Women & Guns 1998-1999 Survey Results
By Carol K. Oyster, Ph.D.,
Professor of Psychology,
University of Wisconsin at La Crosse
Research Director, Women & Guns
Since 1991, Women & Guns magazine has been sampling the gun-related attitudes and behaviors of their readers. This year I was fortunate enough to be included on the team to update the picture. The information gathered from readers of Women & Guns, especially from the primarily female participants, is unique in the information available for intelligent dialogue on gun issues. Much that is published and pontificated is based solely on speculation or outdated research. So thank you for allowing us to develop a real picture of an understudied group, namely gun owners.
This is not to say. of course, that one sample can answer all questions. No sample can do that. However, if you want information from gun owners and users you must ask gun owners and users, rather than try to gather the information from the National Census or other general survey. For, although gun ownership is the "normal" behavior in statistical terms (for years even the general surveys have indicated firearms ownership is close to, if not more than, half of American homes), those who would limit Constitutional rights continue to try to portray the statistically abnormal group of non-gun owners as the average American.
The Sample
Actually, this sample of both female and male gun owners does not represent the average American. The participants in this sample are too well educated, too wealthy, too stable in their relationships, and too conscientious in regard to their civic duties to be considered average in any way.
So before we examine the attitudes and behaviors or our participants, let’s take a look at their demographics. The percentages were rounded up, so column totals may not sum to exactly 100%. Statistical comparisons on the demographic characteristics found few differences between the women and far fewer men except on income, where the men reported higher combined household incomes, and marital status where men were slightly more likely to be divorced or to describe themselves in "long term" relationships. The majority of both women (70%) and men (65%) reported being married. (For those of you interested in discussing statistics, please feel free to contact me care of the magazine and I will be more than happy to supply the results.)
Age
Female
Male
20-29
5%
0
30-39
19%
8%
40-49
31%
35%
50-59
28%
38%
60-69
15%
11%
70-79
2%
8%
Given the ages of the respondents, it is not surprising that few reported the presence in their homes of children under the age of 16 (women 12%, men 16%).
Residence
Female
Male
Rural
24%
16%
Small Town
21%
14%
Suburban
21%
22%
Small City
10%
19%
City <500,000
13%
14%
City >500,000
13%
16%
The participants in the survey reported unusually high levels of education, compared to the average American. Thirty-seven percent of the women and 38% of the men reported either some college or a junior college degree, while 68% of the women and 51% of the men reported either a bachelor’s or advanced degree. Considering that approximately 25% of the American population possesses a college diploma, these results are abnormally high.
Given this high level of education, we would expect higher than average household incomes, and that is what we found. Over half (58%) of the households reported an annual income of $50,000 or higher. Only slightly less than half (47%) reported earning more than $60,000 per year.
Our respondents are active in participating in governmental decisions. Almost all of the women (98%) and most of the men (89%) are registered voters. Over the last eight months, 65% of the women and 78% of the men had written a letter to an editor, contacted a lawmaker, or both. Most report not approving of gun control (81% of the women, and 88% of the men). Women more than men reported favoring waiting periods for gun purchase (10% to 8%), mandatory training (12% to 14%), and making firearms unavailable to children (13% to 16%)—which is already illegal in most areas.
Gun Ownership & Use
All of the men and almost all of the women (98%) who responded own at least one handgun. While the questionnaire did not request an accounting, many were proud to list an extensive collection. Men and women report clearly different preferences in handguns identified as used for self-defense, however. Women were more likely to report using a revolver and men a semi-automatic handgun. Women preferred (in order) 38s, 9mm, then 45s. Men reversed this order: 45s, 9mm, then 38s. Both men and women were most likely to have bought the firearm for themselves (women 71%, men 89%) which shatters the conventional wisdom that men are putting guns into women’s hands. Women were, though, more likely to have received their handgun as a gift (18% compared to none of the men).
