SCARY: We Have 7.7 Million “Super” Gun Owners Hidden Among Us (VIDEO)

There are currently more guns than human being in these United States.

How crazy is that?

The Congressional Research Service says that there are more than 300 million guns in this country. That’s pretty much one gun for every single man, woman and child in the U.S.

Wow.

We suffer approximately 30,000 gun deaths every year. Two thirds of those deaths are suicides. Wow times two.  That’s terrible!

All of these statistics are both terrifying and depressing. There are other statistics that make it that much scarier, though.

For example, the number of households with guns has been declining over the past four decades.  Experts believe that a decline in both natural habitat and hunting practices have reduced the numbers of families who purchases guns for hunting.

Similarly, there’s been a decrease in the number of individuals who own guns since 1994. The percentage of people who purchase and keep guns has dropped during that time from 25 percent to 22 percent.

So if the number of households with guns is decreasing, why is the number of guns increasing?

A study conducted jointly by Harvard and Northeastern Universities looked into this question. Although not yet published, the research has already revealed some interesting information.

What the researchers have learned is that we have about 7.7 million gun “super owners” who keep between eight and 140 guns in their possession.

Are you kidding me?  140 guns in ONE HOUSE????

The average number of guns owns by super gun people is 17.  So the average multiple gun owner has more than a dozen deadly weapons in the house. What the HELL?

Some of those people say that they are gun collectors or “sport shooters.” You know, it’s all just for fun and games.

Many, though, say that they are stockpiling guns, food, medicine and water against what they see as an upcoming apocalyptic war. These are the people who are canning vegetables and stockpiling ammunition. They seriously believe that we headed for some kind of “Hunger Games” future.

They are insane.

Let’s look at these super gun people another way. Statistics show that a mere 3 percent of American adults own half of all of the guns.

Did you catch that? A tiny, tiny, tiny minority of people are sitting on a huge pile of guns. They are afraid of the government, the Chinese, the Muslims…..what could possibly go wrong?

The research also showed that the number of handguns that people purchase for their own personal protection has risen sharply. This is in spite of the fact that violent crime, specifically murder, has decreased significantly since the 1990’s. One of the study’s authors said this:

“The desire to own a gun for protection — there’s a disconnect between that and the decreasing rates of lethal violence in this country. It isn’t a response to actuarial reality.”

So why are people so afraid of each other, if reality is that we are very very safe in this country?

Because we live in a capitalist society where a bunch of gun and ammunition manufacturers are allowed to market their deadly weapons without shame. The NRA, the voice of the gun and ammo makers, spent about 3.5 million dollars last year on lobbying and advertising.

Here’s what scares the hell out of me. I’m not so afraid of a random criminal targeting me. I’m far more afraid of the 3 percent of the people in this country who are so terrified of everything that they are running around armed to the teeth.

I’m afraid of the almost 8 million Americans who are stockpiling weapons in their garages so they can face off against the government. Or so they can face off against Democrats. Or Red Sox fans. Or Blacks. Or anyone they deem to be a threat.

I’m afraid of what it means to live in a country where our legislators put the NRA’s millions before the impulsive suicides of thousands of our citizens every single year.

 Featured image by Jon Roig via Flickr. Available through Creative Commons Attribution Generic License 2.0.

Karen is a retired elementary school teacher with many years of progressive activism behind her. She is the proud mother of three young adults who were all arrested with Occupy Wall Street. To see what she writes about in her spare time, check out her blog at "Empty Nest, Full Life"