America's gun culture - fading slowly?

[Derius_T]

Bernd Debusmann is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

By Bernd Debusmann

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Is America, land of shooting massacres in schools and public places, slowly falling out of love with guns?

The answer is yes, and it runs counter to popular perceptions of the United States as a country where most citizens are armed to the teeth and believe it is every American's inalienable right to buy an AK 47-style assault rifle with the minimum of bureaucratic paperwork.

But in fact, gun ownership in the United States has been declining steadily over more than three decades, relegating gun owners to minority status.
At the same time, support for stricter gun controls has been growing steadily and those in favor make up a majority.

This is a little-reported phenomenon but the trend is shown clearly by statistics compiled by the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center (NORC), which has been tracking gun ownership and attitudes on firearms since 1972, the longest-running survey on the subject in the United States.

The number of households with guns dropped from a high of 54 percent in 1977 to 34.5 percent in 2006, according to NORC, and the percentage of Americans who reported personally owning a gun has shrunk to just under 22 percent.

So, by the rules of democratic play, one might assume that the majority would have major influence on legislation. But that's not how it works, thanks to the enormous influence of the gun lobby.

The long-term decline monitored by the Chicago survey has buoyed proponents of tighter gun controls. "America's gun culture is fading," says Josh Sugarmann, who heads the Washington-based Violence Policy Center.

According to Sugarmann, those keeping the culture alive and those most vocal in resisting tighter regulations are white, middle-aged men whose enthusiasm for firearms, hunting and shooting is not shared by younger Americans.

Yet, at the moment it's difficult to imagine the U.S. without its gun culture. But then, who could have imagined France with a ban on smoking in public places, Germany with speed limits on almost half its autobahns, or a black man as a serious contender in this year's presidential elections in the United States?

To what extent gun ownership will continue to shrink depends, at least in part, on a decision by the U.S. Supreme court expected this summer. The court will rule on one of the most acrimonious disputes in the United States: do Americans have the constitutional right to own and bear arms?

GUN RAMPAGES PART OF LIFE

At the heart of the long-running debate, argued with more passion than almost any other, is the meaning of the U.S. constitution's second amendment. Written 219 years ago, it says: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

A string of lower court rulings over several decades held that the amendment meant to guarantee the collective right of state militias, not individual citizens. Such rulings have had limited impact: gun regulations vary from state to state and in most, weapons are easy to buy and legal to keep.

There are a few exceptions: handguns are illegal in Chicago and in Washington, where a court ruled in December that its total ban violated the constitution. That is the case the Supreme Court will take up this year.

No matter how it rules, the court's decision is unlikely to make much immediate difference to the mass shootings by unhinged citizens that have become part of American life.

Gun rampages happen with such numbing regularity -- on average one every three weeks in 2007 -- that they barely make news unless the death toll climbs into double digits, as happened at the Virginia Tech university. There, a student with mental problems killed 32 of his peers and himself.

President George W. Bush this week signed into law a bill meant to prevent people with a record of mental disease from buying weapons. Virginia Tech was the worst school shooting in U.S. history and rekindled the debate over the easy availability of guns in America. There are more private firearms in the United States than anywhere else in the world -- at least 200 million.

While that arsenal has been growing every year, the proportion of U.S. households where guns are held has been shrinking. In other words: Fewer people have more guns. One estimate, by the National Police Foundation, says that 10 percent of the country's adults own roughly three quarters of all firearms.

PREVENTION, NOT CURE

That is the hard core, which counts on the gun lobby, chief of all the National Rifle Association (NRA), to throttle attempts to impose restrictions on the sale of firearms. The NRA, a group that claims some 3 million members, calls itself "America's foremost defender of Second Amendment rights" and backs candidates for political office on their stand on one issue -- gun ownership -- regardless of party affiliation.

Politicians tend to pander to the NRA, some more shamelessly than others. One of the Republican candidates for the 2008 presidential race, Mitt Romney, went so far as to falsely claim that he was a lifelong hunter and had received an official NRA endorsement in 2002.

Small wonder, then, that the debates following every shooting massacre tend to focus not on the easy availability of guns but on preventive security measures. Metal detectors at the entrances of shopping malls, for example. Or bullet-proof backpacks. They were developed in the wake of the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School, where two teenagers killed 12 students and teachers and then themselves.

