Poll: Alabamians, other Southerners more likely to own guns, be conservative, be proud of America

According to an extensive study conducted by the Pew Research Center, Alabamians and other Southerners are more likely to own guns, hold conservative political views and “feel proud to be American” than individuals who live in other parts of the United States, especially the Northeast.

The Pew Research Center conducted their annual “American Trends Panel” survey of 3,243 adults between April 29 and May 27.

Here are 5 takeaways Yellowhammer gleaned from the poll, some of them followed by a comment from Pew’s senior editor Rich Morin.

Most of them probably aren’t surprising, but do any jump out at you as unexpected? Let us know in the comment section below.

1. Roughly one-third of Americans with children under 18 have a gun in the home

…including 34% of families with children younger than 12. That’s nearly identical to the share of childless adults or those with older children who have a firearm at home.

2. Nationally, whites are about twice as likely to own a gun than blacks and hispanics

While blacks are significantly more likely than whites to be gun homicide victims, blacks are only about half as likely as whites to have a firearm in their home (41% vs. 19%). Hispanics are less likely than blacks to be gun homicide victims and half as likely as whites to have a gun at home (20%).

3. The racial divide between gun owners and non-gun owners is even greater in the South

White southerners are significantly more likely to have a gun at home (47%) than whites in other regions. But because blacks disproportionately live in the South and are only half as likely to have a gun at home as whites, the overall rate for the southern region falls to 38%.

4. 49% of Republicans, 22% percent of Democrats and 37% of Independents own a gun

5. Americans who have a gun at home see themselves differently than do other adults

Adults in gun-owning households are more likely to think of themselves as an “outdoor person” (68% vs. 51%) or “a typical American” (72% vs. 62%), and to say “honor and duty are my core values” (59% vs. 48%).

6. Gun owners are really proud to be Americans

About six-in-ten gun household members (64%) say they “often feel proud to be American.” In contrast, about half (51%) of other adults say this.

7. Gun owners are more likely to be sportsmen

Not surprisingly, members of gun-owning households are more than twice as likely to identify themselves as a “hunter, fisher or sportsman” (37% vs. 16%).

Here are a five other interesting stats from the survey that don’t have anything to do with guns:

1. Support for gay marriage has exactly doubled since 1996, from 27% to 54%.

2. Support for marijuana legalization has more than doubled since 1995, from 25% to 54%

3. More individuals favor Common Core (46%) than oppose (39%) based on what they’ve heard so far. However, 40% say they know “nothing at all” about Common Core. Also the “strong opposition” (15%) is more widespread than the “strong support” (9%).

4. More Americans still oppose ObamaCare (53%) than approve (43%), but those who oppose are torn about what they want their elected officials to do now that it is being implemented. 30% want to their elected officials to “do what they can to make it work,” while 19% want them to “do what they can to make it fail.”

5. 51% of Americans think abortion should be legal “in all or most cases,” while 43% think it should be illegal.

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