Pew Research:Views on Gun Laws Unchanged After Aurora Shooting

Pew Research Center ^ | July 30, 2012 | Staff

[lbryce]

There has been no significant change in public views on the issue of gun control and gun rights following the July 20th shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. Currently, 47% say it is more important to control gun ownership, while 46% say it is more important to protect the rights of Americans to own guns. That is virtually unchanged from a survey earlier this year in April, when 45% prioritized gun control and 49% gun rights.

Other recent major shootings also had little effect on public opinion about gun laws. There was no significant change in the balance of opinion about gun rights and gun control after the January, 2011 shooting in Tucson, Arizona in which Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was injured. Nor was there a spike in support for gun control following the shooting at Virginia Tech University in April, 2007.

The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted July 26-29, 2012 among 1,010 adults, shows that relatively few Americans view the shooting in Aurora as a sign of broader social problems. Two-thirds (67%) say that shootings like this one are just the isolated acts of troubled individuals. Only about a quarter (24%) say shootings like this reflect broader problems in American society. This is similar to the public reaction after the Tucson shooting in early 2011, which 58% thought of as the isolated act of a troubled individual and 31% connected to broader social problems.

Americans were more likely to see broader problems behind the Virginia Tech shooting five years ago – at that time, 46% thought the event reflected broader societal problems.

[lbryce]

I was curious as to the political leanings of the Pew Research Center, my research not very scientific mostly sampling sites arbitrarily on Google with the question "Is the Pew Research Center left or right leaning"? and with the quick impromptu study came away with that I REALLY DON'T KNOW what political leanings if any they had, could not determine if as one source said of them to be unbiased and fair. Except for this.

The thing is that 'Pew Research Center' is listed on the very top of their website but immediately beneath "Pew Research Center" is "Pew Research Center for the People And the Press".

The reason I ask is that "Pew Research Center for the People And the Press" has a decidedly malodorous, left-wing, liberal barfy stench to it that has me unwilling to concede any sort unbiased point of view in what they want us to believe. If anyone has a rationale that makes sense as to what the difference is, why they would have "Pew research Center" followed by "Pew Research Center for the People And the Press" please share it with us.

[Postman]

I suspect that PEW polls tend to oversample Rats and would be willing to bet a farthing or two that they lean decidedly leftward.

[familyop]

Pew leans and skews to the left.