Research

At 97Percent, we talk to fellow gun owners to understand their priorities and concerns, and we use their feedback to inform everything we do. In fact, it was our original research conducted during the summer of 2019 that led us to launch our organization. 

We identify areas of common ground between gun owners and non-gun owners in order to develop workable strategies to reduce the more than 47,000 gun-related deaths per year in the U.S. And there is plenty of common ground.

What else stands out? Gun owners feel left out of the conversation around gun violence and are even more supportive of solutions than conventional wisdom would have us believe. That’s why we formed 97Percent.

Think you know everything about gun owners?

40%

of first time gun-owners in 2020 were women

86%

of gun owners support keeping guns out of the hands of violent criminals

 36%

of Americans over 65 personally own a firearm, the highest of any group

 90%

of gun owners do not view guns as part of their overall identity

Our Latest Research

We teamed up with Republican pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson, Democratic pollster Geoffrey Garin, and Arnold Ventures for our most recent research, 97Percent Annual Gun Owner Survey, released in October 2023. Key findings include: 

  • 84% of gun owners feel gun-related crime is a serious problem, and 75% fear they or someone they love will be a victim of gun violence. 

    • These fears are driving gun owners’ desire to protect themselves with a gun, and 60% think it is somewhat or very likely they will need to use their gun to defend themselves one day.

  • 70% of gun owners said they wish “we would enact some kind of gun reform.” An unexpected finding was broad support for restrictions in sensitive locations: 

    • 66% of gun owners, for instance, think guns should be restricted on school grounds. 67% think they should be restricted in government buildings. 

  • More gun owners say permitless concealed carry will increase, rather than decrease, the chance of gun violence (43% vs. 30%). 

    • And while permitless carry removes training requirements, 58% support requiring gun owners to demonstrate that they can use a gun safely.