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Forty-four percent of Americans report living in a household that has a gun, according to Gallup polling, while 32% of those surveyed say they personally own a gun.
These numbers have stayed relatively stable since 2007, when Gallup first started polling Americans on gun ownership.
And the reasons these Americans own guns can vary wildly — from the need for self-protection to enjoying shooting as a hobby.
The latest episode of Meet the Press Reports explores this wide world of gun culture as it exists in inner cities and in rural neighborhoods.
For the report, NBC News' Cal Perry spoke to a man, Will, from Maryland, who asked to be identified only by his first name.
"I wanted to protect my family, protect my house," Will said about his gun ownership, citing an increase in home break-ins in surrounding areas.
In downtown Baltimore, community activist Alex Long provides a space for vulnerable youth to get off the street and work out, while also giving them a place to avoid gun violence.
"Guys will come round here with cars and trucks full of firearms, and the purpose is targeted youth," Long told Perry.
Elsewhere in the state, Michelle Douglas is the founder of the Maryland 10th Cavalry Gun Club, a place that advocates for safe gun ownership and trains firearm owners on how to most-responsibly use their guns.
"You’re never gonna get rid of the guns off the street. That ship has sailed," Douglas said.
All three of these gun owners oppose certain restrictions and regulations on guns, despite owning them for vastly different reasons.
"There’s too many guns out here on the street. And there’s too many people that don’t follow the rules. So lift the restrictions on people like me, so we can defend our homes," Douglas told Perry.
Hear more from Will, Long and Douglas in the latest episode of "Meet the Press Reports," out Thursday on Peacock and NBC News NOW.
