Pew Research Service released a Cultural Issues and the 2024 Election report that shows there’s a stark difference in the way those who support more gun control and those who support gun rights see the issue of lawful gun ownership in America and what it means for the 2024 election.
Pew Research Service surveyed 8,709 adults, including 1,166 registered voters, in April on the political values of both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. The survey topics were grouped together as “culture war” or “woke” issues.
Unsurprisingly, supporters of Biden and Trump view guns from nearly polar opposite perspectives. But the data is telling on what voters would expect from another four years of a Biden administration.
Voter Insights
“By overwhelming margins, Joe Biden’s supporters prioritize gun control over gun rights and say gun ownership does more to reduce than increase safety; roughly eight-in-ten Biden supporters (83%) say the increase in guns in the U.S. is at least somewhat bad for society,” the report’s authors wrote in the “Gun attitudes and the 2024 election” section. “By comparable or even somewhat larger margins, Donald Trump’s supporters express opposing views on all three measures.”
That’s not telling the whole story, though. The survey found that among all voters, there was a slight edge, 52 percent, to those voters who believed it is important to protect the rights of Americans who own guns over those who believe there should be increased control over who owns guns, which came in at 47 percent. The stark differences show when the two groups of supporters are broken out. Biden supporters only accounted for 19 percent who believe protecting Second Amendment rights is important compared to 80 percent who want more gun control. Among Trump supporters, 85 percent want Second Amendment rights protected and just 14 percent want more gun control.
That divide was also evident when surveyors asked if gun ownership increases or decreases public safety. Fifty-four percent of survey respondents believe gun ownership contributes to increased public safety, while 45 percent said more gun ownership reduces public safety. Seventy-six percent of Biden supporters believe more guns decreases public safety while 23 percent believe lawful gun ownership makes communities safer. Among Trump supporters, just 13 percent thought more gun ownership makes society more vulnerable, while 86 percent believe more lawfully-owned firearms means safer communities.
When the overarching question of whether more guns are good or bad for society, 52 percent of survey respondents thought it was bad, with just 22 percent agreeing it was good. Among Biden supporters, 83 percent think guns are bad for society with just 5 percent agreeing guns are good. For Trump supporters, 40 percent agree more guns were good for America with just 21 percent who thought more guns are bad.
Digging Deeper
That last set of survey results comes with a caveat, though. There were significant numbers of voters surveyed who answered guns are neither good nor bad. That’s not an anomaly, as many gun owners see firearms as an inanimate tool with no intrinsic moral value one way or the other. In other words, it’s not the gun that’s bad or good, rather it’s the person who uses it for good or evil.
Among all survey respondents, that was 25 percent, and if added to those who answered more lawfully-owned guns are good for America, that brings the total to 47 percent of respondents. Thirteen percent of Biden supporters thought guns were neutral, and if added to those who thought more lawfully-owned guns are good, that total is 18 percent. Thirty-eight percent of Trump supporters are also neutral on the good-or-bad question. Adding those to the “guns are good” answers, that brings the total to 78 percent.
That question, though, didn’t differentiate between lawful and unlawful gun ownership. The survey, though, did ask about crime and policing. A full 61 percent of those polled said the justice system should be tougher on criminals, with only 25 percent saying the justice system is getting it right and 13 percent saying it is too tough on criminals. When it comes to Biden’s supporters, 40 percent agree that the justice system needs to get tougher with criminals. Among Trump supporters, that figure jumps to 81 percent.
Crime is an issue. Given the results of whether guns contribute to or denigrate America, along with the crime answers, it is clear that Americans overall are fed up with criminals being treated softly while their rights to protect themselves with guns are winnowed away to satisfy special interest gun control proponents.
More of This? Voter Survey Says No
The hardened positions by Biden and Trump supporters are hardly surprising. After all, President Biden has been demonizing the firearm industry since he took to the debate stage in 2019 and called firearm manufacturers “the enemy.” He nominated David Chipman, a former gun control lobbyists to become Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), before the U.S. Senate confirmation hearing forced President Biden to withdraw his name from consideration. He’s installed a former Everytown for Gun Safety gun control lobbyist in The White House. President Biden has used a whole-of-government approach to attack the firearm industry and Second Amendment rights, through “zero-tolerance” policies by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to revoke or pressure firearm retailers to give up their licenses and livelihoods, using the ATF to abuse the rulemaking process to bypass Congress by reclassifying brace-equipped pistols as short-barreled rifles (SBRs) and subject them to regulation under the National Firearms Act (NFA), or the “Engaged in the Business” rule to implement near-universal background checks among private sellers. This is the same White House administration that illegally spied, and lied about it, on law-abiding gun owners by collecting their private banking data without a warrant and also weaponized the Commerce Department to push an industry-crippling rule to hobble firearm exports to overseas markets.
On top of that, the Biden administration peddles in lies when they tell the American public the disproven claim that firearms are the leading cause of death among children. Despite repeatedly being fact checked, that lie continues to be repeated by President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and ATF Director Steven Dettelbach.
