More Americans are buying guns for personal protection. A recent survey by Pew Research Center found two out of every three gun owners now cite self-defense as the reason for having a gun.
Nearly 40 percent make sure it’s loaded and easily accessible.
“About five or six years ago handguns replaced long guns as Americans' gun of choice, so we've moved from a hunting gun culture to a handgun and self-defense culture,” says Robert Farago, author of TheTruthAboutGuns.com.
“We have a very strong and vibrant gun culture in the United States,” he says. “A lot of that had to do with the Second Amendment protecting us from tyranny with a lot of immigrants in America, tens of millions of them, who have first-hand or second-hand experience with tyranny.”
Farago says the next logical step for gun rights is national reciprocity.
“There are people who want to impose their will upon the people, so we have to be armed and ready to protect ourselves whether those are criminals, terrorist, crazies or the government itself,” he says.
However, Farago admits reciprocity will likely have to take a backseat to health care, immigration and border security for at least another year or two.