Over 26 million Americans became first-time gun owners since 2020. Here's who they are and why safety training has never been more important.
new ownersdemographicssafetytrends
If you picture the "typical" gun owner in your mind, there's a decent chance the image doesn't look like me. Queer, non-binary, tattooed, hula hooper. And yet here I am, ten years of military service and an armory's worth of firearms in my care.
The truth is, the face of gun ownership in America has changed dramatically - and the data backs it up. Let's talk numbers.
The Big Picture
According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, 26.2 million Americans became first-time gun owners between 2020 and 2024. That's not 26 million guns sold - that's 26 million people who had never owned a firearm before deciding that now was the time.
To put that in perspective, about 32% of U.S. adults say they personally own a gun (Pew Research Center, survey of June 2023). That number has been remarkably stable over the past few decades, which means the overall ownership rate isn't spiking wildly - but the composition of who owns firearms is shifting in major ways.
Get tips from Anth
New classes, safety updates, and the occasional range tip - no spam.
This might be the most significant demographic change in modern firearm ownership. About half of the people who became new gun owners between January 2019 and April 2021 were women, according to the 2021 National Firearms Survey (Miller and colleagues, Annals of Internal Medicine).
This isn't a blip. Women have been the fastest-growing segment of firearm owners for years, and the pandemic and social upheaval of 2020 accelerated a trend that was already underway. If you've been to a range recently, you've probably noticed. The landscape is changing.
Communities of Color
New gun owners come from communities of color as well, and many are making this decision for the first time.
The reasons are complex and personal, but the common thread is clear: people across every demographic are taking personal safety into their own hands.
LGBTQ+ Ownership
This one is close to my heart, obviously. The surge in LGBTQ+ firearm ownership matches what I see every week in my work. More queer and trans folks are seeking training, buying their first firearms, and building community around responsible ownership.
Organizations like the Pink Pistols, Operation Blazing Sword, and the Liberal Gun Club have all seen significant growth.
This isn't about politics. It's about people who feel vulnerable deciding they want options.
Why Protection Tops the List
72% of gun owners say protection is a major reason they own a gun (Pew Research Center, survey of June 2023). That holds true across demographics, geography, and political affiliation.
There's an important nuance here, though. "Protection" doesn't necessarily mean tactical training and home defense drills. For many people - especially first-time owners - protection means having a tool in the home and knowing how to use it safely. It means understanding how to store it so it's accessible to you but not to your children. It means knowing the basics so that the firearm is an asset, not a liability.
That's the gap I see every day, and it's the gap FST exists to fill.
The Urban-Rural Divide
One more data point worth noting: Pew found that 47% of adults living in rural areas report owning a firearm, compared to 20% of those living in urban areas. That gap is real, but it's narrowing. Urban first-time buyers made up a significant portion of those 26 million new owners, and they're coming in with different needs, different questions, and often without the generational knowledge that rural gun owners grew up with.
If you grew up in a family that hunted or kept firearms, you probably absorbed the basics through osmosis - safe handling, muzzle awareness, storage habits. But if your first interaction with a firearm is purchasing one at age 35 in a city, you're starting from zero. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Everyone starts somewhere.
Why This Matters
Here's the thing that keeps me up at night: 26 million new gun owners, and most of them received little to no formal training before or after their purchase. Some watched YouTube videos. Some got a quick walkthrough from the person behind the counter at the gun shop. Some took the firearm home, put it in a drawer, and haven't touched it since.
None of that is training.
Real training means understanding the four universal safety rules until they're reflexive. It means knowing how to clear a malfunction. It means storing your firearm so that it's secure but accessible in an emergency. It means regular practice so that handling the firearm doesn't feel foreign when you need it to feel natural.
And real training needs to happen in an environment where you feel comfortable asking questions. Where you're not being judged for not knowing something. Where the instructor meets you where you are instead of where they think you should be.
That's what FST is about. If you're one of those 26 million - or if you're thinking about becoming 26-million-and-one - I want you to know that this space was built for you.
Check out our New Owner FAQ for answers to the questions I hear most often, or explore our Training Options page to see what a session looks like. And if you're not in the Portland area, the resources on our Community Resources page can help you find inclusive training wherever you are.
You made a big decision. Now let's make sure you have the knowledge to back it up.