Both our women and men had received training in firearms—84% of the women and 87% of the men. Women, however, were more modest in their claims of ability, with 24% reporting basic knowledge, 48% reporting intermediate levels of knowledge, and 28% self-identifying as experts. Eighty-one percent of the men identified themselves as experts, 14% as intermediates, and 5% as novices—a very large, statistically significant difference.
Both men and women reported the primary reason for owning a handgun as self-defense (women 58%, men 76%). Many reported self-defense combined with either competition or recreation (women 21%, men 16%). Upon further probing it was found that this concern with self-defense was not necessarily based upon a direct experience with crime. Although 22% of the women and 30% of the men reported having been victims of serious crimes, only 7% of women and 3% of men reported that as the reason for acquiring the weapon. (And, interestingly enough, only 72% of the women and 69% of the men reported their victimization to the police.) Most—84% of the women and 94% of the men—reported a general concern about crime as the reason for arming themselves.
The possession of these handguns proved useful to those respondents who had been forced to use a handgun for self-defense—13% of the women and 33% of the men. As has been found in sociological research such as that by Gary Kleck of Florida State University, most did not have to fire their gun to defend themselves. Only 14% of the women, and 42% of the men actually discharged the guns. The rest either displayed the gun or alluded to its existence.
Handguns were not the only type of firearm ownership reported. Most of the respondents reported owning a rifle (71% of the women and 95% of the men) with many owning more than one (59% of the women and 89% of the men). Most respondents reported owning shotguns (62% of women, 78% of men)—also more than one (39% of women, 57% of men).
Weapons other than firearms reported were (in order of popularity) pepper spray or Mace, a Kuboton/Persuader, or some combination thereof. About 45% of both sexes carry one or more of these. Personal alarms, however, were very unpopular, with only 4% of women and none of the men reporting their possession. In addition, almost half of the women (42%) and more than half of the men (69%) had taken an unarmed self-defense course.
Do these respondents carry their handguns for self-defense? This is a particularly interesting question given that such carry may be a violation of the law. Even in areas where concealed carry permits are theoretically available, such as in California, a number of respondents reported that in fact, such permits were in practice unavailable. Despite this fact, almost a third of the women (32%) and almost half of the men (47%) report carrying a handgun outside the home "all the time." In fact, only 17% of women and 23% of the men failed to report carrying at least some of the time. Most report carrying when they expect to be in an unsafe situation (women 44%, men 20%). The large discrepancy here would appear to be based on the fact that so many men reported carrying all of the time.
The method of preferred carry differed greatly between the sexes. Half of the men prefer a holster. Women report more different methods of concealment—holster 16%; regular purse or briefcase 16%; specially designed purse or briefcase 21%; fanny pack 16%. Other, more creative methods of concealment included pockets, baby bags, and baskets.
In years past, the questionnaire asked a hypothetical question regarding whether respondents would carry a handgun for self-protection if they knew such carry was illegal. We continued with the tradition, but added a question that dropped the hypothetical aspect and asked if respondents had actually carried illegally. On the hypothetical question, numbers were down slightly from earlier years. Of the women, 87% reported they would carry anyway, and 80% of the men agreed. Ten percent of the women and 14% of the men said they would obey the law.
In terms of actually having committed a crime by carrying a gun illegally, 66% of women and 67% of men reported having done so. There is a strong positive statistical relationship between the responses to the hypothetical and real questions. Those people who say they would carry have done so. If this was true in the past when numbers of positive responses to the hypothetical question were even higher, it is highly likely that there has been a history of women carrying handguns for their own protection. Perhaps in much higher rates than anyone has previously suspected.
There you have it, a current snapshot of gun-owning and using Americans. The image certainly does not fit with that presented by the anti-gun lobby. A highly educated, civilly responsible group of individuals continues to use their own judgment and the Constitution to make decisions about firearm ownership and use. As more than one respondent reported: "It would be better to be judged by 12, than carried by 6."