A PEW Research survey shows that NRA members are heavily Republican, steeped in gun safety, and nearly “unanimous” in the conviction that gun ownership is “essential” to freedom.
Moreover, the survey found that gun owners who are NRA members are twice as likely to carry a handgun for self-defense throughout the day than gun owners who are not NRA members.
According to PEW, 44 percent of gun owners who are NRA members said they were likely to carry a gun for self-defense whereas only 22 percent of gun owners who were not NRA members said the same. “NRA members are also significantly more likely than other gun owners to say they have a gun that is loaded and easily accessible to them at all times.” Fifty-four percent of NRA members spoke of keeping a gun close at all times, while 34 percent of gun owners who were not NRA members said the same.
While 58 percent of gun owners who are not NRA members lean Republican, PEW found that 77 percent of gun owners who are NRA members are in the Republican camp. And whereas 67 percent of gun owners who are NRA members say they “have taken a gun safety safe,” a whopping 84 percent of NRA members who are gun owners say they have such a course as well.
The bottom line, NRA members who are gun owners live prepared to defend their lives and liberty; over three out of four of them vote Republican, and over eight out of ten of them have taken a gun safety course.
One more point — whereas 70 percent of gun owners who are non-NRA members believe owning a gun is “essential” to freedom, over 90 percent of gun-owning NRA members believe owning a gun is “essential” to freedom.
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.