11 Facts About Guns

1. 70 to 80 million Americans own guns.
2. 40-45% of households in the U.S. contain a gun. This translates into a loaded gun in one in every ten households with children, and a gun that’s left unlocked and just “hidden away” in one in every eight family homes.
3. The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states, "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."
4. As of January, 2011, 39 states have laws permitting individuals with gun licenses to carry concealed guns in the streets.
5. The Federal Gun Free School Zone Act of 1995 states that people with guns cannot walk within 1,000 feet of any school (kindergarten to 12th grade).
6. There are no federal laws that prevent minor access to guns.
7. In 2010, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence graded Obama an "F" on gun control, citing "extraordinary silence and passivity."
8. In 2009, the federal government performed 14 million background checks on gun purchases.
9. Only nine states have trigger-lock laws, where gun sellers are required to sell integrated or internal trigger locks with handguns.
10. Most guns used in crimes are stolen, either from homes or gun dealers.
11. Federal law requires federally licensed dealers to report guns that they know have been lost or stolen to law enforcement.