Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

A new survey from Walk the Talk America challenges the idea that gun owners refuse to discuss mental health.

The results point to a more complicated problem. Many gun owners recognize the importance of mental wellness, secure storage and suicide prevention. However, they also worry that seeking professional help could carry legal or firearm-related consequences.

That trust gap becomes especially noticeable when red-flag laws enter the conversation.

Walk the Talk America conducted the anonymous survey through SurveyMonkey from September 1 through September 30, 2026. It received 2,770 responses. WTTA distributed the questionnaire through its social media pages, email newsletter and corporate partners.

WTTA describes itself as a pro-Second Amendment nonprofit working to connect firearm owners with culturally informed mental-health resources.

“For years, we’ve been told that gun owners don’t want to talk about mental health. Our survey challenges that narrative,” said Michael Sodini, president of WTTA, in an email to GunsAmerica.

“The issue isn’t necessarily a lack of willingness to seek help; it’s a lack of trust in what happens when they do. If our goal is truly suicide prevention, we need to stop creating barriers to honest conversations and start building systems that people trust enough to use,” he continued. “You cannot prevent a crisis if people are afraid to ask for help before one happens.”

A Survey of the 2A Community

This was not a random national poll.

Ninety-seven percent of participants said they personally owned a firearm. Another 1% lived with someone who did. Only 2% answered no and were removed from the remaining questions.

Among 2,694 respondents who described their firearm use, 2,442 selected personal protection. That works out to about 91%.

Recreational shooting followed at 84%. Nearly half described themselves as collectors or hobbyists, while 42% identified as hunters. Respondents could select multiple answers.

The sample clearly came from within the firearm community. That makes it useful for examining gun-owner attitudes, but it should not be treated as representative of every American gun owner.

WTTA also noted that it hopes the results encourage more thorough research.

Gun Owners Are Not Ignoring Mental Health

Twenty-nine percent of respondents reported experiencing significant emotional stress or mental-health difficulty at some point. Nine percent experienced it within the previous year, while 20% experienced it earlier.

Gun owners also reported considerable familiarity with the subject. Among the 2,642 people who answered, 94% described themselves as at least somewhat familiar with mental-health topics.

Most were already doing something to support their mental wellness.

Spending time outdoors led the list, selected by 80% of respondents. Talking with friends or family came next at 75%, followed by physical exercise at 67%. More than half selected faith or spiritual practices.

Only 11% reported regularly using professional mental-health care. However, 86% said they felt at least somewhat comfortable discussing mental-health challenges before those problems became a crisis.

That matters because the survey does not show a community unwilling to talk. Instead, it shows a community that often relies on family, friends, spouses, faith and outdoor activity before turning to a professional.

Fear of Consequences Remains a Barrier

The first major warning sign appeared when WTTA asked whether fear of legal, professional or firearm-related consequences affected a respondent’s willingness to seek professional care.

Eleven percent said it affected them significantly. Another 22% said it affected them somewhat.

Together, about one-third of respondents said those concerns could influence whether they sought help.

When the survey asked specifically about Extreme Risk Protection Orders, commonly called red-flag laws, that concern grew considerably.

Fifty-three percent said ERPOs would make them hesitant to seek professional mental-health help. Another 21% were unsure. Only 26% said the laws would not make them hesitant.

Among the 1,449 respondents who answered a follow-up question, 316 said they would not seek help at all. Another 59 said they would delay seeking help.

The most common answer came from 541 respondents who said they would only seek help from someone they personally trusted. Another 325 said they would seek help but avoid mentioning firearm ownership.

Only 208 said concern about an ERPO would not affect their decision.

These answers do not measure whether red-flag laws prevent suicides or violence. They measure how gun owners believe those laws would influence their own behavior. According to these respondents, the laws could discourage honesty at the exact moment honesty matters most.

Storage Practices Reflect the Home-Defense Debate

WTTA also asked how respondents stored firearms inside their homes.

Anchored safes were the most popular option, selected by 58% of the 2,147 respondents. Forty-eight percent carried a firearm on their person, while 42% used a quick-access safe.