Contrast that with President Trump, who told gun owners at NRA’s Annual Meeting, “I promise you this, with me at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, no one will lay a finger on your firearms — just as took place for four years when I was your president.”
The Pew Research Service survey’s slight edge in favor of gun rights suggest the Biden administration’s support for gun control and nonstop attack on the Second Amendment is shifting the political ground toward valuing gun rights, and potentially, for President Trump. NSSF just reported that 22.3 million people – equal to population of Florida – have become first-time gun owners since 2020. Those new gun owners don’t fit the convenient boxes that gun control supporters would like. These new owners are increasingly diverse, including African Americans and Hispanic Americans and Asian Americans, as well as more women. For these new gun owners, gun rights is now an election issue.
November’s elections are about five months away. While that may be an eternity in politics, voting in many states starts in September. Gun owners will soon make their decisions. President Biden’s supporters will be looking to double down on the attacks on the firearm industry. President Trump’s supporters will be looking to reverse these unprecedented attacks on both the firearm industry and Second Amendment rights. That’s why it is imperative to vote.
FJB.
TRUMP 2024.
The ship sandwich of choice has slightly less ship in it.
The problem is that with today’s imperial presidencies the Chief executive doesn’t have to follow the constitution and SCOTUS is too weak tea to do much about it other than in a timescale that spans decades.
People keep saying that FDJT’s court picks are important but I keep seeing a number of his picks such as Kavanaugh and ACB voting against cert to important gun ban cases all around the nation and bucking the real 2A justices like Alito and Thomas who vote for cert.
Facts not Fiction.
Whether FJB or FDJT wins in December our 2A is not going to get a favorable outcome in the long run. Both ship sandwiches have ship in them. One might be smellier than the other but they both have too much ship in them.
What is your solution?
Complain enough so fence sitters won’t vote for Trump? That seems to be Paul Ryan’s strategy. We have now lived through both administrations. There’s a stark difference between the two. It’s like everyone has forgotten how comparatively easy life was pre-Covid and pre-Puppet Admin.
Now that 100 dollar bill you left in your drawer in 2020 is only worth $75. The Dallas Federal Reserve even admitted that the Inflation Reduction Act is contributing to inflation.
You don’t hate Paul Ryan enough.
You may think you do, but you don’t.
We all must work harder at it.
“You don’t hate Paul Ryan enough.
You may think you do, but you don’t.
We all must work harder at it.“
Oh yes, the ‘Two Minute Hate’ session George Orwell warned us that totalitarian governments would use.
“The horrible thing about the Two Minutes Hate was not that one was obliged to act a part, but that it was impossible to avoid joining in.”
How sad that, just as Trump is using ‘Mein Kampf’, the conservatives are using ‘1984’ as a roadmap for their overthrow of freedom, just as George or well foretold.
I don’t hate anyone. However, I do believe that Paul Ryan, Romney, etc. should never be invited to another right wing event for the rest of their life. These people act the way they do because they never face any consequences.
He’d love for Joe Biden to win just so he could smugly say, “I told you so.” In other words, he doesn’t really care about the things he pretends to care about.
Solution? There’s no solution. What’s your solution to gravity? Things crash down, then we pick up the pieces and try to rebuild the best we can. That is, those who survive the catastrophe. The plan is to weather the storm and be there on the other side.
As far as FDJT is concerned, I have zero hope that he will make anything less bad than FJB. Hope in one hand…
Don’t eat ship sandwiches hoping in one hand. That’s my advice.
I believe that President Trump’s views on gun ownership have evolved considerably since he imposed that stupid bump stock ban. The belief within liberal circles that guns not criminals are responsible for crimes is extremely pernicious. POTUS Trump’s recent experiences have no doubt enlightened him.
An example of the dementia is illustrated by a recent court case in my neighborhood. Yamhill County Judge Ladd Wiles imposed an enhanced sentence on Dillon Cashman for his shooting spree because two of his five firearms were “rapid fire.”. Four of Cashman’s firearms were semiautomatic and one was a revolver. None were full auto nor were they reported to have been equipped with bumpstocks or binary triggers. There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that two of the firearms could fire more rapidly than the others. This includes the revolver that theoretically can fire more rapidly than a semiautomatic.
Furthermore; there is zero provision in Oregon law that enabled imposing an enhanced sentence for utilizing a semiautomatic firearm to commit a crime. This same idiot judge gave my marijuana bootlegging tenant a free pass for shooting at my children because he was armed with a politically correct, Remington 870, Tactical Express shotgun. Just for the ignorant judge’s information, a 12 gauge, 3&1/2″ chamber length shotgun can launch as many as 18, 00 buckshot projectiles with every shot fired.
Cashman’s only crime was pointing his guns at the police and neighbors then pulling the trigger 243 times.
“I believe that President Trump’s views on gun ownership have evolved considerably since he imposed that stupid bump stock ban.”
Chill, bro.
