Poll Finds More Americans Value Gun Control Over Gun Ownership

The thing is, I think most Americans are fine with guns being legal to buy, own, and carry. What we're not fine with is them being overly easy to buy, own, and carry.

And it's blindingly obvious to anyone who doesn't have a gun fetish that laws designed to make those things easy also make it easier for us to get shot. Whereas things like universal background checks, red flag laws, and limiting the kinds of guns we can own - those help protect us and our children.

And most of the arguments against common sense laws are generally easily debunked - my favorite is "criminals don't care about gun laws." Yeah, well, rapists don't care that it's illegal to force a woman to have sex, but that doesn't mean there shouldn't be laws against it. And the "home protection" argument: a) why do you need anything other than a handgun for home protection; b) gun owners are actually a lot more likely to die in a home invasion than people who don't turn a robbery into a gunfight. There's actually studies with real numbers and everything.

No one's saying responsible gun owners can't own guns. They're mostly just saying let's make it harder for the irresponsible ones. And let's make it impossible for the people who really shouldn't have access to one, let alone an arsenal.

And gun owners: the Second Amendment means no one is taking all your guns away. It's not going to happen. So why are you making it easier to put guns in the hands of people who are going to misuse them?

Politicians spend large amounts of campaign funds on polls so here is a poll they don't need to pay for but should pay close attention to as the tide is turning on Gun Safety Legislation and hopefully the vote follows.

An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll of 1,286 adults (18+) from May 15th through May 18th (2023) where 1/3rd of respondents were Democrats, 1/3rd Republicans, 1/3rd Independents found that 60% thought it was more important to protect people from gun violence than protect gun rights which was a change since 2013 when it was evenly split.

As more and more people (50%) are personally effected or know someone who has been there will be even more support.

https://maristpoll.marist.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/NPR_PBS-NewsHour_Marist-Poll_USA-NOS-and-Tables_GC_202305191209.pdf

Our brilliant Governor passed the no machine guns law here in Michigan last week and we are all still celebrating, including every school, libraray, store, parent, kid and all of us!  Probably not the crooks or those that tried to kidnap and kill our wonderful Governor and maybe not the Republicans that lost almost all of their seats because of their machine gun addictions!!!!!!!!  It is wonderful for us!

No poll on guns will change the minds of our "elected" politicians.  

They have been bought and paid for by the NRA.  

That includes the Supremely Catholic Court.

People who favor gun control don't get it.  Guns aren't the problem, people state of mind is the problem.  An experiment, using a water gun in lieu of a real gun.  Sit across the table from me.  Place the water gun on the table.  Come up with a law that you believe will stop me from picking up the water gun and squirting you.  You drive a car and the speed limit is 55 MPH.  You're driving the speed limit and people pass you like you're parked, why?  We have laws that say you can't steal yet people steal all the time, why?  We have laws that say you can't liter the highway yet people throw garbage out their car windows all the time.  Until you address the mindset of people a thousand years from now you'll be talking about the same thing.  The whole subject matter is an insult to my intelligence.  

Gun control laws are effective at keeping people from buying guns if they already have committed violent acts, are flagged by a psychiatrist as potentially dangerous, or by Federal or State agency that flags someone as potentially dangerous. A lot of people that have started buying guns to commit crimes have not been flagged, nor have committed a violent crime before. We need to stop trying to be God by believing that human rationality, and human ethics can solve everthing. It can't! 

Patton said: "There is no such thing as security. There is only opportunity."

We need to start teaching the golden rule: Do unto others as you want others to do to you. Remember we as human beings are not rational, we are rationalizing beings. Humans that are afraid are going to do stupid things to try and feel safe. It's time to focus on seeking to do what's right and support our freedoms, and not to seek out security. 

Gee, finally something in print that people can read and show to their members of congress. But really, we know anecdotallly that our friends and relatives and even those we disagree with on other subjects actually DO agree on this; we have too many guns and it is too easy for anyone to buy them and we HAVE to stop the killing. What is wrong with us? We are up against for-profit gun-makers, the NRA, and right wing extremists who only see the right to bear arms as a place to draw a line, instead of the vicious, violent, blood-stained, heart-wrenching reality that accrues bodies of children and adults every single day. What do all the survivors and family members ask? "Do Something!"

I live in a rural area of Michigan where practically everyone hunted when I was a kid.  We were taught to respect guns.  NO ONE I knew had a hand gun, now there's a lot of people around here who do.  You have to liscense your dog and your car and you have to pass a test to drive a car, so why not with guns?  And you can have many kinds of vehicles but you can't have a tank!  You can have many kinds of guns (shot guns, rifles and various handguns) why, should any one have an AR-15?  These guns were created for one thing and one thing only, to kill as many people as possible in the shortest amount of time.  A regular citizen should not have one.

