A new survey funded with CDC involvement has gun control advocates seeing red. The updated National Firearms Survey, conducted by professor William English, reports an annual average of 2.2 million defensive gun uses in the United States—up from 1.67 million in the original 2021 survey. The findings, reported by American Thinker, have been met with dismay by activists who had hoped the redo would undermine earlier numbers.
The survey was re-administered after critics lambasted the original methodology. English tweaked the design to address alleged flaws, including specifically instructing respondents to count only firearms they personally own, not household guns. Yet the results still showed a significant increase in defensive gun use and a broader, more diverse population of gun owners.
Gun control advocates had been desperate for data showing that few Americans own AR-15s or magazines holding more than ten rounds, especially with the Supreme Court set to clarify the ‘in common use’ test from the Bruen decision. Instead, the new survey estimates 26.4 million Americans own AR-15s and 44.5 million own high-capacity magazines. The numbers are likely low, given survey sampling limitations and gun owners’ wariness of such inquiries.
The original 2021 survey found 1.67 million defensive gun uses annually—a figure that activists called implausible. The new dataset yielded an even higher estimate of 2.2 million. Part of the increase may stem from a new question about protection against animal attacks, which accounted for over 8% of reported uses.
Surge in public carrying
The survey also found that an estimated 33.6 million Americans are ‘public carriers’—individuals with a concealed carry permit who carry for self-defense at least sometimes. That marks a 60% increase in five years. The proportion of Americans carrying guns for self-defense jumped from 56% in the original survey to a jaw-dropping new level.
This rise follows a wave of permitless carry laws enacted since July 1, 2021. Twelve states, home to over 117 million people, have passed such measures, and the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen has made public carry more accessible—even if ten states still make it difficult, expensive, and time-consuming to obtain a permit.
The combination of looser carry laws and record violent crime spikes has led many Americans to reconsider the importance of armed self-defense in public, the survey suggests. This cultural shift is not what gun control advocates had hoped to see.
Diversity among gun owners
The new survey also challenges stereotypes about who owns guns. An even greater proportion of gun owners now come from demographic groups that historically owned guns at lower rates. This includes women, whose ownership rates increased by 3.5% compared to 2021, even after the survey explicitly excluded spouses’ firearms. Anti-gun activists had previously argued that women overstated their ownership by counting their husbands’ guns.
According to American Thinker, these findings are a triumph for reality over ideology. The article suggests that increases in gun ownership, carrying, and defensive use are a direct response to ‘Democrat rhetoric, threats, and policies.’
The survey is published at a politically charged moment. Gun control activists are likely to question its methodology, but English’s decision to re-run the survey with adjustments was meant to preempt such criticism. The results appear to have only strengthened the case for widespread gun ownership and self-defense.
Source: www.americanthinker.com — https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/09/the-cdc-s-new-new-report-gun-grabbers-are-appalled/