So much for gun ownership surveys

Hear ye!  Hear ye!  The most recent ‘wisdom’ from ‘the latest General Social Survey‘:

The number of Americans who live in a household with at least one gun is lower than it’s ever been, according to a major American trend survey that finds the decline in gun ownership is paralleled by a reduction in the number of Americans who hunt.

According to the latest General Social Survey, 32 percent of Americans either own a firearm themselves or live with someone who does, which ties a record low set in 2010. That’s a significant decline since the late 1970s and early 1980s, when about half of Americans told researchers there was a gun in their household.

The General Social Survey is conducted by NORC, an independent research organization based at the University of Chicago, with money from the National Science Foundation. Because of its long-running and comprehensive set of questions about the demographics, behaviors and attitudes of the American public, it is a highly regarded source of data about social trends.

There’s more at the link.

Sounds like bullshit on a stick, if you ask me.  For a start, if I get a phone call from someone I’ve never heard of, claiming to represent an allegedly ‘respectable’ research organization and asking whether I’ve got items in my house that are highly desirable to thieves, how do you think I’m going to answer them?  They can forget about getting honest feedback from me, right there and then!  I daresay I’m far from the only person with such a reaction.  Furthermore, here are three easily-confirmed observations:

1. The number of background checks on firearms sales isn’t exactly evidence of any ‘decline’ in firearms ownership. Since President Obama took office, the increase has been mind-boggling (link is to an official US Government chart in Adobe Acrobat .PDF format).  Furthermore, they refer only to purchases in gun shops or at gun shows that require a background check.  (Such checks aren’t exactly effective at ‘stopping gun violence’, either.)
2. Background checks aren’t conducted or required in most states for face-to-face private transfers of firearms.  To mention just one example, check out Armslist for your state (or, if yours requires background checks on private transfers, for another state that doesn’t).  See for yourself how many firearms are being advertised by private citizens like you and I.  The last several firearms I’ve bought and sold have all been through private, ‘off-paper’ deals (the last one was only four days ago).  I intend to do more such deals in future.  I can get better prices that way, whether selling, buying or swapping.  (I’m looking to swap a couple of Glocks right now for different models, and already have someone interested in one of them.)  Does it bother me that no-one is undergoing background checks for such purchases?  No.  Why should it?  I don’t assume that anyone buying a gun privately is automatically a criminal, and neither should anyone else in the absence of evidence to the contrary.
3. I’ve been training others to shoot for many years.  Without exception, every year has seen an increase in the number of those seeking training or advice.  “What gun should I buy?”  “How should I train?”  “What and how much ammo should I keep in the house?”  These and other questions have been addressed in articles here (see the list in the sidebar).  I take the time to do that because there are more and more people looking for answers.  That hardly squares with a decline in gun ownership, does it?

Nope.  I’ll take this story with a pinch of salt and several pinches of gunpowder.  Makes the salt taste better, you know . . . almost like the bitter tears of lamenting, lying gun-grabbers.  Aaaahh!  Savor the flavor!

Peter