Survey: Americans Own 60 Million Guns Democrats Label 'Assault Weapons'

A survey conducted by Georgetown University’s William English found that Americans own approximately 60 million guns that fall into the Democrats’ category of “assault weapons.”

The abstract of the survey shows it was conducted with a “nationally representative sample of 51,398 individuals” during the months of July and August 2026.

Ammoland published the body of the survey and it shows Americans own roughly 40 million AR-15-style rifles. Moreover, Americans own another 20 million guns that Democrats seek to ban when they target so-called “assault weapons” as a category.

These numbers are in step with the growth witnessed between 2020 and January 2026.

For example, Breitbart News noted that the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) estimated there were nearly 20 million AR/AK-Style firearms in circulation in 2020, and that number grew to  24,446,000 in 2022. On January 15, 2026, NSSF data indicated there were more than 32 million guns which Democrats label “assault weapons” in Americans’ hands.

English puts the current number of AR-15 and similar rifles at 60 million, noting that the number one reason for ownership is home defense.

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 and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He holds a PhD in Military History with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. He enjoys reading Philosophy and novels by Jack Carr and Nelson DeMille. He is a lever action man in an AR-15 world. Follow him on X: @awrhawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at [email protected].