People of color see rising US gun ownership: report

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - People of color have seen a dramatic jump in gun ownership, with many being first-time gun owners, according to a recently published report.

From 2019 to 2020 Black Americans saw a 58.2% jump in gun purchases while Latino and Asian-Americans saw a 49% and 43% spike respectively, the National Shooting Sports Foundation told ABC News. It estimated that about 40% of the sales were to first-time gun buyers.

Several factors have fed in to the increase, including safety and campaigns from pro-gun groups, ABC News reported.

The increase comes as the FBI reported that 2020 saw the highest level of hate crimes in a decade with by far the largest share of all attacks -- 62% -- being motivated by the victims' race or ethnicity. Hate crimes targeting Asian-Americans saw an alarming 77% increase amid a spike in anti-Asian sentiment fueled by fearmongering over the coronavirus pandemic.

Hate crimes targeting Black Americans jumped by 48% from 2019 to 2020. Latinos saw a modest decrease in official statistics, but both 2019 and 2020 saw over 510 attacks targeting the ethnic group.

The actual number of hate crimes is likely higher than the FBI's official records, which only count those submitted to the bureau by local law enforcement agencies.