Three-Percenters

Arsenals of fear:

The study, released before publication to the Trace and the Guardian, estimates that nearly half of the 265 million guns now owned privately belong to just 3 percent of Americans. Though most of the country’s 55 million gun owners possess one to three guns, about 7.7 million owners have eight or more.

Most of the guns added in the last twenty years are also handguns, often procured for self defense, the Trace reported. Smaller guns like revolvers and pistols have boosted the percentage of handguns to 42 percent of the national stock, compared to just 34 percent in 1994.