Posted on 10/26/2011 10:43:58 AM PDT by neverdem
Support for stricter gun laws in general is lowest Gallup has measured
A record-low 26% of Americans favor a legal ban on the possession of handguns in the United States other than by police and other authorized people. When Gallup first asked Americans this question in 1959, 60% favored banning handguns. But since 1975, the majority of Americans have opposed such a measure, with opposition around 70% in recent years.
The results are based on Gallup's annual Crime poll, conducted Oct. 6-9. This year's poll finds support for a variety of gun-control measures at historical lows, including the ban on handguns, which is Gallup's longest continuing gun-control trend.
For the first time, Gallup finds greater opposition to than support for a ban on semiautomatic guns or assault rifles, 53% to 43%. In the initial asking of this question in 1996, the numbers were nearly reversed, with 57% for and 42% against an assault rifle ban. Congress passed such a ban in 1994...
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The reasons for the shift do not appear related to reactions to the crime situation, as Gallup's Crime poll shows no major shifts in the trends in Americans' perceptions of crime, fear of crime, or reports of being victimized by crime in recent years. Nor does it appear to be tied to an increase in gun ownership, which has been around 40% since 2000, though it is a slightly higher 45% in this year's update. The 2011 updates on these trends will appear on Gallup.com in the coming days...
(Excerpt) Read more at gallup.com ...
Gee, I favor banning gun grabbers, does that count?
As the citizen’s Support for stricter gun laws goes down, the government’s support goes up.
Strange isn’t it? Wonder if the support is driven by the government’s attempt to destroy the citizens freedoms??
Fast and Furious has so completely blown-up in their face.
The baseline change from 1980-1992 to present correlates nicely with the push for concealed carry, stand your ground, castle doctrine legislation that’s been pushed since Republicans took back control of the House in Congress.
This poll deserves real analysis by John Lott. Maybe he should be pinged.
Somewhere a Brady is weeping.
Somewhere a Brady is weeping.
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It would be even better if they all were weeping. But, no they are trying to come up with another method to sidestep the Constitution and to deny us our God given right to keep and bear arms.
Just out of curiosity, I wonder how much of that 26% includes gun-toting criminals, who don’t want to give homeowners or store owners or mugging victims a chance to shoot back at them?
I’m sure that one reason why slum city mayors always favor taking guns away from honest citizens is that they don’t want to lose the criminal vote.
Doubt if it’s an all time low. I’ll bet during the revolutionary times it was 0.00001%. Even at 26% there a ways to go.
Americans are buying guns and ammo for the inevitable war with you-know-you, on our own nation’s land.
Americans are buying guns and ammo for the inevitable war with you-know-you, on our own nation’s land.
True Americans love guns!
I don’t believe the 1959 results were honest.
In 1959 most of the WWII vets were still young men.
The 26% are probably career criminals, their families, and liberal lawyers - people who don’t want citizens able to fight back...
Late 80's crack epidemic and Post office shootings
2000 - Columbine and Flint school shootings
Around 2005 - Virginia Tech
2010 - Gabrielle Giffords.
A lot of the old timers were of two minds. Don't even mess with my rifle or shotgun, but pistols are just for criminals.
Concealed carry changed a ton of that thought.
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