Twenty-eight percent used a biometric lock, cable lock, trigger lock or another locking device. Twenty-nine percent reported having firearms stored unsecured.

Because participants could select multiple answers, someone could have firearms inside a safe while keeping another firearm accessible for home defense.

Only 7% said they changed their storage practices during periods of increased stress. Fifty-three percent said their storage remained the same. Another 40% said they had never considered changing storage based on their mental health.

However, respondents became more receptive when WTTA presented specific situations.

Fifty-one percent said the presence of children or untrained individuals could make them temporarily change storage practices. Forty-three percent selected thoughts of self-harm.

Depression or anxiety, substance-use concerns and conflict inside the home also received support, although at lower rates.

Voluntary Options Received More Support

When asked what temporary action would be acceptable during a mental-health crisis, 56% supported removing firearms from immediate access. Fifty-four percent supported increasing the use of locks or safes.

Voluntary storage with a trusted family member received support from 27%. That option would depend on the transfer laws in the respondent’s state.

Only 12% selected voluntary storage with a federally licensed firearm dealer. Thirteen percent supported allowing someone else to temporarily control access to a storage device.

The results suggest that respondents preferred solutions they could manage privately and voluntarily.

The survey also asked what made changing storage practices more difficult. Sixty-three percent said nothing prevented them from doing so.

The most common concern, selected by 28%, was losing the ability to defend themselves. Seventeen percent worried a change could trigger legal consequences, while 16% cited the lack of a trusted off-site storage option.

That finding gets to the heart of the storage debate. Many owners appear willing to take temporary precautions, but they do not want to surrender their defensive capability or create a legal mess.

What Would Make Gun Owners More Comfortable?

Strong confidentiality protections topped the list of changes that could make respondents more comfortable seeking professional care. Fifty-five percent selected that answer.

Forty-four percent wanted assurance that providers would respect firearm ownership. Thirty-six percent wanted a clear separation between mental-health records and ERPO proceedings.

Thirty-one percent wanted access to a provider trained to work with gun owners.

The results offer a fairly direct message to the mental-health community: trust, confidentiality and cultural competence matter.

Simply telling gun owners to seek help may not work if they believe the provider will treat firearm ownership as a symptom or automatically connect treatment with confiscation.

The Industry Cannot Solve This Alone

One finding may surprise firearm businesses and advocacy groups.

When asked whether increased mental-health messaging from the firearm industry would make them more comfortable seeking care or prevention resources, 69% said no. Only 31% said yes.

That does not necessarily mean industry involvement lacks value. Earlier answers showed interest in firearm-owner-specific resources and providers who understand gun culture.

It may mean that industry branding alone cannot overcome concerns about privacy, trust and legal consequences. The person providing the care still matters.

Most See Mental Wellness as Responsible Ownership

The strongest common ground appeared near the end of the survey.

Seventy-one percent agreed that responsible firearm ownership includes actively managing mental health. Twenty percent viewed mental health as personal and separate from firearm ownership. Only 1% said mental health should be addressed solely during a crisis.

Seventy-five percent also said suicide was preventable either in all cases or at certain intervention points. Only 7% answered no, while 18% were unsure.

Those findings cut against the claim that the 2A community refuses to acknowledge suicide or mental health.

The respondents largely accepted that mental wellness belongs in the responsible-ownership conversation. What they rejected was an approach that could punish them for participating in it.

Important Limitations

The survey offers valuable insight, but it has limits.

WTTA recruited respondents through its own platforms, newsletter and industry partners (including GA). The report does not provide demographic weighting, a sampling error or evidence that the participants represent gun owners nationally.

Participation also declined as the survey progressed. While 2,770 people answered the opening questions, fewer than 2,000 answered several later questions. More than 30% declined to answer the final questions.

Those limitations do not erase the findings. They simply mean the results should begin a conversation rather than end one.

The clearest message is that many gun owners already view mental health as part of responsible ownership. They remain open to prevention, temporary storage changes and professional care.

But they want voluntary options, trustworthy providers and strong confidentiality protections. They also want assurance that asking for help will not automatically place their rights at risk.

The complete survey information and additional mental-health resources are available through Walk the Talk America. Or see below:

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