In U.S., Continuing Record-Low Support for Stricter Gun Control...

[spin]

November 22, 2010

Fewer than 3 in 10 support law banning handguns except for police and authorized personnel

PRINCETON, NJ -- For the second year in a row, a record-low 44% of Americans say laws governing the sale of firearms should be made more strict, while 42% say gun laws should be kept as they are now. Twelve percent say gun laws should be made less strict.



***snip***

Americans are also less likely to say there should be a law banning the possession of handguns except by the police and other authorized persons. The current 29% who favor such a law is within one percentage point of the low of 28% recorded last year, down from 60% when Gallup first asked this question in 1959 -- the only time when a majority favored such a ban. Support has been below 40% every year since 1993.



Democrats, Liberals Most in Favor of Stricter Gun Laws

The most significant differences in support for stricter gun laws are along political lines. More than 6 in 10 Democrats and liberals favor stricter gun laws -- compared with 31% and 26% among conservatives and Republicans, respectively.

Other groups expressing greater-than-average support for stricter gun laws include women, those living in the East, nonwhites, those with postgraduate educations, and those living in households without guns.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/144887/Continuing-Record-Low-Support-Stricter-Gun-Control.aspx

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[derby378]

2. Nonexistent correlation

The truth is that enough Democrats and liberals are waking up to the reality of our Second Amendment rights. If only we could have done this before the Kerry campaign in 2004...

[virginia mountainman]

3. Kerry NOTHING..

The Gore Campaign....

Just imagine, if Bush NEVER WAS ELECTED... So many close states....Only ONE would have been enough..

Gun Control means so much to some..O well..

[Kennah]

4. Hell, I blame Anne Richards

She vetoed a Texas concealed carry bill that passed with about 60+% of the legislature supporting it--not quite enough to override it. Had she signed it, who knows. Woulda been a big issue stolen away from Dubya in his Gubernatorial bid. Imagine.

[spin]

7. If that would have happened W would have restarted drinking ...

and running companies into the ground.

We would have never invaded Iraq. There's a damn good chance we would have avoided the recession we are in or we would be in full recovery right now.

A pro-RKBA Anne Richards could have changed history for the better.

[Texasborncowboy]

21. This would have made a difference.

Ann Richards was well liked by most Texans. However she dropped the ball on this issue. After the Luby's shooting Texans overwhelmingly supported/wanted concealed carry.

One story that floats around Texas politics about George Bush is that he would have rather been the commissioner of major league baseball than President of the United States. One specific owner(I don't recall who) blackballed him and he went to his second choice of politics.

Imagine if he had never been President.

[derby378]

11. I know, I know...

...but the Million Mom March had Gore's goodies in a vise in 2000, and they certainly weren't afraid to tighten it a bit.

Only thing is, his gun-control stance cost him Tennessee; if he had won his home state in the Electoral College, the Florida debacle would have been minimized, as Gore would already have enough electoral votes for the White House.

[virginia mountainman]

15. hmm..

I wonder, where the Million Mom March is today???

And, where is the NRA and other gun rights groups that opposed them??

Yep, the winners and looses are clear..

[safeinOhio]

5. Ohio governor election proved

an A+ NRA rating does nothing for Democrats.

[safeinOhio]

6. Also from the survey

"Only 1% of Americans mention gun control as America's most important problem at this time, and even fewer mention crime. Thus, although there is majority support for stricter gun laws among both Democrats and liberals, it appears that there will not be pressure to make this a high-priority issue for the leaders of these political groups in the months ahead. The political agenda is instead likely to focus mainly on the economy and jobs, the issues that Americans overwhelmingly perceive as the top problems facing the country."

For the most part, most don't give a shit. Only about 1% are obsessed with the issue. That would include both sides of the issue.

[TheWraith]

26. Because to say it's the most important issue, you'd have to be a moron.

Or one of the Brady Campaign people... but I repeat myself.

However, if you asked people whether it would affect their vote, you can bet your ass that the number is going to be MUCH higher. And the people who oppose gun control will definitely outnumber the ones who do in that case by a wide margin.

[spin]

8. It does in a close election ...

Lets be serious. The economy just before the mid term elections sucked all over the country and Ohio was no exception.

Is it fair to blame Obama? Considering the situation when he took over it may be unfair to expect a recovery in two years. However, promises were made about reducing unemployment, creating jobs and stimulating the economy.

Those promises were not kept. Many voters felt Obama saved the banks and Wall Street rather than Main Street. A heathcare bill was passed but even many Democrats see it as a sell out to the medical insurance companies.

I see the economy turning around in the next two years. Obama should have a good to excellent chance of getting reelected.

This election will be closer than the midterm and in many elections an NRA endorsement might make the difference.

[safeinOhio]

9. I pretty much agree with what you say,

however, from the survey. 44 to 42% favor stricter or the same laws. Buried in the link is the fact that only 1% think gun control is the main factor in an election and those are divided as to greater restriction or less restrictions. Therefore, the present strategy, to ignore and let be the current laws, seems to be the smart choice. The zealots on both sides seem to think different.

[spin]

10. I agree that letting the current laws stay if they are similar to Florida's law ...

is the best approach.