The Columbine-inspired backpacks went on sale in August and have sold briskly. "Sales picked up considerably in the Christmas period," said Mike Pelonzi, one of the two men -- both fathers -- who designed and market them. "Our market is expanding."

(You can contact the author at Debusmann@Reuters com)

(Editing by Sean Maguire)

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsO...BrandChannel=0

[Rogueone]

I have to wonder about those numbers. I started owning and carrying after the VT shooting, and I've met several others recently that have as well. I live in an suburban area, so gun use as a kid was not accessible, as my family wasn't into hunting. At about 21 or 22 I had a friend that grew up around guns and talked me into buying one for myself. I sold it after couple of years, didn't shoot it very often and didn't see any reason to carry it (and being a PT92, would have been a little big for daily carry )

But almost 20 years later, I'm aware of the reasons for owning, and the need for proper guidance and training, and responsibility. And I've begun to carry daily and shoot in competitions as well as at the range to improve my skill. I'm going to at least one training course a year, would like to do 2 or 3 if money allows. And my kids are going to grow up knowing about guns, being aware of them since I wear mine except while in bed, and they'll spend time at the range as they get old enough to shoot, and hopefully they'll desire to join me at competitions in the future, competing themselves perhaps when they are 12 or so. I shoot regularly with a life long gun owner who's 12 year old daughter competes with us at USPSA and IDPA matches, and just about everyone marvels at her skill level. We imagine often what she'll be like by the time she's 16 to 18. And she thinks about gun ownership and why the need etc., which is truly impressive at her age. I can only hope my daughters are half as interested in learning to shoot. And it is my intention to make sure they are not only trained in guns, but soon I'd like to start getting them into some form of martial art, possibly judo since a friend teaches it locally, so that when they are going off to college and living on their own, they'll stand half a chance of surviving if some nut or overly aggressive boy tries to force himself on one of them.

While I can't deny there is probably good data to support this claim of reduced ownership, where I am, which is not an overly gun owning area, it seems to me more people are getting them than are getting rid of them. Something I see as a very positive change for all.

[nate45]

There are more private firearms in the United States than anywhere else in the world --
at least 200 million.

I've read there are more firearms than people over 300 million.

And yet...

The number of households with guns dropped from a high of 54 percent in 1977 to 34.5 percent in 2006, according to NORC, and the percentage of Americans who reported personally owning a gun has shrunk to just under 22 percent.

That 22% sure has a lot of firearms.

The whole thing sounds like more BS by the antis.

There are over 8 million scoped high powered rifles in Texas alone.

[TheBluesMan]

Here's a good remedy to the fading gun culture: www.appleseedinfo.org

[Garand Illusion]

I think the general content of the article is generally true -- the "gun culture" does seem to be fading as the anti's succeed in making guns politically incorrect in some circles and get some authorities (pediatricians, school administrators, etc.) to question people about them.

The anti's have also managed to keep some of our most populous areas, Cali, NJ, NY, city of Chicago, DC, etc. politically anti-gun (and with the percentage of our population that lives in those areas that has a big impact).

But I don't think the battle is lost.

One very good thing, at least in Denver, is that you no longer have to go to some not-very-friendly-looking to the timid suburbanite "GUN STORE" to buy a pistol. We now have suburbanite friendly stores like "Gander Mountain," "Sportsman's Warehouse," and soon Cabella's that all sell handguns in bulk at cheap prices. I think it's got to have an impact, because most of the middle class guys in my neighborhood would never go to a gun store but would hit one of the warehouse stores for camping equipment -- and what guy can't stop to look at the wall of pistols? 2007 was a record year for gun sales in Colorado.

Another interesting thing ... I saw a study (don't have a link to it) about phone polls. Group called the same phone numbers multiple times. When they got the lady of the house they sometimes got a "no, we don't have any guns in the house" and then get a "yes" when they called back and talked to the man of the house.

Not sure what that means ... but I find it believable. A lot of guys put the gun they got from dad in the back of the closet, and the wife may know it's there and never thinks about it when asked. Or is embarassed by it and is afraid to answer yet.

All of us pro gun types need to make sure our kids our pro-gun and get the word out whenever we can. ANd somehow or another we need to get our wives converted. I haven't figured that last one out yet. Let me know when you do.

