only 29% of Americans believe possession of handguns by private citizens should be banned

[The Straight Story]

Guns and violence ... a mass shooting in New York ... a savage war among drug cartel factions and between the cartels and police in Mexico (utilizing weaponry partially obtained in the U.S) ... a new U.S. administration that's perceived as less supportive of Second Amendment rights....

So many issues and concerns, but will all or any of this lead to stricter gun-control measures for U.S. citizens?

Perhaps, and time will tell. But according to a new Gallup Poll, conducted before last week's massacre at an immigrant center in Binghamton, N.Y., only 29% of Americans believe possession of handguns by private citizens should be banned.

It's the smallest percentage favoring a handgun ban since Gallup first posed the question nearly 50 years ago. The question: "Do you think there should or should not be a law that would ban the possession of handguns, except by police and other authorized persons?"

Perhaps not surprisingly, the poll also found that women are more in favor of stricter gun-control measures than men, and that Democrats are more supportive than Republicans and Independents.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/outposts/2009/04/americans-strongly-oppose-handgun-possession-ban-poll-says.html

[krispos42]

1. In my situation, the best gun for me is a handgun

If the economy ever fucking turns around maybe I'll be able to afford one.



But on the issue of home protection, the best for my situation (young kid in the house) is a handgun in a quick-access safe. Understand I'd much rather have a long gun (like an old M1 carbine) but those are difficult and expensive to store safely in a quick-access manner. Those big safes don't come cheap!

[The Straight Story]

2. You can get a big safe free

Just use your hand gun and steal one. Folks will blame the gun and it will go to jail and you will be free :rofl:

[krispos42]

4. ...

:rofl:



"Drop the gun or the safe gets it!" :crazy:

[The Straight Story]

5. That gave me a blazing saddles flashback:

[krispos42]

8. Exactly!!!! n/t

[iamthebandfanman]

3. im not much for guns,

i dont even like being around them to be honest...
but..

i dont have a problem with people owning hand guns and hunting rifles.

its the 'other' guns that concern me, the ones made for assaulting people... not animals or for protection(unless you honestly think an army is coming for you, but if thats the case youve got bigger problems than owning a gun)

[Tim01]

11. Semi-autos are the new hunting rifle, just like when muskets were left behind.

They are just semi-auto rifles like browning,remingtion, winchester and all the rest have been making for years.


The brady campaign intentionally started calling semi-autos "assault rifles", they admit they did this to confuse the issue. So, now lots of people think there are a bunch of machine guns out there. There are not.
The only thing special about them is the phrase "assault rifle".

[booley]

6. Ok but banning and regulating are not the same thing

Personally I don't think we should ban guns in general. At least a hand gun ban would not make sense to me.

BUT I also think all guns need better regulations. They are too easy to get. I do not buy the argument that has been presented to me that gun laws are by nature useless.

I mean, we have seen what banks do when they are out of control. Has anyone seriously suggested we ban banking as an institution? We have numerous car accidents that kill. But we don't' ban cars. we try to make them safer through technology or laws so hopefully fewer people die.

So I keep seeing these kinds of stories and thinking to myself, "has no one besides me ever heard of the excluded middle fallacy?"

[Runcible Spoon]

7. I think Dems need to let this one go.

I'm from a red rural area that has recently voted in Blue Dogs and I swear we could get some progressive people elected if we could do two things:

Honestly support small farmers
Leave the fucking guns issue alone

[MadHound]

9. And as always, most Americans believe that there should be stricter gun control laws

<http://www.gallup.com/poll/27229/Gallup-Summary-Americans-Gun-Control.aspx>

[Tim01]

13. That's from April 2007. Come on. Seriously.

[MadHound]

15. And gee, dude, if you looked you would see that's the latest Gallup has

Not to mention the fact that it has been a rock solid fact for years now that most Americans favor stricter gun control laws, or did you fail to see that whole graph over time thingy there.

[Tim01]

18. All of the charts on that page show Americans favor more laws less and less.

Slowly but surely. All of the graphs show it.

