I don’t expect a lot of discussion of gun rights policy from Men’s Health. If I want to find an exercise program or which supplements work best for prostate health, I go to them. They even have all kinds of tips on sex for men, but I don’t expect them to cover guns.
But in this day and age, it seems absolutely no publication knows how to stay in its lane. They have to all delve into politics, and normally, I resent that.
For Men’s Health, that apparently included a survey of gun ownership among men. That’s interesting because most surveys look at the population as a whole, which is all fine and good, but men have long made up the majority of gun owners and they also make up the majority of violent criminals and murder victims.
So what did they find?
Some absolutely fascinating stuff.
Guys Who First Fired a Gun:
Under the Age of 18:
- 57% own a gun primarily for protection
- 35% own for hunting
- 8% other
Guys Who First Fired a Gun:
Between the Ages of 18 and 24:
- 79% own for protection
- 15% own for hunting
- 6% other
Men Who Own One Gun Reported a …
- 2x higher rate of having fired a gun in anger
- 50% higher rate of having fired a gun in fear
- 60% higher rate of having threatened someone with a gun
- 25% higher rate of having injured someone with a gun
. . . than men who own four-plus guns.
Wait…that completely goes against the narrative of how having a bunch of guns is a big red warning flag of someone who is scary dangerous. This finds that people are more likely to do something stupid with a gun if they only have one versus “gun nuts” who have a pile of them.
Now, admittedly, this is a survey, which means self-reporting behavior, but it’s still pretty interesting.
Yet this is just the tip of the iceberg. Why? Because they also looked at some of these actions by political affiliation.
Gun Owners Who Identify as:
Democrats:
- 45% Own 1 gun
- 15% Own 4+ guns
Republicans:
- 27% Own 1 gun
- 28% Own 4+ guns
When We Asked Survey Respondents:
“Have you ever fired a gun in anger?”
- Democrats: 16% Yes
- Republicans: 10% Yes
“Have you ever threatened someone with a gun?”
- Democrats: 18% Yes
- Republicans: 11% Yes
“Have you ever used a gun to get what you want?”
- Democrats: 13% Yes
- Republicans: 6% Yes
You know, there’s long been a joke that the only gun control we need is to keep guns out of the hands of Democrats. That’s because there have been a number of mass shooters who seemed to have leftist leanings over the years, even if the media hasn’t really wanted to call them leftists. This survey suggests that there might be something to it beyond the mass killings.
The idea of Republicans owning more than four guns compared to Democrats isn’t really surprising. I’m shocked that it looks like more Democrat men own guns overall, based on these numbers, but I guess it is what it is.
In every other aspect, though, Democrats were more like to have done something troubling with a gun compared to Republicans.
Finally, it seems that Republicans are a bit more likely to be upset over mass shootings.
“Mass shootings make me feel angry or sad.”
- Democrats: 75% Yes
- Republicans: 79% Yes
It’s funny, too, because we’re the ones accused of not caring about these mass murders simply because we won’t agree to implement gun control. This survey says something very different, at least among men.
All in all, this isn’t what I’d read Men’s Health for, but it’s downright fascinating to see. All in all, it paints your typical “gun culture” bunch in a much more positive light than what the media normally presents.
Read the full article here
