One Scary Stat. Six Hopeful Wins.
Here’s an unnerving bit of data. A new study indicates that roughly 7 percent of the U.S. population—or 19 million people—has seriously thought about shooting another person in their lifetime. Where did such a sobering stat come from? The National Firearms, Alcohol, Cannabis, and Suicide survey, which is run by the University of Michigan, most recently between May and September 2025.
Among those who say they’ve considered carrying out this violent act at some point in their lives, there are some common risk factors: being younger, living in a city, living in the Midwest, having less formal education. But guess what’s not associated with any higher risk? Being a gun owner. That may surprise some readers, but it doesn’t surprise us at 97Percent, where we know that gun owners are among the most staunch proponents of responsible gun ownership.
Most of that 7 percent of Americans will never carry out the violent act they’ve thought about. Targeted prevention efforts can help in other cases, and on that front, recent weeks have seen a number of wins for gun safety. There was progress in the courts in Connecticut, Ohio, and Texas, and in Virginia, a package of gun safety legislation has been sent to the governor’s desk. Lawmakers in Michigan have introduced gun safety measures, and a new law has gone into effect in Massachusetts.