The percentage of guns that are licensed versus illegal is difficult to determine with certainty, as there is no comprehensive national database of firearm ownership in the United States. However, estimates suggest that the majority of guns in the US are legally owned. According to a 2017 study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, approximately 22% of American adults reported owning one or more firearms, and the vast majority of those firearms were obtained legally.
That being said, there are also a significant number of firearms that are owned illegally or obtained through illicit means, such as theft or the black market. A study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics estimated that approximately 1.4 million guns were stolen between 2005 and 2010, and it's likely that many of those stolen guns ended up on the black market.
It's important to note that while legal gun ownership is a constitutional right in the United States, gun laws and regulations vary by state and locality. Some states require gun owners to obtain licenses or permits, while others have more relaxed laws. Additionally, there is ongoing debate about the effectiveness of current gun control measures and whether more should be done to prevent illegal gun ownership and use.
There is no comprehensive national database of firearm ownership. However, here are some estimates:
According to a 2017 study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, approximately 22% of American adults reported owning one or more firearms. The vast majority of those firearms were obtained legally through licensed gun dealers or other legal means. It is estimated that over 90% of the guns used in crimes are obtained illegally.
Additionally, a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2017 found that 67% of gun owners said that all or most of their firearms were obtained legally, while 32% said that some or none of their firearms were obtained legally.
It's important to note that even legally owned guns can be used illegally if they are stolen or transferred to someone who is prohibited from owning firearms. It's also worth noting that while gun ownership is a constitutional right in the United States, gun laws and regulations vary by state and locality, and there is ongoing debate about the effectiveness of current gun control measures and whether more should be done to prevent illegal gun ownership and use.
In California, some gun smugglers use FedEx. In Chicago, smugglers drive just across the state line into Indiana, buy a gun and drive back. In Orlando, Fla., smugglers have been known to fill a $500 car with guns and send it on a ship to crime rings in Puerto Rico.
In response to mass shootings in the last few years, more than 20 states, including some of the nation’s biggest, have passed new laws restricting how people can buy and carry guns. Yet the effect of those laws has been significantly diluted by a thriving underground market for firearms brought from states with few restrictions.
About 50,000 guns are found to be diverted to criminals across state lines every year, federal data shows, and many more are likely to cross state lines undetected.
In New York and New Jersey, which have some of the strictest laws in the country, more than two-thirds of guns tied to criminal activity were traced to out-of-state purchases in 2014. Many were brought in via the so-called Iron Pipeline, made up of Interstate 95 and its tributary highways, from Southern states with weaker gun laws, like Virginia, Georgia and Florida. Read full article in NY Times here.
