Over one-fifth of Americans who have a gun in their household have added one since the Black Lives Matter anti-police protests began in late May and feel safer because they’ve done so.

Forty-three percent (43%) of American adults say they or someone in their household owns a gun, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey. Of these Americans, 22% say they or someone in their household has purchased a gun since the violent anti-police protests began. Fifty-four percent (54%) of adults who live in gun-owning households say they feel more safe with a gun in the house, although that’s down from 61% in February 2018. Only seven percent (7%) feel less safe. Thirty-eight percent (38%) think the presence of the gun has no impact on their personal safety. Among those who have added a gun in the last four months, however, 90% feel more safe. The survey of 1,000 American Adults was conducted October 4-5, 2020 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. Sixty-eight percent (68%) of Likely U.S. Voters are concerned that deadly attacks on the police will lead to a shortage of police officers and reduce public safety where they live, with 44% who are Very Concerned. Men are more likely than women to have a gun in the household and to have added one since late May. Those under 40 are more likely than their elders to have gotten a gun since the violent protests began.  [full article]