With total gun-related deaths reaching new highs in recent years, growing shares of Americans view both gun violence and violent crime as very big national problems.
Looking ahead, twice as many Americans expect the level of gun violence to increase rather than stay about the same over the next five years (62% vs. 31%). Just 7% say it will decrease.
The question of whether gun ownership does more to increase or decrease safety evenly divides Americans: 49% say it increases safety by allowing law-abiding citizens to protect themselves; an identical share says it reduces safety by giving too many people access to firearms and increasing misuse. CONTINUED
Pew Research Center
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