[SIGSHR]

I think any "fading" of the gun culture is due to sociological factors-the
disintegration of the American family, the disappearance of fathers from
childrens' lives.

[Brett Bellmore]

No, sadly, I believe it's true: There are more guns owned, but by a smaller percentage of the population.

The anti-gunners don't have to ban gun ownership to end it. They just have to, (And did!) make it inconvenient enough that fewer new people take up ownership than are needed to replace those of us who die. That way our percentage of the population will decline with each generation, and eventually our numbers will be few enough that we'll pass a tipping point, where our most strenuous efforts can't win elections.

See, that's why we can't be satisfied with the status quo. The status quo the anti-gunners have already achieved is a slow death for gun ownership. We have to actually roll things back quite a ways, while we still have the numbers to do it. This may be the last generation that we'll still have the numbers to do that, if we allow the decline to continue.

[Arabia]

Sadly I also believe this is be true. I live in one of those anti-states, Massachusetts, and can see the general attitude of the people is very anti-gun. It was not always like this. In th early 1990s there where more than 1.5 million registered gun owners in the state. After 1998 Gun Control Act, which made it more difficult to get a Firearms license, the numbers dropped to less than 400,000 by 2002. The number seem to have stablized at about 250,000.

[jakeswensonmt]

the trend is shown clearly by statistics compiled by the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center (NORC)

"America's gun culture is fading," says Josh Sugarmann, who heads the Washington-based Violence Policy Center.

Stats out of Chicago and Washington? Oh yeah, we can trust them to be honest, especially when the piece continues to say:

handguns are illegal in Chicago and in Washington,

[copenhagen]

Give the gift of love, give that special someone in your life a classic firearm, and for the love part.. give a bit of your time to train and bond with him/her. That's my opinion on how to help this fade. Think how great it would be if you gave her a little Remington 870 20gau youth model for Christmas instead of that IPod?

[Edward429451]

I think this may be propaganda with derived numbers from different highly restricted cities like Chicago, Denver, DC, etc.. to try to sway more public opinion. Well guns are going out of fashoin now let's just get rid of them and buy more X Boxes...

I call BS. From what I see, know, and read on the net, this country is arming itself to the teeth right now. More people are buying guns and getting into reloading and casting, and even the shooting sports. Seems like everytime I turn around, one of my gun buddies has a friend that wants to know what gun to get, or how to reload, newbies.

Sadly, some will buy into it just because they like to keep trendy (not considering the ramifications), and are being told that oh, guns are so yesterday...

[nate45]

I'm with you Edward429451.

What are they going to say, that more people than ever are carrying concealed handguns and defending themselves for the kinds of assaults you Chicagoans and Washingtonians take for granted.

I don't think so.

[homefires]

Sad but true! I too think the psychobabble is slowly taking hold on the general public. Here in the Rural world of America it will take much longer. I have Four sons and all but one have intense interest in fire arms. (Mental Note: This is a psychological Profile)

The city Slickers, don't have the oppertounity to play and have fun! The only use for them would be home defense and most would rather hide , cell phone in hand and yulp like what they are. Bombarded by the Medea, that is the acceptable method. Don't worry the CSI will determine who killed you! They always do on TV.

And on top of that you have the Gang Bangers, and General Bad man at hand!

I am one man, trying to teach my sons how it was and how it should be! The systems working against me are overwhelming and I stand little to no chance . BUT YET I TRY!

Like a Mouse in a Barn Full Of Owls, I stand Tall and extend My Finger in Defiance!

[shinnery jim]

here in Texas we dont see the decline in gun sales or ownership. I f anything more people than ever are getting guns. I have had guns all my life and am getting more all the time.
I bought a 380 for my daughter for christmas and a 45 acp for my son. It wasnt the first for either of them. they bought me a 9 mm carrbine for christmas, I love it. all of my nephues have guns and go out shooting with us as often as possible. I dont have any nieces so cant say anything about that. but my daughter does love to shoot. she will shoot anything I have but the 12 gage. she says it kicks to much. but she will shoot my mosin nagant all day long, she loves it.
I dont see the decline of gun owner ship here. around me are very few people that dont have at least one gun in the house. I am proud to be a Texan.

[MyGunsJammed]

shinnery jim......

Thats why i'm moving to Texas someday real soon...