In less than *one month* the SCotUS returns the ‘Cargill’ bump-stock ban verdict. All signs point to the BATF ‘rule’ being bitch-slapped down when ‘Chevron deference’ is finally sent to the dust-bin of history…
I truly hope you are correct
“Cashman’s only crime was pointing his guns at the police and neighbors then pulling the trigger 243 times.“
Cashman’s “only crime“?
“pointing his guns at the police and neighbors“?
“pulling the trigger 243 times“?
That certainly sounds like some ‘enhanced’ criminality to me, I’m sure this ‘responsible gun owner’ appreciates your support.
Reading comprehension fail
Nikita Tesla makes a good point, but we are never going to get perfection since politicians range from “okay at best” to “if that guy got elected we would have to revolt.” Trump is clearly an “okay” kind of guy on 2A issues and a bit better than that otherwise where most of the Democrats are 90% of the way to “we would have to revolt.”
For now we are stuck with vote Trump and hope it works out.
We eat the ship sandwich and hope in one hand that it stays down.
The good news is whichever ship sandwich we eat now in another four years neither of these two idiots will be eligible in one case or mentally capable in the other to run again. But the two-faced party will certainly find another couple of unqualified anti-2A schmucks to fill their tickets all over again in four years.
“Take the guns now and worry about due process later” guy is actually the lesser of ship sandwiches we have to swallow this time. Next time they will have been shown that gun-owners will swallow any of their ship and they have nothing to fear from us
Pathetic. And we keep loosing our Liberty and access to our god-given human rights by a thousand tiny cuts…
“worry about due process later” guy”
As poor as Joe Biden is on the second amendment, he has never suggested arbitrarily abandoning constitutional protections of due process.
And Joe Biden has never advocated terminating the constitution:
“A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post in December 2022.“
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4168261-trump-called-for-termination-of-parts-of-constitution-in-december/?nxs-test=mobile
Would f_k guns fall within the plus category in the lgbtq(plus) community?
Reads title. Chuckles to self “no shit”. Like having the headline “water is wet”.
“Chuckles to self “no shit”. Like having the headline “water is wet”
Now go easy, some people are just now figuring out water is wet:
“This is a tough hurricane, one of the wettest we’ve ever seen, from the standpoint of water.”
Donald J. Trump
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a23316282/president-trump-hurricane-florence-wettest-from-the-standpoint-of-water/
I like Rattlesnakes better then Cottonmouths.
A choice between terminal cancer or a painful and embarrassing incurable social disease.
No way, rattlesnakes will kill your ass fast.
Cottonmouths and copperheads are easily survivable.
I used to know a little old lady who often got bit going out to the cellar house, her feet had all kinds of scars but she said after a while a copperhead hit was just like a bee sting…
I’ve had dogs die from one rattlesnake bite, but every summer at least one of my dogs gets a copperhead bite with nothing but a day or two of swelling and discomfort.
Geez, Miner. Why didn’t you buy that poor old lady some boots?
Bullsht, a Cottonmouth is just as deadly as a rattlesnake if not more so. Copperheads are not
And besides a possum is somewhat immune from a rattlesnake bite but a Cottonmouth will eat me.
Pew = oversample progs per their SO[.
Trump and Biden supporters have opposing views on firearms. Talk about Captain Obvious. I don’t know why this idea justified an article.
Who would ‘av thunk it!
Self-evident is the word used in the founding documents. No research needed.
The Democrat party has never believed in civil rights. But they do believe in legal butt and glory hole sex.
They are very racist and anti family.
They will make sure you have a circus to watch. and plenty of bread to go with it.
In 2020, nearly 2,400 children aged 1 to 17 died of vehicle related injuries, compared to 2,270 firearm deaths, NBC News analysis of the CDC data showed.
Does that make you feel better?
Considering how many of the children involved were involved in gangs never felt too bad to begin with.
How many children died in the womb from abortions?
Does that make you feel better?
930,000 abortions in 2020. Abortions end life.
2021 alone, in Vitro Fretilization accounted for 120,000 dead children compared to 86,000 births.
But that only considers those embryos that passed genetic screening. Those that didn’t or weren’t used were either destroyed or put into the freezer with no intention of ever being thawed.
Those totals aren’t given but also number in the thousands. Red States love to kill embryos too.
So almost 10 times fewer in number and typically opposed by the same groups that oppose abortion? Good for building out a theme but typically don’t want to get weaker as you go.
Zygotes and embryos are not people.
They are cells that have the potential of creating people, after nine months incubation and delivery.
Sperm cells have the potential of creating people, therefore you are responsible for killing thousands just in your adolescent years, murderer!
Sperm cells don’t contain the complete and unique genetic makeup of an organism. A fertilized egg (zygote) does contain that. Zygotes are the earliest developmental stage of life. Sperm is not a developmental stage of life. Sperm doesn’t grow up to be a person.
It’s interesting that their only response to the horror of abortion is to admit that embryos are in fact alive.
You’re okay with killing babies by IVF but not abortion. How are you that stupid?
In other news…. Dog bites man… Water is still wet.
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