(The Center Square) – A new National Firearms Survey finds an estimated 88 million American adults own approximately 461 million firearms as questions about guns and public safety swirl in Washington state and nationwide.
Authored by Prof. William English at the McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University, the survey contains some eye-opening information about gun ownership, including the types of firearms people own, and how many people have used them for self-defense purposes.
The results could also have a bearing on a pair of Second Amendment cases to be argued this Fall before the U.S. Supreme Court.
The report “summarizes the main findings of the second wave of the National Firearms Survey, conducted in July and August of 2026,” English writes. “Like the first wave, which was fielded in early 2021, this survey aims to provide the most comprehensive assessment of firearms ownership and use patterns in America to date, and it does so with a sample large enough to make well-powered, statistically informative inferences within individual states.”
Dave Workman, communications director for the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms told The Center Square the findings are clear evidence that increasing numbers of gun owners across the country has not translated to an increase in violent crime.
“It shows without question that during the period of 2024 to 2025, when crime was declining by more than 18%, U.S. gun ownership was probably at its peak,” said Workman.
“It really puts the lie to the argument that more guns in private hands is going to result in more violent crime across the country. More guns does not equal more crime.”
Workman noted the results could play into two cases going before the U.S. Supreme Court this fall: Viramontes v. Cook County from Illinois, and Grant v. Higgins from Connecticut.
Workman said in the Connecticut case, the fact that 24% of all firearms owners in America own an AR-15 type weapon will play into the arguments.
“It’s a challenge of the Connecticut state statute, banning these so-called assault rifles, which they’re really not,” said Workman, noting that having millions of law-abiding Americans owning AR-15s can’t go unnoticed by the high court.
“It does show, beyond any doubt, that modern semiautomatic rifles, the AR15s, the AKs….they are in common use, and that is a deciding factor as far as being protected by the Second Amendment,” he said.
“I think it’s going to knock a cornerstone of the argument out from under the gun prohibition lobby.”
The Center Square reached out to Washington’s Alliance for Gun Responsibility for comment on the firearms survey and to find out what the gun lobby priorities will be for the 2027 legislative session in Olympia.
AGR’s Chief of Staff Ryan Disch-Guzman said they believe there are many more firearms out there than the survey reflects.
“They are surveying firearms owners. But there are many more firearms out there on the black market and stolen firearms that aren’t possible to trace in a survey like that,” Disch-Guzman said.
“And that’s one of the reasons why we are going to be pushing for safe storage policies.”
He said AGR will be pressing for tougher safe-storage laws during the 2027 legislative session.
“Majority of guns that are used in crimes in Washington come from stolen firearms, most likely from a vehicle. So that’s why we need to update our policies to make sure that folks are securing their firearms in vehicles and securing them at home,” he said.
The 2027 session will be the third year in a row that gun-controlled advocates have pushed a bill that would require gun owners to put locked storage in vehicles and homes for their firearms.
As reported by The Center Square, the hotly debated House Bill 1152 fell just short of reaching the governor’s desk in the 2025 session and failed again in the 2026 session.
Starting May 1, 2027, Washington State House Bill 1163 will require Washington residents to obtain a five-year state-issued purchase permit from the Washington State Patrol before buying any firearm, and to pay to take a live-fire training course before obtaining a firearm of any type.
Disch-Guzman at AGR supports the requirements.
“It’s vital and important to learn the safety of a firearm. To learn how to use it appropriately. Majority of gun owners believe that. So that’s why we push for that policy.”
As reported by The Center Square, the Washington State Patrol has reported a surge in recent years in residents seeking concealed carry permits.
In December 2020, 628,287 Washington residents held a concealed carry permit. That number grew to 696,438 in December 2022. It dipped to 693,188 by December 2023 and was just over 700,000 at the end of 2024.