The Answer:

A Gallup poll quoted by the Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics asked U.S. residents the following question:

Do you have a gun in your home?

In 2010, 39% of respondents answered "yes." The figure has been fluctuating between 38% and 42% in polls taken since 2000, and has ranged between 36% and 51% since polling began in 1959.

This figure depends on people answering honestly; the National Rifle Association claims that a more accurate current figure is almost half of U.S. households.

You might also be interested in our U.S. population and Crime sections.

—The Editors