Poll: Despite mass shooting, most Colo. voters don't favor stricter gun laws

CBS

(CBS News) Despite recent gun-related tragedies in Colorado and Wisconsin, most voters there, and in Virginia another critical battleground state - do not favor stricter gun laws and do not believe stricter arms laws would help prevent acts of mass violence, according to a Quinnipiac University/CBS News/New York Times poll released this morning.

Conducted from July 31 to August 6, the poll shows the majority of likely voters in all three swing states do not favor stricter regulations for gun sales.

Voters in Colorado, where a gunman last month killed 12 and injured many more when he opened fire in a crowded movie theater, were most likely to favor keeping gun laws exactly as they are, with just 38 percent wanting stricter gun sales in their state. Sixty-six percent of voters in that state also said they do not believe harsher gun laws would curtail future shooting sprees; 60 percent of Virginia voters and 57 percent of Wisconsin voters share that view.

Since polling was being done at the same time as the August 5 shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, the results in today's poll would not reflect any possible reaction to that shooting.

Trends across all three states include women being far more likely than men, and Democrats more likely than Republicans, to support stricter gun sales and believe tighter regulations would help prevent future acts of violence. In each state, most voters who live in gun-owning households favor keeping laws on gun sales as they are now.

RELATED: Despite hurdles, some lawmakers urge new gun laws

RELATED: Poll: Romney leads in Colo., Obama in Va., Wis.

Majorities of voters in the three states - 58 percent in Colorado, 52 in Virginia, and 57 in Wisconsin - support a nationwide ban on high-capacity magazines that hold many rounds of ammunition. Those numbers are slightly lower with voters living in a gun-owning household: 45 percent in Colorado, 42 in Virginia, and 47 in Wisconsin.

There is disagreement among voters about whether President Obama and Mitt Romney have adequately addressed the issue of laws on gun sales. In all three states, four in 10 voters think the candidates have spent too little time on the issue, while one in five believe they've spent too much time. A third of voters in the states think they've spent the right amount of time talking about the issue.

Full poll results on next page

This poll was conducted by telephone from Quinnipiac University's interviewing facility July 31-August 6, 2012. The number of likely voters interviewed in each state is 1,463 in Colorado, 1,412 in Virginia and 1,428 in Wisconsin. In all three states, phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the sample in each state could be plus or minus three percentage points in Colorado, Virginia, and in Wisconsin. The error for subgroups may be higher. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

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[Lucky12345678]

Chicago has some the strongest gun laws in the country. Guess what they have the highest gun related deaths per capita, something like 289 and counting year to date... Why do you wonder why people are not really supporting gun control measures?

[weapons4sale]

The NRA driven, Anti Gun Control arguments are perpetuated by bumper stickers, internet placards, glib one liners and general analogies (which arent valid analogies) designed to appeal to the less educated, who often vote against their own self interests.

[HenryBowmanAZ]

$20 says that the "majority of likely voters" in either of those states (or in fact any other) couldn't pass a 20-question quiz on what their state and federal gun laws currently ARE.

These surveys prove nothing factual about current gun laws or the need for additional gun laws -- they only serve to prove how voters' "nebulous feelings" may affect their votes.

What amazes me is that the survey still came down on the right side. As always, the guy who broke the existing gun laws (armed trespass) had the advantage over the law-abiding citizens who disarmed themselves to obey those laws.

Laws don't stop armed assaults. Armed defense stops armed assaults.

[samXXkiley]

coucou,
In addition to revision the gun laws, education of voters in State of Colorado is also required in order to develop their moral faculties, after this, maybe they will know how to make a difference between what is right and what is bad for society
"au revoir"

[stupa5]

There were 2,447 deliberate and 1,237 accidental non-fatal gunshot injuries in Colorado alone during 1883.

[RaconteurDuck]

Stupid5 source your data or it's BS. Why 1883? Is it the worst you could find? Again, if you can't give the source, I call BS.

[pr_boxer]

I guess Coloradans need a couple more murder sprees before they wake the h-ll up.

[MIchael-Rosellini]

I live in Denver Co and we have more gun laws than you can shake a stick at just as the do in Aurora where the Theatre shootings occured. Both cities being run by Liberal Democrats we refer to Denver as the "Peoples Republic of Denver". You cannot own so-called assualt guns or rifles or any high capacity magazines or 50BMG rifles.

The criminals have them but the citizens are not allowed to.
We finally were able to Concealed Carry Permits in 2004 when only a few special people and friends of the politicians and police were allowed to have them.
No, we do not want anymore gun laws in Colorado.
At this point they are redundant like the Democrats and left wingers.

[formerlyluvnut]

LESS stricter gun laws would have meant, most probably, that more people in the theater would have been armed & could have possibly stopped the shooter earlier. Duh. It ain't rocket science.

[gjc1n1]

If Colorado citizens don't want stricter gun control laws, that's fine with me for two reasons. I live far from Colorado and relatively safe from their gun-toting killers. The second reason is that by not favoring stricter gun control, the citizens will slowly be killed off one by one. Problem solved.

[nottblu]

Chicago and Washington DC have the most RESTRICTIVE gun laws in the nation and the highest murder rates, that is no coincidence.

[gjc1n1]

I live far from Chicago and Washington DC too. The only way to solve this problem is to repeal the second amendment. It has lost its usefulness. If EVERY state had very restrictive gun laws you wouldn't see the mass transferring of weapons between states.

[lesserof2evil]

The local police department doesn't prevent ALL crimes. Therefore, we DON'T need the local police departments.

Homeland Security Department will not prevent ALL terrorist attacks. Therefore, we DON'T need Homeland Security Department.

Car seat belts don't prevent ALL traffic fatality. Therefore, we DON'T need car seat belts.

Helmets don't prevent ALL football head injuries. Therefore, we DON'T need helmets to play football.

[formerlyluvnut]

Police Dept's are only in place to enforce the laws. NOWHERE in their job description is it written that they are responsible for crime PREVENTION.