$12 Million in NRA Spending Could Not Overcome Voter Support for Common-Sense Gun Reforms

[SecularMotion]

Today, the Center for America Progress Action Fund released the findings of a new bipartisan poll by Mayors Against Illegal Guns that shows that despite pumping nearly $12 million into the election, the gun lobby failed to make an impact in swing states like Colorado, North Carolina, and Virginia.

The poll’s key findings include:
• More voters trust President Obama on guns. Voters in Virginia trusted President Obama over Republican presidential candidate and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney on gun laws by a nine-point margin. The same was true in North Carolina and Colorado, although President Obama’s advantage fell within each poll’s margin of error.

• Voters strongly support gun law reforms. Wide majorities of voters in all three states, including in gun-owning households, favor a range of gun law reforms now being considered by Congress and state legislatures. As Mayors Against Illegal Guns found previously in research by Republican pollster Frank Luntz, voters overwhelmingly support requiring background checks on all gun sales and support barring sex offenders and individuals with domestic violence arrests from carrying concealed guns across state lines. Majorities also oppose the NRA’s top federal legislative priority—national reciprocity for concealed carry permits—which would allow people to enter any state with a concealed, loaded gun even if they fail to meet local permitting requirements.

• Voters want President Obama to prioritize gun law reforms. While not the primary vote driver, gun policy is a factor for a majority of voters in all three states, with large majorities saying that it should be at least a “somewhat important” priority for President Obama’s second term. Democrats in Virginia and Colorado were more likely than others in their state to call for reform, while independents in North Carolina are most supportive of making gun law reform a priority.

http://www.paramuspost.com/article.php/20121130162335277

[GreenStormCloud]

1. Voters also elected a strongly pro-gun House and Senate.

Further, 9 counties in IL held a referendum on concealed carry and it passed by a very strong margin in all 9 counties. Teh referendum was advisory only, but does represent the will of the people in those counties.

...voters overwhelmingly support requiring background checks on all gun sales and support barring sex offenders and individuals with domestic violence arrests from carrying concealed guns across state lines.
Already law, and also strongly supported by the NRA too.

So far this year there have been over 30 pro-gun laws enacted by state legislators. How many anti-gun laws has your side been able to enact. (I think you got one law in CA.)

IOW, your side is losing, badly.

[ileus]

2. Both sides need to learn the 2A isn't a political football.

Both sides need to work together to assure and expand our 2A rights.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

3. Sadly....

...for many politicians, the 2A is a political football. I support logic, reason and the settled law that the 2A is an individual right.

I am not single issue politically. I believe in removing from office any candidate that fails to agree with any of my basic beliefs.

[Kaleva]

4. "with large majorities saying that it should be at least a “somewhat important” priority"

Not much of a statement when it's down to being a "at least a somewhat important priority".

What I get from this article is that a great majority of voters are rather content with the gun laws currently in place.

[Jenoch]

5. The NRA spent money in those

states to get their endorsed candidates elected in those states and failed in their goal. The voters in those states did not vote on "Common-Sense Gun Reforms".

[Eleanors38]

6. Nope. Gun-controllers' problem isn't the NRA, it's the controllers' outlook...

No longer a "movement" (with feet on the ground, a sound base of donors, and an effective and activist lobbying presence), this elitist "outlook" has little economic and political clout, and politicians have taken due notice. If it were not for the efforts of MSM, the gun-control outlook would have very little presence indeed.

And MSM's clout, in turn, is waning rapidly.

[Glaug-Eldare]

7. I said it in another of your dump threads, and I'll say it here

What they're doing here is spinning the results of a general election and pretending that it was a referendum on gun issues. It wasn't. The fact that the NRA was unable to obtain a victory for the Republican who signed a state "assault weapons" ban over the Democrat who signed a bill permitting handgun carry in national parks doesn't strike me as a death knell for gun rights. The NRA invested relatively small amount of money in races they felt they were in danger of losing. Their concerns proved to be well-founded, as their selectees simply weren't popular enough to win. Republicans are losing for a lot of reasons, and popular support for gun control is not a significant contributor.

Simply put: Any single-issue organization can throw their resources into elections. The popularity of their issue is not a guarantee of success, and failure to win is not a sign that multi-issue voters want the kind of gun control the Bradys do.

"Somewhat" is not a very strong adjective.

[sarisataka]

8. How many of those who defeated NRA backed opponents

ran primarily on common-sense gun reform campaigns?
Or were there far more important economic and social positions and they never really talked about guns at all?

[krispos42]

9. Still waiting for those common-sense laws to be passed on a federal level.

Hell, even on a state level.

I'm waiting for the mandatory waiting periods.

I'm waiting for the universal gun registration.

I'm waiting for a magazine-capacity limit.

I'm waiting for an assault-weapons ban.

I'm waiting for private sales to have to go through a FFL.

I'm waiting for ballistic fingerprinting to go along with the universal gun registration.

I'm waiting for microstampting.

I'm waiting for bullet and case serial numbering, and registration.

I'm waiting for a ban mail-order ammunition purchases.

I'm waiting for a permit to purchase ammo (only for the chambering of the guns you've dutifully registered).

I'm waiting for a ammo-purchasing limit.

[Spryguy]

11. Here here!

All very common-sense regulations. The kind I could defintely see the president getting behind!

[gejohnston]

12. any forensics expert will tell you

that microstamping and ballistic fingerprinting is a total waste of money and effort. That is why New York ended their brass collecting. BTW, why would law enforcement be exempt from microstamping?

bullet and casing registration is not common sense, because the heat of it being pushed out of the barrel would destroy the marking.

[Spryguy]

13. I am not opposed

to making law enforcement also submit to micro stamping. By and large, I don;t think the average police officer should even be armed with a firearm in the first place.

[gejohnston]

14. the stampings only purpose is

to drive up the cost of guns so the average person can't afford one. Since gun control groups are astro turfed by a few rich people, it isn't hard to figure out why. The idea was pushed by the company that still has a patent on the technology and has a monopoly. Since we are talking about engravings at the end of a firing pin, it would be worn down after the first two rounds. That is one reason why you don't see gun control groups outside the US pushing for the idea.
IWO, it is simply corporate welfare and security theater.

[Spryguy]

15. Well...

wouldn't that be a shame

[gejohnston]

16. actually it would

because the streets won't magically be safer. Underground factories would spring up, just like Philippines and Australia. It also exposes the classism.
What makes you think the world would be a better place if guns magically disappeared? Before guns were invented, life was short and violent.

[Glaug-Eldare]

19. The Klan sure didn't think so

when they advocated banning the only pistols freedmen could afford.

Gun Control: White Man's Law

[aikoaiko]

10. As long as you continue to fail to expand gun restrictions, I'm cool with your success.

rock on!

[trouble.smith]

17. hmmm, Interesting. I'll think about this as I'm walking around wal mart with a hi cap 45 on my belt.

[SecularMotion]

18. Smile for the camera!

http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/