What Millennials Think About Guns

Millennials are the next generation of gun owners. They range in age from 18 to 30 years of age. Understanding what they are thinking about guns can help set the stage for the next few years in the gun industry.

According to The Christian Science Monitor, approximately 9 out of 10 young adults agree with criminal background checks for people who purchase guns. These background checks should include any previous legal charges and mental health cases. In a GenForward survey, 59 percent of the responders reported that guns protect people from being victims of gun-related crimes. Millennials don’t seem to be concerned about more people carrying guns because they feel as though guns protect innocent people. They simply don’t want the guns in the wrong hands. This makes sense.

As far as policies having to do with guns and gun violence, 89%  of Millennials believe there needs to be stricter gun law penalties for those who violate them. Many of them (68%) believe there should be more police in public places – probably armed ones. This goes along with having more guns in the hands of those who will use them to protect the innocent.

Just over half of the respondents in the survey believe semi-automatic weapons should be banned. These semi-automatic weapons have long had a bad reputation, so it’s no surprise Millennials are carrying this thought forward. Controlling gun ownership versus gun rights is a matter that has often come up in debates for good reason. Millennials believe that it’s important to protect the Second Amendment – the right to bear arms. They do not want that to be revoked. However, they do believe that gun ownership needs to be controlled.

Millennials want to make sure citizens who want to own guns can own them, as long as they are not a threat to themselves or others. They want guns taken away from people who are at risk of using a gun in violent ways. This generation understands the seriousness of guns and all of the ways it has been and can be used. They want the government to push guns towards a positive place, so that it can be used for protection and not as a weapon. This generation is the one that will continue to shape the future of the gun industry.