97Percent Survey Reveals Support for Gun Safety Regulations Among Gun Owners
Preliminary results of large-scale study show promise for lawmakers focused on bipartisan solutions to gun violence
Washington, D.C.: 97Percent, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization whose mission is to reduce gun deaths by including gun owners in the solutions, unveiled preliminary results today of a wide-ranging, national survey of American gun owners who are also registered voters.
With 5,100 gun owners surveyed and a 1.4% margin of error, the survey is one of the largest and most accurate surveys of this cohort ever undertaken. A similar study, the 2021 National Firearms Survey, carried out by Harvard/Northeastern, was larger, but was not solely focused on registered voters.
Key Findings
With a national election just three weeks away and gun ownership, violence, and regulation featuring as topics of interest to voters, 97Percent is releasing these pertinent findings about the gun owners surveyed:
Gun safety: 59% of gun owners who are registered voters said a candidate’s stance on gun safety is very or extremely important to them.
Red flag laws: 63% of gun owners who are registered voters said they would be somewhat or much more likely to vote for a candidate who supports red flag laws, with due process protections for gun owners.
Universal background checks: 72% of gun owners who are registered voters said they would be somewhat or much more likely to vote for a candidate who supports universal background checks.
Ghost guns: 63% of gun owners who are registered voters said they strongly or somewhat support standardizing ghost gun kits and firearm piece purchases with serial numbers. Ghost guns are unregulated, untraceable DIY firearms whose usage has risen by more than 1000% since 2017. A federal rule regulating ghost guns is currently under review by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Political Messaging
The survey also found that gun owners tend to respond most favorably to political messaging around gun safety that:
Focuses on responsibility, safety, and freedom.
Emphasizes factual data about specific gun safety policies vs. generalities or emotional narratives.
Stresses the importance of including gun owners’ input when designing gun safety policies, to best protect public safety while respecting gun rights.
Utilizes law enforcement to reinforce its points.
In response to these findings, 97Percent calls on lawmakers to consider these insights as they campaign on and plan for future gun safety legislation. “Gun owners are not monolithic and are certainly not a lost cause when it comes to gun laws,” says 97Percent Executive Director Olivia Troye. “On the contrary, gun owners have informed, nuanced perspectives that should be included in any conversation around gun safety. They can be our strongest allies for sensible, effective measures that can save lives.”
97Percent is committed to promoting responsible gun ownership and advancing evidence-based policies that reduce gun deaths. Comprehensive survey results will be available in the next few weeks, followed by a large-scale data model. Please sign up to receive email updates.
About 97Percent
97Percent is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization uniting gun owners and non-gun owners around common-ground measures to reduce gun deaths in America. Our name was inspired by a 2018 Quinnipiac University poll, which found that 97% of Americans support universal background checks—a figure that represents unprecedented agreement on gun safety, despite many believing the issue is intractable.
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