Researchers at the University of Michigan conducted the study, which found that almost 79 percent of American gun owners cited personal protection as their primary reason for owning a firearm. This represents a significant increase compared to prior decades and highlights a significant shift in the motivations for gun ownership.

The study also found that gun owners in states with “stand your ground” laws were more likely to carry firearms outside of their homes. About 50.1 percent of gun owners in these states said they have guns in their possessions while they are out of the house, compared to about 34.9 percent in states without stand your ground laws.

Gender and race also played critical roles in the motivation for purchasing firearms. Black and Asian women, in particular, were more likely to own guns for protection than other groups. Interestingly enough, political affiliation played almost no part in this trend, which suggests that recognizing the need for personal protection transcends partisan lines.

The study estimates that about 65 million Americans own firearms for protection, which reflects a societal shift in favor of gun ownership. Of course, the authors of the report had to give the obligatory anti-gunner talking points about the supposed higher likelihood of firearm-related injury among those who possess firearms. Notably absent from the report is the fact that gun owners are more likely to use their guns to defend themselves than to commit violent crimes.

Nevertheless, heightened rates of gun ownership reflect the times in which we lives. Dr. David Yamane, professor of sociology at Wake Forest University, told CNN that today’s era resembles the 1960s in some ways.

In some ways, the years of the pandemic mirrored the social movements of the 1960s.

“If you think about the year of 2020, it really had some of those characteristics,” Yamane said. “There was Covid, which rolls immediately into the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests, which rolls immediately then into an insane presidential election that rolls immediately into the insurrection at the Capitol.”

Yamane, who supports gun ownership, indicated that people started worrying about their safety, which prompted them to become gun owners.

The results of the survey highlight a shift in people’s mindsets about guns. Folks are less afraid of firearms and more willing to consider purchasing one. As Yamane indicated, rising crime rates and an increasingly tense political environment play a significant role in this trend. People are realizing that they are ultimately responsible for their own safety since the government cannot always protect them.

However, the anti-gunners are not giving up even though the tide is turning. The Reload published a report recently indicating that prominent anti-gunner groups are spending tons of cash to push their agenda.

Giffords, Everytown for Gun Safety, and Brady have raised a combined $588,386 for their Political Action Committees (PACs). Their spending surpasses that of the National Rifle Association and other gun-rights groups. With the decline of the NRA, other groups are trying to step up in the battle to protect our Second Amendment rights.

Needless to say, these developments are encouraging, but we should not become complacent. While more Americans understand the importance of gun ownership, this will become irrelevant if the anti-gunners manage to pass legislation that would empower the government to further restrict our rights to keep and bear arms. These people are not giving up – which means we shouldn’t either.