Table 1.
Demographic and firearm-related characteristics of older firearm owners (≥65 years; N=1,001).
| Total (n = 1,001) |
|
|---|---|
| Weighted % (95%CI) | |
| Age (years) | |
| 65-74 | 70.5 (67.1, 73.6) |
| 75+ | 29.5 (26.4, 32.9) |
| Median, IQR | 71.0 (68.0, 76.0) |
| Gender | |
| Male | 73.7 (70.2, 77.0) |
| Female | 26.3 (23.0, 29.8) |
| Race/ethnicity | |
| White/non-Hispanic | 81.4 (78.0, 84.4) |
| Black/non-Hispanic | 8.3 (6.2, 10.9) |
| Other/non-Hispanic | 3.2 (2.0, 5.0) |
| Hispanic | 7.1 (5.1, 9.8) |
| Veteran | 37.5 (34.2, 41.0) |
| Education | |
| High school degree or less | 39.3 (35.6, 43.2) |
| At least some college | 60.7 (56.8, 64.3) |
| Household size, mean (95%CI) | 2.1 (2.0, 2.2) |
| Household income | |
| <$50,000 | 29.9 (26.7, 33.3) |
| $50,000-<$85,000 | 26.1 (23.1, 29.4) |
| $85,000-<$150,000 | 23.2 (20.4, 26.2) |
| $150,000+ | 20.8 (17.9, 24.0) |
| Married | 74.6 (71.4, 77.5) |
| Currently working | 25.5 (22.6, 28.7) |
| Current caregiver for someone with dementia | 4.0 (2.9, 5.6) |
| Lives in a metropolitan statistical area | 78.7 (75.6, 81.6) |
| Region of residence | |
| Northeast | 9.9 (8.0, 12.1) |
| Midwest | 21.1 (18.4, 24.0) |
| South | 46.3 (42.8, 50.0) |
| West | 22.7 (19.8, 25.8) |
| Total number firearms owned (median, IQR) | 3 (1, 5) |
| Types of firearms owned | |
| Handgun | 82.2 (79.3, 84.7) |
| Long gun | 66.9 (63.3, 70.3) |
| Has had formal firearms training | 64.0 (60.5, 67.5) |
| Frequency of handling firearms for any reason over past year | |
| Daily | 5.2 (3.6, 7.0) |
| Weekly | 7.8 (6.1, 9.8) |
| Monthly | 9.4 (7.5, 11.8) |
| A few times a year | 30.9 (27.6, 34.3) |
| Once in the past year | 16.0 (13.6, 18.7) |
| Not in the past year | 30.8 (27.6, 34.2) |
| Has carried a loaded handgun in the past 30 days | 18.0 (15.3, 21.0) |
| Have ever stored a gun for a friend/family member because concerned wasn't safe to have access to a gun | 8.5 (6.5, 11.0) |
| Has written advance directive for medical decision-making in event are unable to make medical decisions for themselves | 64.1 (60.5, 67.5) |
| Plan for securing, removing, or transferring firearms if they became unsafe to handle them | |
| Has written plan | 5.6 (3.9, 8.0) |
| Has plan, but not written | 16.1 (13.7, 18.8) |
| Thought about, but no plan | 15.1 (12.7, 18.0) |
| Haven’t thought about | 63.1 (59.6, 66.7) |
| Plan for transferring firearms to someone else upon death | |
| Has written plan | 22.5 (19.6, 25.7) |
| Has plan, but not written | 25.4 (22.3, 28.7) |
| Thought about, but no plan | 17.2 (14.7, 20.1) |
| Haven’t thought about | 34.9 (31.6, 38.3) |