[44 AMP]

You can draw almost any conclusion you want from them.

Notice that the claim is now 22% of households, when 30 years ago it was over 50%. But wait, and read carefully, that was only 22% that reported owning a gun!

I'd be willing to be, based on personal experience and the posted attitudes of a lot of folks here on the 'net, that a lot of households own guns and are unwiling to report that they do to anybody's survey.

Take it with a grain of salt (or better yet, several grains of powder), their numbers don't mean anything real, other than the number of people who chose to answer honestly.

On the other hand, I do believe the gun culture is fading away. Slowly, but it can be seen if you look. A few decades ago, when young men got together, they talked (in no praticular order) guns, hunting and fishing, cars, girls, etc. Fewer and fewer do that today. Today more and more talk games, computers, Internet sights, ipods, and whatever else is currently the latest fads, and of course, girls (and I guess sometimes today, boys)

There just isn't available land for outdoor sports like there used to be. And I don't mean just public lands either. Used to be lots of landowners didn't mind hunters and plinkers. Today, too many axxholes have vandalised and trashed things, just for fun. Slob shooters and slob hunters have poisoned the well. Look at the majority or privately owned land not under agriculture today, and you will find the majority of it "posted". Exceptions do exist, but they are fewer and fewer all the time.

As I age, I can see that by the time my grandchildren reach my age shooting sports will likely be the province of the wealthy only, and guns for protection will likely be illegal, except for the wealthy, who will not need to own the guns themselves, they hire them, along with men to carry them.

This can be changed, it may not come to pass in this country, yet I hold little hope if the country continues to go as it has been these last few decades. On the other hand, I never agreed to give up without a fight.

[sw_florida]

Pure anti-gun propaganda.

Sure, there may be less guns in the house holds of younger families today, but that is because the leftwing politicians, ass ****ing this country, make owning a gun difficult if not pointless, since you can't carry them in people-dense states, and you can't use them for self defense even when at home, because you have to retreat and let the intruding scumbags take it all, or you go to jail. If the gun laws were better, more would own guns. Who wants to buy something you must not use?! No wonder the numbers of guns owned is slowly dropping. This nut house will end up like Europ; another socialistic, poor mess. Those Democrats... and proud of their **** too.

[ZeSpectre]

Okay, let's dissect this just a bit and see what we come up with...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Is America, land of shooting massacres in schools and public places, slowly falling out of love with guns?

We start right off with a clear attitude and bias. Let's keep that in mind as we move along (If we're the land of shooting massacres I wonder what the author thinks of Darfur and other locations).

The answer is yes, and it runs counter to popular perceptions of the United States as a country where most citizens are armed to the teeth and believe it is every American's inalienable right to buy an AK 47-style assault rifle with the minimum of bureaucratic paperwork.

But in fact, gun ownership in the United States has been declining steadily over more than three decades, relegating gun owners to minority status.
At the same time, support for stricter gun controls has been growing steadily and those in favor make up a majority.

This is a little-reported phenomenon but the trend is shown clearly by statistics compiled by the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center (NORC), which has been tracking gun ownership and attitudes on firearms since 1972, the longest-running survey on the subject in the United States.

The number of households with guns dropped from a high of 54 percent in 1977 to 34.5 percent in 2006, according to NORC, and the percentage of Americans who reported personally owning a gun has shrunk to just under 22 percent.

The percentage of Americans who reported personally owning a gun has shrunk. Well with the last AWB and other pejorative actions it doesn't surprise me that people would stop -reporting- that they own firearms. This is even less of a surprise when the "census" takers are based in Chicago! Personally I find it impossible to accept any of their numbers as accurate.

So, by the rules of democratic play, one might assume that the majority would have major influence on legislation. But that's not how it works, thanks to the enormous influence of the gun lobby.

Well, first we don't live in a democracy and whether the topic is firearms, homosexuality, or the legal age to drink, the mob doesn't get to make the rules. I thank God quite frequently that we live in a Constitutional Republic. As for the "gun lobby" having enormous influence, well it gets the influence it has from the people who are members so logically it's not fading out too fast or it wouldn't have such influence.

The long-term decline monitored by the Chicago survey has buoyed proponents of tighter gun controls. "America's gun culture is fading," says Josh Sugarmann, who heads the Washington-based Violence Policy Center.