This is not that surprising; we've heard for a while now that the majority of Americans favor doing something to curb all the gun violence we're seeing in this country. 

But politicians and the gun lobby are choosing profits over people, guns over children, and they won't change unless we make them change by voting them out. 

I'm happy to know that my representatives and senators support sensible gun reform, but too many in government still do not have the political will to act.

It's very clear in the Constitution that gun ownership is a right. It's also very clear how to change the Constitution. It's currently illegal to restrict gun rights, But if the people wish to amend the Constitution, go for it. That is the legal way. Packing courts and ignoring the Constitution only empowers the government to start ignoring other rights, not path I wish to be dragged down.

No we don't. With all the illegals and criminals in general and insane anti-American government activities - I call BS on this supposed poll. 

It's really hard to imagine how anyone can be so naive and ignorant to truly believe "gun control" can ever be effective. It's pretty simple really....the law abiding and sane people do not break the law. However, criminals and the crazy people do. It is irrational to think regulating the law-abiding would have any significant impact on crime.

Therefore, since primarily Democrats push something that doesn't make sense, one must conclude they have another motive. I suspect they would like no private ownership of firearms as then the government could establish complete control if certain people wanted it. This is exactly the reason the 2nd Amendment was second! Our Founders wanted to ensure our government didn't go "off the rails" and overstep their authority like some leaders did during the pandemic. I'm not sure why the Republicans don't consistentlyconfront the Democrats on their hypocritical ignorance?

Effective gun control is long overdue in this country. Without we will see increasing levels of gun violence and higher body counts.

lies by the left, if you takke out the democrat,black drug crime America rates the lowest in the world.

Thats a lie, Blacks do most of the shootings, You people are not hearding folkks into the Ovens again.

I'm amused that the majority of those making the "guns don't kill people" argument still firmly believe that a book can make you gay.

Why do we have smilies to rank thoughts on such an important subject?

60% in favor of more fun control? That's not a scientific poll. This is a website invaded by Leftists.

You want more gun control? Chicago and NYC are perfect examples of how well that works (not). Bad guys don't follow the law. 

Truth of the matter is, the 2nd amendment is clear in is wordings.

Shall Not be infringed.

This means that Congress does not have the constitutional authority to legislate anything concerning firearms or anything involving firearms such as ammo or any added equipment.

If you want to limit or completely ban firearms,  it takes a constitutional amendment. 

Prove me wrong.

Unless of course government forces such laws at the barrel of their own guns.

And of course that's why it wants ours.

Know your world history, Germany, Russia, Turkey and Venezuela just to name a few. 

It's sad to see so many people willing to give up their rights to feel safe, even though they'll be less safe statistically.

NPR poll of 1300 really that's your poll.  Someone post the questions that NPR asked, let's see how misleading this truly is. 
Now on to my say about the subject;

600,000 Americans die from cancer

-300,000 die from obesity

-250,000 die from medical errors

-120,000 die from Alzheimer’s

-55,000 die from flu

-45,000 commit suicide -

-700,000 babies are aborted

-42,939 people die per year in traffic fatalities yet cars can go over 100mph

-40000+ die from drug overdose

"gun violence" kills 42,654 yet 25% of gun violence occurs in 4 cities so only about 75 deaths/state and two thirds of deaths are suicide 

So you have to ask yourself, in the grand scheme of things, why the focus on guns? It's pretty simple.:

Taking away guns gives control to governments, if people would read books and learn history they would see this. 

If you honestly wish to decrease gun violence across our country, you must be willing to look past the bias of media outlets and elected politicians.

Did you know that the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is the research, development, and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice? The NIJ website states, "We are dedicated to improving knowledge and understanding of crime and justice issues through science. We provide objective and independent knowledge and tools to inform the decision-making of the criminal and juvenile justice communities to reduce crime and advance justice, particularly at the state and local levels."

They follow "widely accepted scientific processes and procedures to help ensure the validity and integrity" of their research. They listen to community members, crime survivors, criminal justice practitioners, people who have been incarcerated, business leaders about crime control, and prevention successes.

"After NIJ has evaluated the results of the funded research, it is disseminated through multiple channels to (1) give policymakers and practitioners the best available evidence to make decisions and (2) build knowledge that advances both science and practice."

