National Firearms Survey, 1999

This survey was undertaken to obtain information on the
characteristics of gun ownership, gun storage and gun carrying
practices, and weapons-related incidents in the United
States--specifically, use of guns and other weapons in self-defense
against other people. Data were collected using national random-digit
dial telephone surveys completed between March 19, 1999 and July 13,
1999. Sampling was suspended after the school shooting in Littleton,
Colorado on April 20, 1999, and resumed after a cool-down period.
Part 1, Survey Data, contains the coded data obtained during the
interviews, and Part 2, Open-Ended Verbatim Responses, consists of
open-ended answers provided by the respondents. Four qualifying
questions were asked, dealing with: (1) gun ownership, (2) gun display
against the respondent, (3) gun use in self-defense against another
person, and (4) the use of a weapon other than a gun in self-defense
against another person. A "yes" response to a qualifying question led
to a series of additional questions on the same topic as the
qualifying question. Information was collected from all respondents on
the perceived safety of their neighborhood, whether they would feel
safer if more people owned guns, whether guns should be allowed in
public places, whether gun injuries were a problem in their community,
whether they would favor or oppose a program to reduce gun injuries,
and whether they had ever been shot with a gun. Respondents living in
households that currently contained a gun were asked how many and what
type of guns were present, the main reasons for owning a gun, whether
any of the guns were loaded and unlocked, and whether they had
received formal firearms training. Questions about incidents in which
a gun was displayed in a hostile manner against the respondent
included the number of times it took place, how long ago it had
occurred, whether the respondent was in the military or police force
at the time, the location of the incident, whether the individual
displaying the gun was known to the respondent, whether the respondent
had a gun, and whether the police were contacted. Respondents who had
used a gun or other weapon in self-defense in the last five years were
asked about the number of times it took place, the location of the
incident, whether they were in the military or police force at the
time, the type of weapon used, whether they knew the other person,
whether this individual also had a weapon, whether the police were
contacted and arrests made, and what crime was committed. Additional
questions asked respondents whether they smoked cigarettes, drank
alcohol, whether they had gotten married, had had a fire in their
home, and had been hospitalized for a fracture in the past year, and
whether they had ever had contact with extraterrestrial life.
Demographic variables include sex, age, race, education level,
household income, type of residential area (e.g., urban, rural, etc.),
and age and number of children in the household.