> My bubble extends well beyond "small town USA".
Paradoxically, I don't have a single friend in Chicago, Denver, Miami, Los Angeles, etc that carries a gun.
And yet, I know people in each of those cities that own firearms.
> This is anecdotal but statistics back it up. Most gun ownership is rural...
The study you cited doesn't support that claim. What the study says is "Among those who live in rural areas, 46% say they are gun owners, compared with 28% of those who live in the suburbs and 19% in urban areas."
This means <10% of the population is a rural gun owner. Your study also states "When it comes to hunting, however, rural gun owners are far more likely than their urban or suburban counterparts to say it is as an important reason they own a gun; 48% of gun owners in rural areas say this." Also note the study says 30% of rural firearm owners do so for sport shooting, 15% as part of a collection, and 8% as a requirement for their job.
Less than half of rural gun owners do so solely for protection. All in all, <4% of the US population owns a gun in a rural area solely for protection. That's a pretty far cry from your original claim that Americans live in a culture of fear.
And yet, I know people in each of those cities that own firearms.
> This is anecdotal but statistics back it up. Most gun ownership is rural...
The study you cited doesn't support that claim. What the study says is "Among those who live in rural areas, 46% say they are gun owners, compared with 28% of those who live in the suburbs and 19% in urban areas."
You're failing to consider that <20% of the population lives in rural areas according to the latest 2010 census: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/geography/guidance/g...
This means <10% of the population is a rural gun owner. Your study also states "When it comes to hunting, however, rural gun owners are far more likely than their urban or suburban counterparts to say it is as an important reason they own a gun; 48% of gun owners in rural areas say this." Also note the study says 30% of rural firearm owners do so for sport shooting, 15% as part of a collection, and 8% as a requirement for their job.
Less than half of rural gun owners do so solely for protection. All in all, <4% of the US population owns a gun in a rural area solely for protection. That's a pretty far cry from your original claim that Americans live in a culture of fear.