According to Sugarmann, those keeping the culture alive and those most vocal in resisting tighter regulations are white, middle-aged men whose enthusiasm for firearms, hunting and shooting is not shared by younger Americans.

1) Josh Sugarmann has been shown to be a liar in the past and he is still a liar.
2) Younger Americans most certainly DO have an enthusasm for the shooting sports, I see them all the time in every shooting sport I participate in.

Yet, at the moment it's difficult to imagine the U.S. without its gun culture. But then, who could have imagined France with a ban on smoking in public places, Germany with speed limits on almost half its autobahns, or a black man as a serious contender in this year's presidential elections in the United States?

An apples and oranges comparison that shows the author doesn't "get it". Once again an anti is trying to equate a right with other items that are privileges. Sorry Charlie, not the same thing at all.

To what extent gun ownership will continue to shrink depends, at least in part, on a decision by the U.S. Supreme court expected this summer. The court will rule on one of the most acrimonious disputes in the United States: do Americans have the constitutional right to own and bear arms?

I wonder. It'll be interesting to see how many folks "come out of the gun safe" (our own "out of the closet" <grin>) if the Supreme Court gives us the "all clear" thumbs up? I suspect the author of this article might get a nasty surprise.

GUN RAMPAGES PART OF LIFE

At the heart of the long-running debate, argued with more passion than almost any other, is the meaning of the U.S. constitution's second amendment. Written 219 years ago, it says: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

A string of lower court rulings over several decades held that the amendment meant to guarantee the collective right of state militias, not individual citizens. Such rulings have had limited impact: gun regulations vary from state to state and in most, weapons are easy to buy and legal to keep.

And a similar string of court rulings also judged that it's an individual right... that would be why this whole thing is finally moving to the Supreme Court, so that the disagreement amongst lower courts can be resolved. Also, the fact that most states, in action and behavior, treat it as an individual right regardless of court decision is pretty telling in my book.

There are a few exceptions: handguns are illegal in Chicago and in Washington, where a court ruled in December that its total ban violated the constitution. That is the case the Supreme Court will take up this year.

No matter how it rules, the court's decision is unlikely to make much immediate difference to the mass shootings by unhinged citizens that have become part of American life.

Gun rampages happen with such numbing regularity -- on average one every three weeks in 2007 -- that they barely make news unless the death toll climbs into double digits, as happened at the Virginia Tech university. There, a student with mental problems killed 32 of his peers and himself.

So why this misdirection towards firearms? Why not ban unhinged citizens since they seem to be the actual root cause of the problem? Oh that's right, you'd have to catch, prosecute, incarcerate, feed, treat, house, on and on and on. Much easier to find a gun, destroy it, and be done with it... (at least until the criminal gets another).

President George W. Bush this week signed into law a bill meant to prevent people with a record of mental disease from buying weapons. Virginia Tech was the worst school shooting in U.S. history and rekindled the debate over the easy availability of guns in America. There are more private firearms in the United States than anywhere else in the world -- at least 200 million.

While that arsenal has been growing every year, the proportion of U.S. households where guns are held has been shrinking. In other words: Fewer people have more guns. One estimate, by the National Police Foundation, says that 10 percent of the country's adults own roughly three quarters of all firearms.

1) Virginia Tech was terrible, don't misunderstand me, but madmen with other tools have caused far greater destruction in a lot less time (Bath School, Oklahoma City) again we need to stop worrying about the tools and focus on the criminals.
2) I still seriously doubt the accuracy of their numbers. As the laws and such have increasingly demonized firearms owners they have increasingly gone underground, or at least maintained a low profile. The gun owners I know would most assuredly NOT answer surveys regarding firearms ownership. I suspect that their numbers are WILDLY inaccurate.

PREVENTION, NOT CURE

That is the hard core, which counts on the gun lobby, chief of all the National Rifle Association (NRA), to throttle attempts to impose restrictions on the sale of firearms. The NRA, a group that claims some 3 million members, calls itself "America's foremost defender of Second Amendment rights" and backs candidates for political office on their stand on one issue -- gun ownership -- regardless of party affiliation.

Politicians tend to pander to the NRA, some more shamelessly than others. One of the Republican candidates for the 2008 presidential race, Mitt Romney, went so far as to falsely claim that he was a lifelong hunter and had received an official NRA endorsement in 2002.

