Walk the Talk America has been conducting informal surveys over the last couple of years. The surveys are being used to help better understand gun owners’ perceptions when it comes to mental health related topics and policy in regards to firearms. The most recent survey, their 2025 Mental Health Survey, ran from December 20, 2024 to January 31, 2025. We’ve had a chance to look over the results and here are some key findings.

“We developed this survey to obtain a more accurate understanding of beliefs within and across those who own firearms,” is stated on the survey results cover page. “Our goal was to obtain a clearer and more accurate picture of beliefs about mental health, mental healthcare access, and certain types of legislation within the gun community.”

The survey was not an anonymous effort. Participants “were required to log in to Google to verify a valid email address before proceeding.”

Through multiple avenues, WTTA solicited for respondents and 2,483 people took the survey. Of the 2,483 respondents, 60 indicated that they were not gun owners. Only the 2,423 respondents who identified as gun owners were invited to answer the remaining questions posed.

The first question after ascertaining that individuals were gun owners was open ended. It was asked, “How do you describe yourself as a gun owner?” Of the 10 categories, “protection” dominated. 87.4% of respondents said that they “own [firearm(s)] for protection.” This number overshadows – by almost 10 points – a 2023 University of Michigan study that observed 78.8% of firearm owners owned a firearm for protection.

More than the majority of gun owners who responded, at 69%, stated that they owned firearms for 21+ years. That number correlates somewhat closely with the 57% of respondents being above the age of 60 and 22% being between the ages of 50 to 59. This left a little over 20% of participants aged 18 to 49, with 31% of respondents having owned firearms from zero to 20 years.

The state with the highest number of responses was Texas. The Lone Star State represented 9.6% of the respondents. Florida was a close second, with 8.7%.

The least amount of responses came from Rhode Island, which represented .12% of all responses. Alaska was not far off from Rhode Island, with .17% of responses.

Not quite half of the respondents said that they’ve visited the range within the last month. 16.7% stated it’s been over a year since the last time they’ve gone shooting.

Training seems to be lacking within the pool of responses. It’d be interesting to pull non-anonymized results to see the ages of those who have and have not attended professional training within the last  year. 63.1% said they have not attended any training within the last year. How many of those respondents fell in the category of being a gun owner 21+ years, versus within the last five years? Is there an age connection?

Females were underrepresented in the study, with only 2.7% of respondents. Whites were overrepresented, with 85.4% of respondents.

How firearm owners choose to store their firearms had varying responses. The open-ended question found that 52.7% choose to store firearms in an “anchored large safe” that could store multiple firearms.

59.4% of respondents store their firearm in a quick-access storage option or without a locking device at all. When looking at those categories, quick-access storage solutions dominated, with 68.8% utilizing them over no form of secured storage.

When it comes to storage, over 60% stated that a top concern is “balancing accessibility with security.”

The mental health questions of the survey provided some interesting results. 79% of respondents said that they “currently receive [mental health] services” and only 6% state they have never received any services.

Perceptions on so-called “red flag” laws gave a divided response. Nearly 50% equally state that potential red flag laws would or would not deter them from seeking care if in need.

While the perception that red flag laws could be a player in seeking mental health services is only represented within half the respondents, some open ended concerns were relayed.

Top Concern (over 70%): Fear of losing firearm rights prevents seeking help.

Common Responses

• Many believe mental health resources should be more available without legal consequences.

• Some feel mental health professionals are biased against gun owners.

• A few mentioned personal experiences where seeking mental health care was helpful.

WTTA received over 622 open-ended responses to their question: “Any thoughts or comments about mental health you would like to provide?” and those were only a few of the common sentiments.

Another big area of focus was on legislation and views over laws/proposed laws. One of the more to-the-point open-ended responses to legislation was:

It’s idiotic to expect these proposals to have any effect on criminal use of firearms. Money spent on grass roots mental health treatment and education, as well as confining those with a long, documented history of violent mental health issues needs to take priority.

In comparison to past surveys, the 2025 one seems much more comprehensive.

"The results of this year’s 2A Mental Health Survey speak for themselves,” Michael Sodini, the founder of Walk the Talk America told Bearing Arms. “Our goal at Walk the Talk America has always been to foster open, honest conversations around mental health and responsible firearm ownership. We encourage everyone to take the time to review the findings, reflect on what they mean, and engage in meaningful discussions. We look forward to sharing our thoughts soon, but for now, we invite the community to absorb the data and draw their own insights."

There’s a lot to the 34-page report that Walk the Talk America prepared. Reading the report in full is encouraged and might give insight into what some fellow gun owners are thinking.

Hopefully these efforts will help the organization get their polling questions put through one of the larger survey clearing houses in the country down the line. Regardless, the report does give a small glimpse into what folks are thinking when it comes to firearms and mental health in the United States.

If you’d like to learn more about Walk the Talk America, you can visit them on the web at WalkTheTalkAmerica.org and be sure to read their 2025 Mental Health Survey results HERE.