Gun control activists demanded better data. What they got surprised the heck out of them |
Opinion
Gun control activists demanded better data. What they got surprised the heck out of them
The 2026 National Firearms Survey also found the previous survey underestimated defensive gun use
By Amy Swearer Fox News
Published September 4, 2026 5:00am EDT
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A Georgetown professor just taught gun control activists an important lesson: When you criticize studies that don’t support anti-gun talking points, be careful what you wish for — you just might get it. In this case, they got an unprecedented amount of new data that obliterates their narrative.
In 2021, Professor William English published the findings of his National Firearms Survey, by far the most comprehensive assessment of gun ownership ever conducted. The data demonstrated that defensive gun uses were commonplace, that ordinary Americans really like the weapons gun control activists hate most and that longstanding stereotypes about the "sort" of Americans who exercise their Second Amendment rights were misplaced.
Gun control activists predictably hated this. They attacked the report’s conclusions and author, blasting the survey over nitpicky concerns. English explained how the alleged problems wouldn’t have significantly impacted the results. Critics categorically dismissed the report anyway.
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So, English humored them. He re-administered the survey, "fixing" its alleged "mistakes."
Bryan Zielinski displays a rifle in his gun store in Post Falls, Idaho. (Hannah Ray Lambert/Fox News Digital)
If gun control activists hated the 2021 conclusions, they will likely lose their minds over the new ones, which English just released online. The improved and redesigned 2026 survey fails to vindicate their criticisms and deals even mightier blows to anti-gun narratives.
Here are four of the most significant findings from........