved new gun restrictions. Oregon even passed a ballot initiative to ban high-capacity ammunition magazines. But this week, supporters of the new gun measures suffered a pair of setbacks, underscoring the rippling effect of the court’s decision.
- North State Journal (North Carolina): Commission Reverses Course On Propose Concealed Carry Instructor Rules
The N.C. Department of Justice’s Criminal Justice Education & Training Standards Commission nixed proposed rules for concealed carry instructors after facing significant pushback from over 2,600 instructors across the state. At a secondary sub-meeting of the Commission held in Garner on Nov. 15, Chair Leslie Cooley-Desmukes told those in attendance that the proposed changes discussed in August that would have required a pre-course delivery report, a post-delivery report, and a student roster, were no longer on the table.
- FOX Baltimore (Maryland): Maryland’s Handgun Qualification License Law Ruled Unconstitutional: Local Gun Stores Anticipate Surge In Sales
Gun stores were buzzing with interest on Wednesday after a federal appeals court ruled that Maryland’s law requiring handgun qualification licenses is unconstitutional. “I really didn’t expect it. I was shocked when I saw it,” said Frank Loane, owner of Pasadena Gun and Pawn. Maryland’s ten-year old law required handgun owners to first undergo a background check, attend a gun safety course and wait up to 30-days before earning approval to purchase a handgun.
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