Numbers make all the difference. Here are the results of the most recent polls on gun control in the United States, taken over the weekend following the Sandy Hook school shooting . . .

What do you think is the best way to reduce gun violence in this country: by passing stricter gun control laws, or by stricter enforcement of existing laws?

  • Stricter Laws: 32%
  • Both: 8%
  • Stricter Enforcement: 49%
  • Neither: 7%
  • Unsure: 3%

Do you favor or oppose stricter gun control laws in this country?

  • Favor: 54%
  • Oppose: 43%
  • Unsure: 3%

Would you support or oppose a law requiring a nationwide ban on semi-automatic handguns, which automatically re-load every time the trigger is pulled?

  • Support: 52%
  • Oppose: 44%
  • Unsure: 3%

Would you support or oppose a law requiring a nationwide ban on the sale of handguns, except to law enforcement officers?

  • Support:27%
  • Oppose: 71%
  • Unsure: 2%

Would you support or oppose a law requiring a nationwide ban on high-capacity ammunition clips, meaning those containing more than 10 bullets?

  • Support: 59%
  • Oppose: 38%
  • Unsure: 2%

Source

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59 COMMENTS

  4. “Numbers make all the difference”
    — Demographics are the key to who will dominate.

    It will be interesting to see a much larger poll done several months from now.

  6. Where’s our usual “ammunition clips” comment?

    ZING!

    I think people in general are still running on their emotions from the incident, which is understandable (if regrettable). Let’s not forget that it’s only the Tuesday after the Friday.

  7. At least 9% of respondants clearly don’t know what they are talking about. How can somone be for a semi-auto ban, but against stricter gun laws? semi-auto ban = stricter gun law. Not to mention the assumptive language used to bias the questions: “automatically” reload, “high” capacity.

    This means our neighbors still need educating before they have time to support something they don’t understand.

    • If you could see the results either without or immediately after voting, then it’s a crappy poll. Another forum I read regularly posts whenever there’s a poll that they want to nuke in their favor. They refer to it as a “Fire Mission,” and people chime in that they voted by saying “Hit!”

  11. “Would you support or oppose a law requiring a nationwide ban on semi-automatic handguns, which automatically re-load every time the trigger is pulled?”

    “Would you support or oppose a law requiring a nationwide ban on the sale of handguns, except to law enforcement officers?”

    I find it odd, inflammatory, and incredibily suspicious that CBS would even ask these two questions, since both are impossible since the USCOTUS “Heller v. District of Columbia” ruling, which stated that firearms “commonly used” for self-defense are protected by the Second Amendment.

    I believe that a ban on magazines which hold over 10 rounds and various other feature bans are certainly possible, as all previous “assault weapons bans” have withstood legal challenges thus far. I’ll be very disappointed if something like the Clinton-era AWB or the California laws pass.

    • The question seems to me to be designed to be misleading–the use of the word “semiautomatic” and “which automatically reload” tends to disguise th fact that they are limiting the question to handguns and not including evil black rifles.

    • I have been called by a pollster once. Regarding “safety”. It took me three minutes to ask the lady if she was talking about federal, state, or local government’s role. After explaining the differance to her it was panently obvious which direction her employer was trying to skew the data.

      Just like this poll, in the cited source other questions are sprinkled with buzz words like “AK-47” to play off the uninformed’s adversions.

  14. I can almost guarantee, the first few times someone kills someone with a crossbow/high-tech bow/lethal specific knife, etc, either aggressor or defender, there will be a hew and cry to ban such weapons.

  15. Are you frigging kidding me? Aside from the fact that every poll is a “push poll” designed to result in a predetermined outcome, as far as ‘scientific polling companies’ go, this is a NOBODY pollster. If it were Harris, Gallup, etc, it’d be one thing, but this is some nobody they trot out to rationalize the PRO-torturer/rapist/pedophile/murderer PAC the Branch Bunch. As pathetic and as blatantly and openly liberal PPP would even have even more credibility.

    Moving on!

  16. The question about banning semi-auto handguns and its results just demonstrate that people do not know what that means, back to muzzle loaders it is!

