Black Enterprise Magazine wrote an article in August, 2020 detailing the spike in gun ownership and general interest among African Americans, stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic as well as the protest against law enforcement that has gripped the country. While this may be a troubling sign for many, there are others who believe these events are pushing more black Americans to embrace a right that many feel we neglect and take for granted far too often.
The Pew Research Center conducted a survey in 2017 detailing the estimates in gun ownership by racial group. Now, I think everyone knows that white Americans own the majority of guns in this country, but the statistics may surprise you a bit:
For whites, 36% or respondents to the study said that they personally own and gun while another 49% said that they live in a househld where someone else owns a gun.
For blacks, the numbers were 24% saying that they personally own a gun and another 32% saying they live in a household where someone else owns a gun.
Those stats were pre-Covid-19, lockdowns and BLM protests, so it’s safe to say that number has jumped drastically since March 2020.
In March 2020 alone, 700,000 additional guns were bought and in June, the numbers jumped by 50% as well. Comparing black gun owners in June 2020 to June 2019, the numbers jumped about 58% in that time frame.
A lot of black people may just have a general interest in becoming a gun owner, but the current events tell us that people in general are worried about the current state of things and would rather arms themselves than rely on the government or law enforcement with their lives and the lives of their loved one. I for one think that is a good thing.
It is long overdue.
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