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General Social Survey. 2013 ‘Question 237a: If Yes: Is It a Pistol, Shotgun, Rifle, or What? - Pistol.’ General Social Survey Cumulative Datafile 1972-2012. Chicago, IL: National Opinion Research Center / NORC at the University of Chicago. 16 December

Relevant contents

General Social Survey
National Opinion Research Center*

Question 237a: If yes: Is it a pistol, shotgun, rifle, or what? - Pistol

Year: Percentage of households with a pistol or revolver (%)

2012: 21.9
2010: 19.6
2008: 26.2
2006: 20.0
2004: 20.7
2002: 21.0
2000: 20.5
1998: 20.5
1996: 23.7
1994: 26.2
1993: 26.1
1991: 22.1
1990: 24.9
1989: 26.8
1988: 24.4
1987: 26.1
1985: 24.1
1984: 21.4
1982: 22.9
1980: 24.9
1977: 21.3
1976: 22.2
1974: 20.3
1973: 20.3

*In the United States, the "gold standard" for national surveys of gun ownership is the General Social Survey, conducted by the National Opinion Research Center most years from 1972 to 1993 and biennially since 1994 (Davis and Smith, 1998). In its current form the GSS is conducted in person with a national area-probability sample of 3000 non-institutionalized adults. The response rate has been quite high (e.g., 78% in 1994, 76% in 1996, 76% in 1998). Its sample is chosen to be representative of the nation and of each of the nine Census divisions, but not of individual states.

[Editor's note: The above description of the NORC GSS is excerpted from: Azrael, Deborah, Philip J Cook and Matthew Miller. 'State and Local Prevalence of Firearms Ownership Measurement, Structure, and Trends.' Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Vol 20, No. 1, pp. 43-62. March 2004, at p. 45.]

Source cited:

Davis, J. A., and Smith, T. W. (1998). General Social surveys, 1972–1998 [machine-readable data file]/Principal Investigator James A. Davis; Director and Co-Principal Investigator, Tom W. Smith; Sponsored by National Science foundation—NORC ed.—Chicago: National Opinion Research Center [producer]; Storrs, CT: The Roper Center for Public Opinion Research, University of Connecticut [distributor]

ID: Q8353

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