I'm not sure just what Ohio's gun laws are. I believe that one big difference between Florida and Ohio is that open carry is legal in Ohio. I can see a few advantages to this, especially in warm weather when it's hard to conceal a large weapon. However, I find carrying a full sized weapon like a Colt .45 auto a real pain in the ass. I usually carry a snub nosed S&W Model 642 airweight .38 revolver in my front pants pocket. In the cold months in Florida, I often carry a Model 60 S&W .38/.357 magnum revolver with a 3" barrel in an inside the waistband holster under a light jacket. (Note: I never expect to have to use my firearm for self defense. If I did, I would either avoid the situation or if it was unavoidable, I would carry a high cap Glock or a .45 auto at the minimum or a 12 gauge shotgun if possible.)

As a Democrat, I can see that our party has little chance of pushing draconian gun legislation through Congress. Any attempt to do so will merely fire up the gun owning voters and cost us close elections in the future.

Gun owners often have a large amount of money and time invested in a hobby which they love. If that hobby is threatened, they will show up at the polls to vote for pro-RKBA candidates. If a person has a concealed carry permit, he has also spent money and time to acquire one and will vote against those who want to take it away from him.

edited because I can.

[safeinOhio]

16. Open carry is ok in state except

in some local cities. Use to see it a few times, never anymore.
I carry a Seecamp 32. Easy to do even in my running shorts or other summer cloths. Never have to worry about imprinting or scaring others as it is in a small pocket holster that makes it look like a wallet, if anything. I see no reason to have others know what I have on me. I see it as only a disadvantage.

[spin]

17. The Seecamp is definitely small and easy to conceal ...

[safeinOhio]

20. At hunting camp my friend that

carries a J-frame with a laser hit the bulls eye with his first shot using my little belly gun with no sights. Couldn't do the same with his S&W. He was very impressed. I think stats show something like 85% of all gun fights are at less than 6 feet, making sights useless. With a pocket holster, it looks just like and is the same size as a mans wallet in the back pocket. The only place you'd have a hard time concealing it would be a nudist camp. It is also light enough that your pants don't sag to one side or your coat if in it's pocket. Also well engineered, reliable and quality made in the USA. The only drawback is that you are limited to only a few types of 32cal bullets.

[spin]

24. I carry a S&W J-frame ...

a model 642 Airweight. It's a great little gun for pocket carry but it is a difficult gun to master. I've had experienced shooters compare the recoil of the 642 using .38 +P ammo to that of a Ruger Super Redhawk firing .44 magnum rounds. The sights are hard to use and with the short barrel length make accurate shooting at any distance challenging. Perhaps that's why many call it a "belly gun".


S&W Model 642

In the winter on cold days, I carry a different J-frame, a model 60 with a 3" barrel. I use an inside the waistband holster covered by a light jacket. This little firearm is much heavier than the Model 642 so it has far less recoil. The sights are great. It's a pleasure to shoot and is very accurate.


S&W Model 60

[Atypical Liberal]

12. It is a major factor for me.

>Buried in the link is the fact that only 1% think gun control is the main factor in an election

I had printed out my NRA rankings for my election before leaving for the polls. Unfortunately it only printed the first 3 pages over and over again. Luckily I used my Blackberry phone to call the NRA, and the helpful lady there emailed the rankings to me.

I'm lucky in that all of my Democratic Candidates except one had a B or better rating (most were A or better). The only Democrat I voted against was the one with the F rating.

You can see my ballot in my signature.

[krispos42]

25. So if Harry Reid had been as anti-gun as Feinstein... he still would have won? n/t

[Euromutt]

29. Ooh, touché!

Just goes to show that a single data point, example, or even study doesn't actually prove anything.

Much like my reaction to like Cheney's claim that "Reagan proved deficits don't matter" was "Tell that to George H.W. Bush."

[Atypical Liberal]

13. The sad part about that graph...

The sad part about that graph is that the convergence is between the "more strict" and the "keep as is" groups. I'd rather it was converging between the "keep as is" and the "less strict" groups.

[proecker]

14. Help me out please.

I'm currently a senior at the University of Houston and I am conducting a short survey for my statistics class. It is about gun control and I am trying to go to different web sites to gather an accurate representation of U.S. citizens. Could you please give 5 minutes of your time and complete this survey here.



https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dE1mSWczdTJ5ZkZja19WdUhNVkFPUVE6MQ#gid=0


Thank you for your time.

[jazzhound]

18. You are welcome. NT

[Euromutt]

19. Done

Glad to help.

[friendly_iconoclast]

22. Done. Good luck with your survey. n/t

[one-eyed fat man]

23. Done and done. NT

[PavePusher]

27. Done.

Good job on keeping the tone/wording neutral.

[rrneck]

28. Done. I look forward to the results if you have the time. nt

[jazzhound]

30. Permit me to second rrneck's request to share your

results if/when possible.

Thank you!

[joshcryer]

31. Short enough survey. Did it for fun.

Seems fairly straightforward. Would love to see the results.

[jazzhound]

32. The final question was smart.

It will separate those who have actually researched gun "control"/gun violence from those who haven't -- inasmuch as the response will clearly be either faith-based or reason/research based.

[SteveM]

33. Done and submittedl. Thank you for the opportunity. nt