PA Bill Number: HB335
Title: In inchoate crimes, further providing for prohibited offensive weapons.
Description: In inchoate crimes, further providing for prohibited offensive weapons. ...
Last Action: Re-committed to APPROPRIATIONS
Last Action Date: May 6, 2024
PA-Armstrong ranks 4th in nation among most-armed counties :: 11/23/2015
Armstrong County ranks fourth in the nation in the percentage of homes that report gun ownership, according to a recent ranking from City-data.com.
Nearly 58 percent of homes report gun ownership in the county, according to the ranking, which was compiled using federal census data.
Westmoreland County also made the list. It ranked 27th with about 44 percent of homes reporting gun ownership.
Ranked at number one was Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, an area about the size of New Jersey that includes the cities of Fairbanks and North Pole. About 59 percent of homes report being armed there.
With hunting being a time-honored tradition in many Western Pennsylvania families, local police, gun shops and sportsmen are not surprised that local areas made the list.
Though hearing that Armstrong County is fourth in the nation got their attention.
“It was surprising that we ranked that high,” said Armstrong County Sheriff Bill Rupert. “We are such a huge hunting county, it's just our nature here.”
He said he grew up hunting with his dad, so he learned about guns at a young age and it was just normal having them at home.
“So I guess the way I grew up, no, it's not surprising,” Rupert said.
Statewide 27 percent of Pennsylvanians own a gun, according to an analysis of 2013 national data that was published in the Injury Prevention journal. And nationwide, about 31 percent of households reported having a firearm in 2014, according to the survey General Social Survey, which has tracked gun ownership since 1972.
Kittanning police chief Bruce Matthews said the fact that Armstrong County is one of the most armed places in America is “reassuring.”
“These are stats compiled from law-abiding citizens,” he said. “I believe that's a good thing that we're armed and we are active. We hunt and it's a good family hobby and citizens are active in local clubs.”
However, a 2013 study from the American Journal of Public Health found that higher gun ownership is linked to higher levels of gun violence.
The study found that for each percentage point increase in gun ownership, the firearm homicide rate increased by 0.9 percent.
“There should be some concern if that community is concerned about gun violence,” Ladd Everitt, spokesman for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, said about the ranking. “Especially in a state with such weak gun laws. (In Pennsylvania) it's very easy for dangerous people to get guns either through private gun sales or other means.”
Rupert said the high percentage of homes with guns doesn't concern him.
“As a whole, Armstrong County is a good place to live. The citizens in the county are mostly law-abiding citizens,” he said.
Steven Blosnick, vice president of the Kelly Station Sportmen's Club in Bethel Township said he suspects the percentage of armed homes in Armstrong County is even higher than the ranking reflects.
“I would expect it to be 70 percent because of as many people as I work with and know who have firearms and who are sportsmen,” he said.
He said the sportmen's club has been steady at about 140 members.
“People in our club and all my friends are definitely into hunting,” said Blosnick, of West Leechburg. “I would say 90 percent of my friends and people I socialize with are a hunting community and (gun ownership) goes hand-in-hand.”
Gun ownership is typical in rural communities, research shows.
The highest concentration (55 percent) of gun ownership is in homes in a rural community with fewer than 10,000 residents, according to the General Social Survey.
In Westmoreland County, John Anderson, owner of the Delmont Sport Shop, said his firearm sales have been up since President Obama took office.
He said he isn't surprised that 44 percent of homes in the county are armed.
“It wouldn't surprise me if it's higher,” he said. “We've had people come in 85 years old buying a handgun for the first time.”
He said they tell him they're motivated by efforts to get the federal government to pass stricter gun laws.
Debbie Schultz, owner of Schultz's Sportsmen's Stop in Kiski Township, on the Armstrong-Westmoreland county border, said she's also seen a number of senior citizens coming in to purchase a firearm.
She said their gun sales have been steady and she's selling more hand guns and tactical-type weapons than they ever have.
“Most of the people say they don't feel as safe as they used to and they want something to protect themselves,” she said.
http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/9459085-74/county-gun-ownership#axzz3sM8gsiiw
