New York Times reports less gun owners in the U.S.

[Blackdog765]

I didn't get to read the whole article, and apologize for not having the link, I know that isn't very good. I saw it at Starbucks and was able to gloss through the concept of the article.

Basically what I think they were reporting is that there are less gun owners in the U.S. today, based upon the survey that they researched themselves.

My immediate thought was, I wouldn't tell the New York Times that I owned any guns if they asked. And of course I don't own any, but if I did I wouldn't admit to it. Did anyone else see that article and am I right in what they were proposing?

I felt like it was their attempt at claiming there are less people owning them today anyway, other than the fringe kooks, so what would it hurt to ban the guns? They didn't come out and say that directly, but that was the angle I thought they were going for in the article.

Did you see the article today, and what did you think?

 

[jwh20]

Perhaps this is the article you mentioned:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/us/rate-of-gun-ownership-is-down-survey-shows.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

 

[rugertoter]

The New York Times...what a crappy rag.

 

[Shiban]

How much of this is due to the fact that gun ownership has been villanized so much, that people aren't responding truthfully?

 

[dam7]

I heard a report on the radio on this story , however as in any survey you can tailor the questions to achieve a desired result, who was surveyed ,what the sample amount ,what is the error percentage,.. I agree in the present environment no one is going to admit to gun ownership to a pollster.... I know of several co employees who would never have considered owning a fire arm who have purchased one or two. In the past 4 months

 

[pudly]

This makes perfect sense. All of those guns that have been flying off the shelves for the last few months have been going to existing gun owners. No new owners out there. Oh, and all of the people buying up ammo. Those are old owners as well. And all of those people taking Handgun 101 classes, they are old gun owners as well... Ummm...

I think they NY Times contracted with the North Korean news service for this survy.

 

[nipprdog]

That crap is spreading beyond NY;

American homes less likely to have gun | The Columbus Dispatch

 

[LarryC]

I'm a retired engineer, I have worked with statistics for many years. The statistics and surveys are much the same. These are only as unbiased as the person calculating the statistics or conducting the survey. If you take say 20% of your survey in New York, 15% in Chicago - and pick up 40% in California for the rural study, possible 10% in Illinois and New Jersey, then pick out a southern state (or an area of certain states) that has strict gun control - you get the "trend" you are wanting to see. In addition, in the last 10 years less and less people are "admitting" to firearm ownership. Can't take them if you can't find them.

 

[PX4me]

All of those guns that have been flying off the shelves for the last few months have been going to existing gun owners. No new owners out there.

Forget the purple?

 

[Jarhead77]

Liars figure and figures lie. Gun sale have grown exponentially since December. Columbus....,Ohio State huh? I guess them buckeyes are not too smart are they.

 

[DRob]

Geez

And the reason we pay attention to any of this is..........................?????

 

[No2rdame]

And the reason we pay attention to any of this is..........................?????

Because these sorts of BS "polls" are what politicians use to push their agendas and what the ignorant masses of people read and choose to believe. So, these polls help sway public opinion and political motives.

 

[funeralweb]

Because these sorts of BS "polls" are what politicians use to push their agendas and what the ignorant masses of people read and choose to believe. So, these polls help sway public opinion and political motives.

Yep. It's called "propaganda". Funny how we used to criticize the USSR for feeding it to their people and now our government has its own low information people on a steady diet of it.

 

[gunworks321]

The New York Times...what a crappy rag.

In a pinch...toilet paper.

 

[SnoopLoggyDog]

I think the quote from Mark Twain said it best, "'There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.'"

 

[BogWalker]

I do believe firearms owners as a percentage of population is down a few points since the 1960's isn't it? It's only gone up as of late though I'm sure.

 

[cook4army]

Personally, I think it's a combination of all of the things listed....where you poll, the questions asked, the organization doing the polling, and of course those who feel the need to screw with the percentage numbers on both sides, the age and gender of those being polled, and a few other things I'm sure I'm forgetting.

Point is.....if you choose to believe everything that's written, then you are either a person very easily swayed by people, or you've led a very secluded life.

No tin foil hat needed here to see what's going on with all of these things corresponding with other events.....like I've said before....I don't believe in coincidences.

 

[Redtbird]

Personally, I would be hesitant to accept these "results" at face value, considering the University of Chicago did the survey. They interviewed about 2000 people to get their results. If they hit all 50 states, that's about 40 per state. Not a very big sample at all.

But as someone said earlier in this thread, the politicians will take this, show it to their constituents, and say, "Look! Look at these numbers! Polls like DO NOT LIE! This is the truth!" (I can almost hear Cuomo yelling these words while waving his arms wildly about his head).

 

[Classic]

Since many households have lost all their firearms in boating accidents.......then this may make sense.

 

[cook4army]

Personally, I would be hesitant to accept these "results" at face value, considering the University of Chicago did the survey. They interviewed about 2000 people to get their results. If they hit all 50 states, that's about 40 per state. Not a very big sample at all.

But as someone said earlier in this thread, the politicians will take this, show it to their constituents, and say, "Look! Look at these numbers! Polls like DO NOT LIE! This is the truth!" (I can almost hear Cuomo yelling these words while waving his arms wildly about his head).

All the while screaming "you don't need 30 bullets to kill a deer!!!"