    I don’t like the question of do you favor stricter gun control laws. That is so incredibly vague. I do support that, but only things like making it so states that don’t report mental health records to the background check system do so…but that’s about it. Otherwise I support laws being rolled back or removed. Remove gun free zones and every state should be shall issue.

  17. This was a CBS pole. the issue I have is they did not ask a simple question. Are you a gun owner? I am sure the numbers would have been different between gun owners and non gun owners.
    Also we don’t know who they poled, women, men, white, black, latino?
    There are plenty of demographics which will play a role in such a pole.

    • What an incredibly vague question though. Refer to my above comment. What stricter gun control laws? Some people who said yes to that may simply want the states that don’t report mental health records to the background check system to do so. That I support. But I do not support much if anything between that and the extreme that is banning. They turned a multiple choice question (which endless choices) into a yes or no question.

      • If you ask most people if there should be “stricter” laws they will say yes; but ask them what laws are on the books already, and unless they are a gun owner, they haven’t a clue. Politicians have been playing this game for years, telling people that “I’ll be tough on crime.” Makes people think the politicians will protect them from the evil in society. Hell, California has some of the toughest criminal laws in the country, second only to Florida. And still people clamour for more and tougher penalties. This is no different.

  19. I was always told to refrain from making big decisions while in a heightened emotional state.

    Like the patriot act…

    -D

  20. hmmm …. while we are attacking the 2nd amendment …. let’s go after the 1st amendment with all the “misinformation” coming from the media. How dare they spout out without knowing in the first hours of the shooting who did it, what weapon was involved and that he was wearing a “bullet proof” vest…. perhaps we should go after free speech as the media and Hollywood can say whatever they want with no consequences….. What does Hollywood think… you glorify killing in all the movies and now you are surprised by this…. hypocrites!!! How dare them. Yah….taking away the 1st does not make sense either.

    • I often ask others who suggest scaling back of the 2nd amendment what constitutionally protected right they would give away to take away my RKBA. Would they be willing to eliminate the right to peaceably assemble, or maybe the right to be protected from unreasonable search and seizure?

  21. So Americans are OK with revolvers (?). It’s a good thing the poll didn’t ask about those dangerous hollowpoint bullets.

    • That question along with the semi-auto one should either be explained better or be prefaced with, do you know what a hollow point bullet is and what the benefits/drawbacks to it are? …no, okay then your answer is irrelevant, go educate yourself then get back to me.

    • Don’t revolvers reload with each press of the trigger and also fire? So why would those be any better

      • A revolver reloads with a second press of the trigger if it’s double action. But my point is that a lot of the general public puts a semiautomatic pistol in the “assault weapon” category.

  22. Let’s put forth a purely hypothetical question, in the form of a poll:

    Does your wife/gf know you getting some on the side??

    Answer yes or no please.

  23. Watch this:

    I asked 250 people at my last gun show, “Should we do something about firearm laws in this country?”

    86% answered with some variation of, “Yes, we should get rid of about 90% of them, because they do nothing.”

    I then went to Times Square, New York City, and asked 250 people, “Should we do something about firearm laws in this country?”

    72% answered with some variation of, “Yes, this gun violence has gotten out of control.”

    HEADLINE:
    79%: SOMETHING SHOULD BE DONE ABOUT FIREARM LAWS

  24. It’s hard getting through the day knowing that half the people I randomly meet and pass during the course of my day are despicable, lowly, weak-minded fools unworthy of living in this country.

    • + a billion

      It seems that every time something awful happens, people look around for some freedom we can toss in the garbage. It turns my stomach.

  25. Shows we have turned the tide of public opinion we must make sure congress get this too. Most oppose more gun bans. Face it most people know less guns means more crime. Thanks Nick.

  26. I honestly take this pole as positive because the gun control numbers aren’t higher this soon after an elementary school shooting. Wait a week, give the same pole and I bet the numbers are even better for us. People aren’t all being sheep, hooray.

  28. Ban Semi-Automatic handguns? Whats that leave Pre-Civil War Technology?

    It would be funny, if they (washington) weren’t serious

  29. It’s funny how there is a big fuss about semi auto handguns because they fire a round each time the trigger is pulled. A double action revolver does exactly the same!

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