Poll: In the Wake of Arizona Shootings, Americans Split on Gun Control
CBS
In the wake of Saturday's shootings in Tucson, Arizona, Americans are split over whether gun control laws should be made stricter, according to a new CBS News Poll.
According to the poll, 47 percent of Americans believe that gun control laws should be more stringent in the wake of the Arizona shootings. Meanwhile, 36 percent believed the laws should remain the same, and 12 percent thought the laws should be made less strict in light of the shootings.
The percentage of those who favor stricter gun control laws is up seven percent from a similar CBS poll in March of 2010 in which 40 percent of respondents said they supported strengthening regulations on gun ownership. In the same poll, 16 percent said gun control laws should be less strict, and 42 percent said they should stay the same.
But support is down from the levels seen in 2002 when 56 percent supported tighter gun control, and in 1994 when stricter gun control had 59 percent support.
Special Section: Tragegy in Tucson
Despite the apparent increase in public support for stronger gun control laws, however, most Americans said that, either way, they didn't think any such laws would have effectively prevented the violence in Tucson this weekend.
Of those surveyed, 36 percent said they thought stricter laws would have done at least a little to prevent the violence. (Of that group, eighteen percent said they thought the regulations would have done "a lot" to prevent the shootings.) But 58 percent of respondents said they didn't think tougher regulations would have had any effect on the situation.
Gun owners, in particular, were less likely to believe that tougher regulations would have prevented the shootings.
Of the 58 percent who said stronger gun control laws would have been ineffective in preventing the Arizona shootings, 77 percent said they had a gun in the household. But of the 18 percent who said they thought tougher gun laws would have done "a little" to prevent the shootings, only ten percent said they had a gun in the house. Seven percent of those who thought stricter laws would have done "a lot" to prevent the shootings said there was a gun in the house.
In the aftermath of the violence in Tucson this past weekend, the debate over gun control has been brought back to the forefront of American political discourse.
Advocates of more stringent regulations argue that the case of Jared Lee Loughner - the 22-year-old man accused of killing 6 people and injuring 14 in the Arizona shootings - exemplifies the overly lax nature gun control laws throughout the country. (Loughner's alleged weapon of choice - a semi-automatic Glock - can be purchased legally in the United States.)
"The law says that drug abusers can't buy guns," said New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a strong gun control advocate who co-founded an organization of pro-gun control mayors. "Even though Jared Loughner was rejected by the military for drug use and arrested on drug charges, he was able to pass a background check and buy a gun."
However, others echo Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) who urged legislators not to "make rash decisions" in the wake of the shootings.
"The normal instinct, and rightfully so, and it's a good instinct, is to protect. As a legislator, you protect through legislation. I think that's healthy. I think that's normal. I think those intentions are all good. In that regard, I applaud my colleagues," Grimm said in an interview with POLITICO.
"The training tells you, 'Don't make rash decisions, especially right after the event,'" he continued, adding that "those [who] are opposed to guns and want to regulate guns to begin with may use this to bolster their arguments."
Poll: 45% Say Politics Motivated Jared Loughner
Read the Complete Poll
This poll was conducted by telephone on January 9-10, 2011 among 673 adults nationwide who were first interviewed by CBS News December 17-20, 2010. Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus four percentage points. The error for subgroups is higher. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.
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Well I'm here to tell you that you are HYPOCRITES, because if you want some real studies here we go.
Automobiles cause the most deaths in this country 43,000 of them
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration there are about 43,000 people killed in fatal car accidents?each year in the United States.
Roughly, 40 percent of the fatal crashes are alcohol-related. In addition to fatal accidents, about 2.9 million people are injured each year.
The gun stats that you are always showing are results from ALL gun actions including ;
Self Defense (Justifiable)
Murder (Because they had no way to protect themselves).
Accidental (3% were accidents)
Police Shootings. (2% were "legal killings", such as when police officers do the shooting in the course of duty.)
Half of Gun Deaths Are Suicides and they would still have committed the act if gun were not a tool.
Statistics are available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suicides accounted for 55% of the nation's nearly 31,000 firearm deaths.
In the same year, 40% of deaths were homicides, 3% were accidents and the remaining 2% were "legal killings", such as when police officers do the shooting in the course of duty.
So do us all a FAVOR and start walking ever where you go because Automobiles kill more than gun's ever will, so go and punish those people that don't drink and drive, because Automobiles kill more people than gun's so that should make them a PRIORITY and ban them.
OOPS that's right you feel you have a RIGHT to be able to own one of those and even drive one because you need to be able to travel around for what ever reason you have and because you like them it is 100% fine in that case right . And ban drinking and driving too while your at it. Oh wait a minute they already did but the Criminals are still killing people aren't they because your way IS NOT WORKING AND IT NEVER WILL.PERIOD
Well like I said before to you ignorant people that keep trying to take away a law abiding citizens rights. YOU JUST CAN'T FIX STUPID??
GOD BLESS AMERICA.
Can you please post the statistics you speak of? I'm not looking for a right wing/left wing thing, I'm not trying to insult you because you're a leftist or anything, I'm really just asking for the statistics that you mention. If you're planning on dodging it and shooting your mouth off about the "stupid GOPers", don't bother. It gets you nowhere, and reinforces our assumptions that you have no idea what you're talking about, and that's about the only thing you've said in every post that anyone can make sense of, even if it doesn't make sense. An insulting anti-GOP post would only blend into every other anti-GOP post you've posted here.
Of course, I don't expect you to admit you were wrong twice, but be my guest if the dog ate the report that you found, or whatever the case may be. It's just not a good idea to throw out statements with no basis, it doesn't make you seem credible, and it works to confuse people who don't know any better.
is that some number of the illegal guns are actually used for ligitmate self defense... The tighter the gun laws are, the more they disenfranchise those who might have a reason to need to have a means of self defense.
So... your life is in danger... but there is this law that says you can't own one, what are you going to do? simple. Ignore the law. Do what you have to do to survive.
Also... there seems to be a great misconception about people who have a concealed carry permit. They think a few dollars, get a permit, buy a gun and you are go to go, tombstone, here we come. Just because you have a concealed carry permit, and carry a gun out in public, does NOT automatically give you a license to just shoot someone. If you shoot another person, you will be subjected to the closest scrutiny to determine if the shooting was ligitimate and justified, or not. If it was not, you WILL be held responsible for your actions. It may cost you all you own and you could end up spending your life behind bars. Carrying a gun is an awesome responsibility. Responsible adults do not go around 'just shooting people'.
Nuff said!
Democrats, get a life. What goes around comes around.
The problem becomes when someone who is ruthless wants your stuff, and will do anything to get it, including kill you, maybe only because he knows that as soon as he leaves you can identify him to the police.
Then it isn't about stuff anymore, it just became about your life.