A report from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) reveals there are over 420 million privately owned guns in America.

NSSF reports “the estimated total number of firearms in civilian possession from 1986-2018 is 422.9 million.”

The report shows that 18 million of privately owned firearms are AR-15s and similar modern sporting rifles.

On December 4, 2013, Breitbart News reported a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report showing there were 194 million guns in private in 1994, a number that grew to 310 million by 2009.

The CRS report showed that the “firearm-related murder and non-negligent homicide” rate plummeted as private firearm possession increased.

For example, the “firearm-related murder and non-negligent homicide” rate was 6.6 per 100,000 Americans in 1993 and it fell to 3.2 per 100,000 by 2011.

Ironically, the violent crime rate has continued to see declines as the number of privately owned guns has increased. On September 30, 2019, UPI reported the U.S. homicide rate has fallen for the past two consecutive years. This means murder declined even as gun ownership surged.

Moreover, on October 1, 2019, Breitbart News reported FBI stats showing the violent crime rate in 2018 was as it lowest point since 1971.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.