The NIJ is required to make Annual Reports to Congress. The NIJ website reflects the last Annual Report was filed for 2020--no annual reports have been filed for 2021 or 2022. However, their website, https://nij.ojp.gov, does contain a research document dated Feb. 3, 2022, entitled "Public Mass Shootings: Database Amasses Details of a Half Century of U.S. Mass Shootings with Firearms, Generating Psychosocial Histories." The subtitle states, "A troubled past and leaked plans are common to those who take part in mass shootings. Most use handguns."

Mass shootings in that report are defined as a shooting that kills four or more people. "The data on 172 mass public shooters cover more than 150 psychosocial history variables, such as those individuals' mental health history, past trauma, interest in past shootings, and situational triggers." Many of the mass shooters are radicalized online, purchase handguns legally, and 64.5% of individuals had a prior criminal record. While 77.2% used handguns, 25.1% used AR's in commission of their crimes. The findings point out that media outlets have their own biases in favor of coverage of mass shootings (i.e., schools, military bases, assault rifles, etc.).

Additionally, the research states the fact that there are no federal laws requiring safe storage of guns and no federal standards for firearm locks. The NIJ website contains other research specific to violence and school safety.

It is time to put political agendas, emotions, and biases aside and look to real scientific evidence to reduce gun violence in this country. To that end, this NIJ report should serve as a valuable resource. It is also time to demand that the current DOJ/NIJ fulfill its responsibility and file required delinquent Annual Reports with Congress. If you wish to contact Senator Shaheen and ask if the reports have, in fact, been filed and simply not posted to the public website or an explanation for this lack of compliance contact her in any of the following manners.

DC Phone Number: 202-224-2841

Government Website: shaheen.senate.gov

ContactEmail: shaheen.senate.gov/contact/contact-jeanne

Biden is calling for common sense gun laws.  How about some common sense politics; term limits, age limits, senility tests for politicians that can’t remember what country they were just in 10 days before, banning lobbyists, banning politicians from owning stocks while in office, taking back the wars power act and making it a Constitutional matter once again. 

Should some assembles of Biden’s common sense gun law pass Congress, the Senate and signed by Dementia Joe it would go straight to the Supreme Court and be overturned. 

 I don’t support the NRA and won’t support them after what the stood for or should I say against blacks carrying guns in the late 60’s even tho the Black Panthers were a far left Marxist-Leninists organization. 

So ask yourself and your politicians why schools haven’t had metal detectors or screeners at the schools but the airports have since after 9/11. 

Ask yourself why cops still hesitate to go in to neutralize a threat, that comes down to two things 1) the cops aren’t properly trained and 2) the Supreme Court ruled the the police do not have a Constitutional Duty to protect civilians. 

Don’t you think a few changes to the laws of protection and having properly trained individuals that have training and combat experience to safe guard the children in all stages of learning K to 12 and all community colleges and universities but that makes too much sense. 

Duopoly in the government, fighting across the isle, one up man ship and decisive rhetoric.  Gone are the days of working together even if your party lost the presidential elections.   We’ve moved on from independence and freedoms to the big brother spying on everyone. 

A freedom relinquished is a freedom lost never to return. 

I am glad that most Americans value gun control over gun rights. Hopefully the people within this majority can help increase gun control in this country, making school shootings and other such tragedies far less common.

The polls are clear--we the people want control on the use of guns in our country--our representatives need to start doing their jobs working for us, not the NRA! The 2nd amendment is very clear with the term well regulated--why is that always left out of arguments about gun control? Well regulated could involve laws on gun ownership such as training on how to use and safety, testing both on proper use and psychological should be required, age limits, no war weapons allowed if one is not in military or police service, and anyone who has ever threatened or harmed a partner/spouse or other family member would be banned from owning any firearm

Congress PROTECT OUR LIVES as the "right tp life is one of ours".

Strong GUN REFORMS needed.

Congress members who do not support and or receive NRA Moneywillbe voted out!!!!!

Of course gun control should be of more concern than any law that allows private citizens to buy assault style weapons, or carry guns without having to have a permit (actually, I don't want idiots carrying guns in public spaces at all-they're too eager to shoot first and ask questions later).  The right to bear arms should have commonsense guardrails that regulate that right.  All rights need to have some parameters to avoid the extremes that all to often occurs when unregulated.

I'd feel better if lawmakers actually listened to the majority of Americans and did something.

I don't believe the polls. They tend to be biased and favor the agenda of whomever is conducting them. Not to mention, this poll was surveying only 1300 people. From where? Liberal cities? I bet if you polled the entire country, including or excluding major cities, you would find quite a different result. 

If the GOP TRULY valued life, they would pass guns laws as soon as possible. So my question to those gun advocates is: what do you really value? The answer-Authoritarianism.

How the population feels means nothing as long as MoC's vote for their corporate bribers over their constituents.