CARRYING GUNS FOR PROTECTION - RESULTS FROM THE NATIONAL SELF-DEFENSESURVEY

The article reviews research on gun carrying and reports new findings from the National Self-Defense Survey on the prevalence, incidence, an d patterns of adult gun carrying for protection. About 8.8 percent of adults carried guns in the preceding year, 3.7 percent carried grins o n their person; and 6.5 percent carried guns in a vehicle. Within a gi ven year, about 16.8 million U.S. adults carry a gun, 7.1 million who carry do so on the person and 12.4 million do so in a vehicle. On an a verage day, 2.7 million U.S. adults carry a gun for protection on thei r person and 5.0 million carry one in a vehicle. Less than one in a th ousand instances of gun carrying involves a violent gun crime. Carryin g was more common among males, Blacks, people In the South and West, p eople with a job requiring a gun, those who know someone who was recen tly the victim of a crime, believe that crime is above average in thei r neighborhood, have been a robbery victim, or believe people must dep end on themselves for protection.