PEW Research: Over Seven of 10 Gun Owners Say Right to Own Firearms ‘Essential’ to Freedom

A recent PEW Research survey shows that 74% of gun owners believe the right to own firearms is “essential” to freedom.

Moreover, 73% of gun owners said “they could never see themselves not owning a gun.” The famous Gonzales’ declaration, “Come and Take It,” comes to mind.

According to PEW Research, even 35% of non-gun owners believe a right to gun ownership is “essential” to freedom.

On June 22 Breitbart News reported PEW found that two out of three gun owners have their guns for “protection,” i.e., self-defense. Sixty-five percent of male gun owners cited protection as their main reason for gun ownership and 71% of female gun owners did the same.

These findings dovetail perfectly with the fact that women acquired concealed carry permits at a higher rate than men during Obama’s second term in office. In fact, the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC) found “the number of women with permits… increased twice as quickly as the number of men with permits” between 2012 and 2016.

CPRC also found that “the [overall] percentage of adults with permits… soared by 190%” between 2007 and 2015, and this makes sense in a nation where where self-defense is cited as the main reason for gun ownership.

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com