TABLE 1—
Characteristics of Current Adult Gun Owners by Duration of Firearm Ownership: United States, 2015
| Characteristics | New Gun Owners,a % (95% CI) | Long-Standing Gun Owners,b % (95% CI) | Unadjusted ORc (95% CI) | Age-Adjusted OR (95% CI) |
| Gender | ||||
| Male | 64.3 (53.2, 74.0) | 72.7 (69.8, 75.5) | 0.7 (0.4, 1.1) | 0.6 (0.4, 1.0) |
| Female | 35.7 (26.0, 46.8) | 27.3 (24.5, 30.2) | 1.5 (0.9, 2.4) | 1.5 (1.0, 2.5) |
| Age, y | ||||
| 18–24 | 13.2 (6.7, 24.3) | 3.6 (2.3, 5.5) | 5.6 (3.3, 9.6) | NA |
| 25–44 | 56.0 (45.5, 65.9) | 26.7 (23.9, 29.7) | 1.9 (1.2, 3.0) | NA |
| 45–64 | 21.7 (15.3, 29.8) | 44.1 (41.1, 47.1) | 0.4 (0.3, 0.7) | NA |
| ≥ 65 | 9.2 (5.3, 15.6) | 25.6 (23.2, 28.2) | 0.3 (0.2, 0.5) | NA |
| Race | ||||
| White | 75.6 (64.3, 84.2) | 82.1 (79.1, 84.7) | 0.7 (0.4, 1.2) | 0.6 (0.3, 1.1) |
| Black | 8.4 (4.0, 16.7) | 7.1 (5.4, 9.3) | 1.2 (0.5, 2.7) | 1.8 (0.8, 4.1) |
| Other | 16.0 (8.8, 27.3) | 10.8 (8.7, 13.3) | 1.6 (0.8, 3.2) | 1.4 (0.7, 2.9) |
| Region | ||||
| Northeast | 14.6 (9.0, 23.0) | 12.4 (10.5, 14.5) | 1.2 (0.7, 2.2) | 1.3 (0.7, 2.4) |
| Midwest | 27.9 (19.7, 37.9) | 23.5 (21.1, 26.0) | 1.3 (0.8, 2.0) | 1.1 (0.7, 1.8) |
| South | 41.6 (31.6, 52.3) | 43.4 (40.3, 46.4) | 0.9 (0.6, 1.4) | 1.1 (0.7, 1.7) |
| West | 16.0 (9.2, 26.2) | 20.8 (18.4, 23.4) | 0.7 (0.4, 1.4) | 0.7 (0.3, 1.2) |
| Urbanicity | ||||
| Urban | 14.9 (8.4, 25.0) | 16.7 (14.5, 19.1) | 0.9 (0.5, 1.7) | 1.0 (0.5, 1.8) |
| Suburban | 48.4 (38.0, 58.8) | 49.0 (46.0, 52.1) | 1.0 (0.6, 1.5) | 0.9 (0.6, 1.5) |
| Rural | 36.8 (27.4, 47.2) | 34.3 (31.4, 37.2) | 1.1 (0.7, 1.7) | 1.1 (0.7, 1.8) |
| Marital status | ||||
| Married or living with partner | 65.3 (54.2, 74.9) | 72.0 (68.9, 74.8) | 0.7 (0.5, 1.2) | 0.9 (0.5, 1.6) |
| Not married nor living with partner | 34.7 (25.1, 45.8) | 28.0 (25.2, 31.1) | 1.4 (0.8, 2.2) | 1.1 (0.6, 1.9) |
| Household size | ||||
| 1 | 21.0 (13.3, 31.5) | 18.8 (16.4, 21.5) | 1.1 (0.6, 2.0) | 1.6 (0.9, 2.8) |
| 2 | 27.8 (20.1, 37.1) | 44.6 (41.7, 47.7) | 0.5 (0.3, 0.7) | 0.7 (0.4, 1.1) |
| ≥ 3 | 51.2 (40.8, 61.6) | 36.5 (33.6, 39.6) | 1.8 (1.2, 2.8) | 1.0 (0.6, 1.7) |
| Age of youngest child in household | ||||
| No children | 60.7 (49.9, 70.6) | 74.2 (71.4, 76.9) | 0.5 (0.3, 0.8) | 0.9 (0.5, 1.6) |
| 0–12 y | 33.0 (23.6, 43.9) | 18.7 (16.4, 21.4) | 2.1 (1.3, 3.5) | 1.1 (0.6, 2.1) |
| 13–17 y | 6.3 (2.9, 12.9) | 7.0 (5.6, 8.9) | 0.9 (0.4, 2.0) | 0.8 (0.3, 1.9) |
| Political views | ||||
| Liberal | 27.9 (19.1, 38.8) | 12.8 (10.9, 15.1) | 2.6 (1.6, 4.4) | 2.7 (1.6, 4.6) |
| Moderate | 36.2 (26.6, 47.0) | 41.6 (38.6, 44.7) | 0.8 (0.5, 1.3) | 0.8 (0.5, 1.3) |
| Conservative | 35.9 (26.7, 46.4) | 45.6 (42.5, 48.6) | 0.7 (0.4, 1.0) | 0.7 (0.4, 1.0) |
| Grew up in a home with a gun | ||||
| No | 24.9 (17.4, 34.2) | 19.5 (17.1, 22.1) | 1.4 (0.9, 2.2) | 1.6 (1.0, 2.6) |
| Yes | 69.9 (60.1, 78.2) | 78.1 (75.3, 80.6) | 0.7 (0.4, 1.0) | 0.5 (0.3, 0.9) |
| Don’t know | 5.2 (2.1, 12.1) | 2.4 (1.6, 3.7) | 2.2 (0.8, 6.0) | 3.3 (1.1, 9.9) |
| Firearm training | ||||
| No | 41.2 (31.3, 51.9) | 38.0 (35.0, 41.0) | 1.1 (0.7, 1.8) | 1.2 (0.8, 2.0) |
| Yes | 58.8 (48.1, 68.7) | 62.0 (59.0, 65.0) | 0.9 (0.6, 1.4) | 0.8 (0.5, 1.3) |
Note. CI = confidence interval; NA = not applicable; OR = odds ratio.
a
Lived in a home without a gun at some point within past 5 years (2010–2015) but have since acquired all of their guns.
b
Acquired at least 1 gun more than 5 years ago (before 2010) or lived in a home with a gun persistently for the past 5 years, or both.
c
Odds of a given row characteristic among new gun owners divided by odds of that same row characteristic among long-standing gun owners.