The United States Bill of Rights contains the Second Amendment, which gives citizens the right to bear arms. This translates into the right to possess firearms for private use. Some Americans consider gun ownership a right of passage and a requirement within society. In the United States, 43 of the 50 states have adopted into state constitutions the right of their citizens to possess firearms for personal use without being members of the state militia (Winkler, 2007). While this is one of the freedoms many Americans enjoy, gun death is still one of the highest forms of mortality occurring in the United States. In 2011 alone, there were 32,163 firearm-related deaths in the United States, including 19,776 deaths due to suicide (more than half of all suicides) and 11,101 homicides found to be the cause of death (as cited by O'Brien, Forrest, Lynott, & Daly, 2013). In the United States, violent acts are committed with high frequency with firearms. School shootings have become more prolific in the news like Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech, and Columbine. Literature Review One question you may ask is what motivates someone to own a firearm within the home. Fear of crime has been found to be a factor in the increase in gun ownership. In an analysis of 16 studies by Hauser and Kleck (2013) mixed results were found on fear of crime and gun ownership, but the majority of studies found a positive relationship between fear of crime and gun ownership firearm in the house. Owning a gun for self-defense is often one of the most cited reasons by gun owners for owning a firearm. Fear of victimization drives the purchase of firearms, and a spike in sales can be observed when a national tragedy occurs due to clever marketing by gun manufacturers. Personality fac...... middle of paper ......Works CitedRefrencesCelinska, K. (2007). Individualism and collectivism in America: The case of gun ownership and attitudes toward gun control. Sociological Perspectives, 50(2), 229-247.Frankfort-Nachmias and Leon-Guerrero: Social Statistics for a Diverse Society, Sixth EditionGSS Dataset. (n.d.). Retrieved from the CSUF TITANIUM database. Kleck, G., & Hauser, W. (2013). Guns and fear: a one-way street?. Crime and Delinquency, 59(2), 271-291. O'Brien, K., Forrest, W., Lynott, D., & Daly, M. (2013). Racism, gun ownership, and gun control: Biased attitudes among white Americans can influence policy decisions. Plos ONE, 8(10), 1-10. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0077552Winkler, A. (2011, July 24). The secret history of weapons. The Atlantic. Retrieved May 15, 2014, from http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/09/the-secret-history-of-guns/308608/?single_page=true