Gun ownership for political protection or armed political expression: a nationally representative analysis of differences in 2025 vs. 2023

Abstract

Background: Reasons for gun ownership have shifted from primarily for hunting, to protection from other people, and increasingly for concerns about political violence. In 2023, these reasons differed by party affiliation. In the aftermath of the 2024 Presidential election, the objective of this study was to compare gun owners’ reasons for gun ownership in January 2025 vs. 2023, overall and by political party affiliation. Methods: We analyzed two waves of gun owning respondents to the National Survey of Gun Policy (n = 2,003). In both waves, fielded 1/4/23 − 2/6/23 and 1/6/25 − 1/24/25, respondents identified personally important reasons for gun ownership from 10 potential reasons (e.g., at-home protection, out-of-home protection, protection from police, ideological conflict, hunting or recreation). We calculated weighted proportions to generate nationally representative estimates and compared reasons for gun ownership in 2025 to 2023 overall and by political affiliation (i.e., Republican, Democrat, or Independent). Results: In 2025 (vs. 2023), more gun owners valued gun ownership “for protection at demonstrations, rallies, or protests” (42% vs. 35%) and for hunting (81% vs. 74%), but fewer valued ownership “to advance an important political objective” (22% vs. 35%). Increases were largely driven by Republican gun owners, who also rated higher at-home protection (97% vs. 93%) and protection against police violence (34% vs. 25%). Fewer Republican, Democrat, and Independent gun owners valued ownership “to advance an important political objective.” Conclusions: As political violence escalated nationally, larger portions of gun owners rejected such violence, while also seeking to protect themselves from it. Safety and policy implications are discussed.