Interesting display of power for a group that's "fading away".

Small wonder, then, that the debates following every shooting massacre tend to focus not on the easy availability of guns but on preventive security measures. Metal detectors at the entrances of shopping malls, for example. Or bullet-proof backpacks. They were developed in the wake of the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School, where two teenagers killed 12 students and teachers and then themselves.

Or maybe that focus comes from a realization that gun control doesn't work and criminals will break the law and get whatever tools they want anyway.

The Columbine-inspired backpacks went on sale in August and have sold briskly. "Sales picked up considerably in the Christmas period," said Mike Pelonzi, one of the two men -- both fathers -- who designed and market them. "Our market is expanding."

I have no idea what this last bit is supposed to mean except maybe as a sort of left-field "it's for the children" type statement.

[Edward429451]

Like a Mouse in a Barn Full Of Owls, I stand Tall and extend My Finger in Defiance!

Well said!

<Gun Rampages a Part of Life...>

This is true, but sometimes they're on school campuses, and sometimes they're in Waco or NO. Just giving credit where credit is due.

[dukenukum]

left wing hooey , I think it was Hitler who said if you tell a lie enough times it becomes truth . this is just what the left wing media is pulling on us .

[JBriggs]

44 AMP has hit the nail on the head. There are not as many opportunities and fewer places for youngsters to hunt and plick with guns. For example, in the county in which I live, it is almost impossible to find a place to hunt. Most of the land that could be hunted is privately owned and there is no access to those who are not friends with the owners. There is only one public hunting area within 65 miles of my town, and the last time I went to hunt it there were probably 50 people trying to hunt less than 100 acres. Scary!

[sw_florida]

A bit unclear there; who is the hunted?

[Derius_T]

I do believe however, that a big problem is that more and more younger, uneducated people (as far as guns go) actually believe the stuff these people say.

What happens to impressionable young people when their only ideas and beliefs about guns come from anti-gun sources and hollyweird? I think with the way people are being encouraged to hate guns, that if it isn't already moving us towards england, it surely will soon if people don't take a stand.

[Arabia]

I do believe however, that a big problem is that more and more younger, uneducated people (as far as guns go) actually believe the stuff these people say.

Isn't this the truth. I have a friend from the local gun club whose teenage daughters are as anti as humanely possible. His entire family including his brother's children are as pro gun as possible. His daughters where brought up around guns, and learned to hunt at an early age. Now they are radical leftist. They don't eat meat, hate guns, hate traditional values and now preach about world peace and all that nonsense. Unfortunately the public schools system they went through is know for its radical teachers who mold young minds to conform to their ideaology. When I was their age I had a few radical teachers, but they where pretty balanced in teaching their courses. They wanted people to think for themselves instead of conforming to an ideology. Now teachers are there to instill liberal doctrine. It has now gotten out of hand. A large % of the students that leave the city school system are radical. Many of the teacher hold protests as part of a school assignment. Plenty of people have taken there kids out of the school system to send them to local catholic schools.

[jkkimberfan]

I live in a very urban part of NJ and each time I go to the local gun store, it is packed and they are selling guns briskly. Soon after 9/11, I was in this store and asked to see a type of rifle, there was a line to even look at them and the clerk said they couldn't keep this type in stock, they were selling "like hotcakes". Six years later, I was back in this same store looking at the same type of rifle and the clerk remarked that they only had one in stock and they couldn't keep them in stock for more than one day. After every major disaster or event, such as the LA Riots, 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, etc.., many Americans went out and bought a gun or two, "just in case". I agree hunting is fading as hunting lands disappear, and the hunting culture is fading among younger kids in favor of other past times (computers, video games, ipods, etc.). But I believe most people still believe they should be able to own a gun and do in fact own a gun. They just are not reporting them as before, since the liberal types have run amok and it is not PC to be a gun owner in many places. I would not report my gun in a poll nor talk about them openly in public. And I assure you, I vote against any politician who votes to infringe on my 2nd Amendment rights, as do many in NJ and this number is growing. In fact, several pro gun types recently won election in my local town and in all of the surrounding local towns, which had been governed by liberal anti gun types. Liberalism has peeked and is losing ground, people are finally getting fed up with this BS PC garbage.