[MadHound]

23. The charts show consistently that Americans favor stricter gun control laws, no matter how you spin

Don't like that, tough shit. Find a poll that says otherwise.

[derby378]

26. The charts show that those who support the Second Amendment are winning

Don't like it? We're your neighbors now. We mean you no harm, but we are the future of the Democratic Party. Recognize.

[pipoman]

28. Wrong, this is the latest Gallop has, Oct. 2008 released TODAY

http://www.gallup.com/poll/117361/Support-Gun-Control-Laws-Time-Lows.aspx

And tell us again how you read this to find most Americans favor stricter gun control laws? Please be specific.

[pipoman]

29. Wrong, and Wrong see post 28 ^^^

[EFerrari]

10. I don't think they should be banned. But there should be better follow up

on folks who obviously have trouble with violence -- and not only with respect to guns but more holistically. We're light years away from that. :(

[BlooInBloo]

12. I'm surprised it's that high.

[Redbear]

14. Handguns were made for killin and aint no good for nothin else

But as I understand it, there are like three times as many guns as people now, so a total ban would be a waste of time and effort.

That horse has done left the barn.

[bbinacan]

16. Handguns are fun

for target shooting. Ever hit a 2 litre bottle of water with a 357 Magnum or a Browning 9mm?

[The Straight Story]

17. Yeah, and the RW thinks women were made for making babies

But they are good for a few other things :rofl: :hide:

[Junkdrawer]

19. After Mass Shootings And A Supreme Court Ruling, What is Gallup Thinking?

Today's Gallup news release, "Support for Gun-Control Laws at All-Time Lows", is one of the most misleading I've seen in a long time.

Not only is the information old, but the main question asked and highlighted is not reflective of current efforts by activists around the country to reduce gun violence.

This polling information was collected last October, which Gallup does mention in its third paragraph. Yet it certainly begs the question: Why publish a statement based on data that is almost six months old, in the wake of a string of mass shootings committed over the past month?

....

For example, the Brady Campaign commissioned a survey of 1,083 people who voted on Election Day last year to find out their attitudes on a handful of gun law proposals. The results showed:

83% of voters support requiring background checks for all gun sales in this country;
68% support registration of gun sales and licensing of gun owners; and
65% support banning military-style assault weapons;

These wide majorities include McCain voters and gun owners who support these policies, as well. (Not surprisingly, some of these results compare favorably to a CNN poll taken in June of last year.)

....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-helmke/after-mass-shootings-and_b_184832.html

[The Straight Story]

20. Polling after events that are hyped on the news and make people emotional

seems like a bad idea (as does making legislation based on the same).

[Junkdrawer]

21. So they run a poll on the only gun control option the SCOTUS has ruled will never happen?

That's useful... :eyes:

[The Straight Story]

22. Actually it does in some ways

It is a side way of asking if you agree with a recent political/legal decision.

[Statistical]

30. Or if not agree at least accept (some people on DU still want to BAN guns) n/t

[pipoman]

31. IIRC, they release this same poll every April

The Brady Campaign huh? I can counter that poll with an NRA poll, after all both are equally stellar, honest and reliable.


For example, the Brady Campaign commissioned a survey of 1,083 people who voted on Election Day last year to find out their attitudes on a handful of gun law proposals. The results showed:blah, blah, blah exactly what they wanted it to show by any means necessary

[corruptmewithpower]

24. What percentage of people are aware of gun control's dark side?

Death by Gun Control


http://www.jpfo.org/filegen-a-m/deathgc.htm

[moondust]

25. Few Americans know life without a gun culture.

To experience "the other side" of the gun debate and make an informed judgment one really has to go live in another country for a while (without your guns, more than a 2-week vacation). Relatively few Americans have done that or even care what life is like in other countries.

This poll reflects little more than a lot of ignorant Americans voting for "our way is best, we're number one" as they often do.

[w4rma]

27. Good. (nt)