As Congress remains gridlocked on the implementation of gun control measures after a mass shooter killed 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school in Texas on May 24—only 10 days after the murder of ten African Americans in Buffalo, New York—some states have stepped up efforts to implement new gun restrictions. Other states, often Republican-led, resist making changes.

Survey data consistently shows how deeply embedded gun culture is in the United States. A March 2022 PRRI survey provides information on Americans who keep guns in their homes, including those who personally own those guns, as well as information on those Americans’ friendship networks. Not surprisingly, those who own guns are more likely to count other gun owners as part of their close friendship networks.

Profile of Americans Who Have Guns in Household and Own Guns

About one-third of Americans (34%) say they keep guns in their homes, including one in four (25%) who say these guns belong to them personally. Republicans (54% and 42%, respectively) are substantially more likely than independents (33% and 25%, respectively) and Democrats (19% and 13%, respectively) to say that they keep guns in their homes, including significant proportions who personally own them. White Americans are more likely than other race and ethnic groups to have guns in their households (41%), including three in ten (31%) who personally own them.

White Groups Are More Likely To Have Guns in Household and Own Guns

When comparing white Americans across various key demographics, these groups are notably more likely than other demographics to report having guns in their households as well as high rates of gun ownership. Nearly six in ten white Republicans (58%), 54% of white evangelical Protestants, 46% of white men, 45% of white Americans without a college degree, 45% of white mainline Protestants, and 39% of white independents report having guns in their homes or garages, including significant percentages of those who say they own them. Therefore, it wouldn’t come as a surprise that these groups tend to be among those with the highest opposition to enact stricter gun controls.

Gun Owners’ Social Networks

About one in five Americans (19%) say that most or all of the people they include in their close friendship network own a gun, including 8% who say that all of the people in their friendship networks own a gun. About one in five (21%) say only a few of their close contacts own a gun, compared to another one in five (19%) who say hardly any, while a solid 40% say no one in their close friendship networks owns a gun.

These percentages are notably different among those who own guns. About half of Americans who own a gun (49%) say that most or all of the people in their friendship networks also own a gun, including 23% who say that all of their friendship networks own a gun. More than one in four (27%) say only a few of their close contacts own a gun, compared to 14% who say hardly any and only 10% who say no one in their close friendship networks owns a gun.

About six in ten Republicans (59%) who own a gun (compared to 35% of all Republicans) say that most or all of the people in their close friendship networks own a gun, including 31% who say that all of the people within their close networks own a gun. Under half of independents (46%) who own a gun (compared to 19% of all independents) say that most or all of the people in their close friendship networks own a gun, compared to one in three Democrats who own a gun (30%) and only 9% of all Democrats.

White Americans (23%) are more likely than other racial groups to say that the majority of the people in their social networks own a gun, and this percentage is particularly high among white Americans who own a gun (51%). By contrast, 15% of Black Americans, 11% of Hispanic Americans, 10% of multiracial Americans, and only five percent of Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) say most or all of the people in their friendship networks own a gun. Whites without a four-year college degree who own guns are more likely than whites with a college degree who own a gun to say that most or all of the people in their close friendship networks own a gun (55% vs. 44%). These percentages are considerably lower among all whites without and with a college degree (27% v. 16%).

White Christians who own guns are also much more likely than other religious groups to say most or all of the people in their social networks own a gun: 57% of white evangelical Protestants, 54% of white mainline Protestants, 48% of white Catholics, and even 45% of white religiously unaffiliated Americans.[1] This compares to substantially fewer of all of each group who say most or all of the people in their networks own a gun: 34% of white evangelical Protestants, 25% of white mainline Protestants, 19% of white Catholics, and 18% of all white religiously unaffiliated Americans.

The majority of Americans who live in the South and own a gun (53%) say that most or all of the people in their social networks own a gun, compared to 46% of those who live in the Midwest and in the West who also own a gun and 42% of those who live in the Northeast who own a gun. Among all Americans, 24% who live in the South and 21% who live in the Midwest say that most or all of their social networks own a gun, compared to 17% of those who live in the West and 9% of those who live in the Northeast.

Why It Matters: Americans Who Own Guns Are Least Likely to Support Stricter Gun Control Measures

PRRI data from 2018 reveals that only 42% of Republicans and white Republicans support stricter gun control measures, compared to the vast majorities of Democrats (87%) and independents (65%). White Americans (60%) are the least likely to support gun control measures, compared to Black Americans (78%), Hispanic Americans (78%), and Americans who identify with another race (68%). Moreover, white Americans without a college degree are significantly less likely than white Americans with a college degree to support gun control measures (56% vs. 70%). With the exception of white evangelical Protestants, majorities of all religious adherents support gun control measures. Not surprisingly, all American men (62%), and particularly white men (55%), are less likely than all American women (69%) and white women (66%) to support gun restrictions, while there are no notable differences by age.

[1] The number of cases for all other racial categories and all other religious adherents who own a gun is too small to report here (N<100).