About 1 in 4 U.S. teachers say their school went into a gun-related lockdown in the last school year
59% of public K-12 teachers say they are at least somewhat worried about the possibility of a shooting ever happening at their school.
Gun Policy
Key facts about Americans and guns
Six-in-ten U.S. adults say gun violence is a very big problem in the country today, up 9 percentage points from spring 2022.
Gun Violence Widely Viewed as a Major – and Growing – National Problem
Growing shares of Americans view both gun violence and violent crime as very big national problems. 49% of U.S. adults say gun ownership increases safety by allowing law-abiding citizens to protect themselves; an identical share says it reduces safety by giving too many people access to firearms and increasing misuse.
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Key facts about Americans and guns
About six-in-ten U.S. adults (58%) favor stricter gun laws. Another 26% say that U.S. gun laws are about right, while 15% favor less strict gun laws.
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Cultural Issues and the 2024 Election
Voters who support Biden and Trump have starkly different opinions on many issues, and these two groups are divided internally as well.
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About 1 in 4 U.S. teachers say their school went into a gun-related lockdown in the last school year
59% of public K-12 teachers say they are at least somewhat worried about the possibility of a shooting ever happening at their school.
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Striking findings from 2023
Here’s a look back at 2023 through some of our most striking research findings.
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For Most U.S. Gun Owners, Protection Is the Main Reason They Own a Gun
Gun owners in the United States continue to cite protection far more than other factors, including hunting and sport shooting, as a major reason they own a gun. About half of Americans who don’t own a gun say they could never see themselves owning one (52%) while nearly as many could imagine themselves as gun owners in the future (47%).
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Gun Violence Widely Viewed as a Major – and Growing – National Problem
Growing shares of Americans view both gun violence and violent crime as very big national problems. 49% of U.S. adults say gun ownership increases safety by allowing law-abiding citizens to protect themselves; an identical share says it reduces safety by giving too many people access to firearms and increasing misuse.
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What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S.
More Americans died of gun-related injuries in 2021 than in any other year on record, according to the latest available statistics from the CDC.
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Gun deaths among U.S. children and teens rose 50% in two years
In 2021, there were 2,590 gun deaths among U.S. children and teens under the age of 18, up from 1,732 in 2019.
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About a third of K-12 parents are very or extremely worried a shooting could happen at their children’s school
Mothers are more likely than fathers to be extremely or very worried about a school shooting, and concerns also vary by race and ethnicity.
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Republicans in Congress are about three times as likely as Democrats to indicate that they own a gun
At least 110 representatives and senators in the current 117th Congress have publicly stated or otherwise confirmed that they own a gun.
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