Support for Gun Control in US at its Lowest Level in More than 50 Years

**PanzerJaeger** · 10-27-2011, 15:35

Great news, for shooting enthusiasts such as myself, not to mention American freedom.

But what's behind the fundamental shift since the '50s?

Support for gun control is at its lowest level in more than 50 years, according to a recent Gallup Poll.

In fact, 26 percent of those surveyed think there should be a law banning the possession of handguns, except by the police and other authorized people, reports a Wednesday Gallup poll. On the other hand, 73 percent oppose such a ban — the highest percentage reflecting such sentiment since polling on the issue started in 1959.
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Over the past 50 years, the United States has changed its mind drastically on whether a handgun ban is appropriate. In 1959, 60 percent supported a handgun ban, while only 36 percent opposed it.

With regard to semiautomatic guns known as assault rifles, 53 percent oppose laws that would make it illegal to manufacture, sell or possess them; only 43 percent agree with that sort of ban. This year marks the first time that more people were against a ban than for it.

A plurality of respondents — 44 percent — want firearms regulations to be kept as they are now, while 11 percent favor less strict gun laws; 43 percent suggest stricter gun laws are necessary.

Views on gun laws have changed dramatically over the past twenty years to the point where no key demographic subgroup favors a ban on handguns. Only those living in Eastern America, Democrats and those without guns in the household still have majority support for stricter gun laws generally, Gallup reports.

The polling firm suggested that the trend could be a reflection of a rising libertarian feeling in the American population or growing American comfort with guns. One 2008 Gallup poll found widespread agreement with the notion that the 2nd Amendment guarantees the right of Americans to own guns.

The trend did not appear to be related to a rise in gun ownership, which has stayed steady over the past 10 years, or any major shifts in American attitudes towards crime, fear of time, or reports of being victimized, reports Gallup.

This poll was conducted on Oct. 6-9, with a sample of 1,005 adults. The margin of error is plus or minus four percentage points.

**Fragony** · 10-27-2011, 19:18

Hardly surprising with crisis, uncertainty and all that

**drone** · 10-27-2011, 20:12

It could just be that it's out of the news. By 2000, most politicians realized supporting gun control would only hurt their chances.

Gun control and abortion threads in the Backroom, yeah! I still say we need to arm the fetuses to make the procedure more sporting.

**Sasaki Kojiro** · 10-27-2011, 20:48

That is interesting. It's not like we haven't had high profile handgun shootings. That senator lady was less than a year ago wasn't it?

**Crazed Rabbit** · 10-28-2011, 02:46

My educated guess is that it's the result of a lot of work by pro-firearms folks to push for gun rights over the decades.

Plus, a lot of the anti-gun arguments in US politics are based on fear mongering and lies. After a while it becomes clear that the blood in the streets the anti-gun folks always predict if some pro-gun law is passed isn't going to happen.

CR

**Catiline** · 10-28-2011, 06:52

I can, at a push understand the justification for allowing handgun ownership, but assault rifles? Crackers.

**a completely inoffensive name** · 11-02-2011, 06:42

when I say zero I really mean 12.

**Major Robert Dump** · 11-02-2011, 07:19

I like how we have 22,000 gun laws on the books yet people want to talk about how gun control works.

If we enforced current laws and closed that stupid gun show loophole it would be a done deal. IMO, the people who campaign to keep the gun show loophole open are just as bad as the liars on the anti-gun side

I'm also curious from you who think that guns vanishing is the magic solution:

If we take guns out of the picture, the murder rate per capita in the US still exceeds that of, say Japan.

**econ21** · 11-02-2011, 10:13

Originally Posted by Major Robert Dump

If we take guns out of the picture, the murder rate per capita in the US still exceeds that of, say Japan.

I suspect Japan is rather a low crime country. I've heard it said that the US and the UK have quite comparable crime rates, except for the "obscenely lower" gun crime in the UK.

**Major Robert Dump** · 11-02-2011, 12:43

Black males ages 16-24 also commit the majority of violent crimes in the US. We should consider a ban.

**PanzerJaeger** · 11-02-2011, 19:08

Originally Posted by Major Robert Dump

Black males ages 16-24 also commit the majority of violent crimes in the US. We should consider a ban.

That does bring up a good point, though. A significant proportion of those deaths are criminal on criminal and criminal on police homicides, which should be factored out if we're discussing the relative danger to the 'average' citizen.

**a completely inoffensive name** · 01-12-2012, 19:10

It's all about the culture. Having a very liberal (not in the american sense) policy with guns is perfectly fine if you reinforce the culture to be responsible with incentives, such as subsidized target training and tax breaks for shooting ranges.

Demonizing and alienating people with guns creates the exact opposite effect, with the NRA at times in the past being incredibly absurd in how they behave.