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http://www.galluppoll.com/content/?ci=28978
October 11, 2007
Shrunken Majority Now Favors Stricter Gun Laws
Percentage favoring stricter gun laws has declined in recent years, while
most still oppose handgun ban
by Lydia Saad
GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- The gap between the proportion of Americans advocating
stricter gun laws and those in favor of maintaining or weakening existing
gun laws -- once nearly 60 points in favor of stronger gun control, and
registering 14 points a year ago -- is just four points in Gallup's latest
poll. According to the Oct. 4-7, 2007, survey, 51% of Americans believe the
laws governing the sale of firearms should be more strict. When combined,
the percentages saying the laws should either be kept as they are or made
less strict is nearly as high (47%).
In numerous measures of this question between 1990 and 2000, no fewer than
60% of Americans favored the "more strict" option, producing a consistently
sizeable gap in favor of the more gun-control oriented position.
There was a significant change in October 2001, one month after the 9/11
terrorist attacks. In that survey, the percentage favoring stricter gun laws
fell to 53%, narrowing the gap between this view and those favoring the
status quo or weaker laws to only 7 points. This gap remained low in 2002,
but then subsequently swelled to double digits for most of the period from
2003 to 2006, only shrinking again to this year's 4 points. Given that the
country is entering a national election year, a time when gun control issues
would normally be expected to be debated, the latest results are a notable
reversal.
Various localities around the country, including Washington, D.C., have
passed bans on the possession of handguns by ordinary citizens. However,
since 1975, Gallup has found a solid majority of Americans disagreeing with
laws. And, public opposition has expanded in recent years. The current 68%
saying handguns should not be banned is similar to the 66% last year, but
significantly higher than the 50% in 1987.
Americans' opposition to aggressive gun control is further evident in a
question eliciting their attitude about the need to pass new gun laws.
Gallup asked respondents whether they would prefer to see the United States
enforce current gun laws more strictly and not pass new gun laws, or pass
new gun laws in addition to enforcing current laws more strictly. A solid
majority of Americans (58%) opt for focusing exclusively on better
enforcement of existing laws -- a position similar to that advocated by the
National Rifle Association.
A Divisive Issue
Public attitudes on gun laws are far from homogenous. There are sharp
differences in support for stricter gun control according to gender, race,
region of the country, political ideology, and party identification.
Attitudes are also sharply different between gun owners and non-gun
owners -- a distinction that, to some degree, overlaps with gender and party
ID.
As seen in the accompanying table, a majority of men favor keeping gun laws
as they are or making them less strict, while a majority of women favor
making them stricter. Whites are closely split over the question, while a
solid majority of nonwhites favor stricter laws. A majority of residents in
the East and West favor stricter laws, while about half of those in the
Midwest and South hold the alternate views. Compared with those in urban and
suburban areas, residents of rural areas are also less in favor of stricter
laws. Two-thirds of Democrats favor stricter gun laws, while a majority of
Republicans and independents would rather they remain as they are or become
less strict. Three-quarters of gun owners take one of the two more lenient
positions on gun laws, while nearly as many non-gun owners favor stricter
laws.
Most of those not in favor of stricter gun laws fall into the "keep laws the
same" category, rather than the "make them less strict" category. This is
even the case among gun owners.
Support for stricter gun control laws has declined by 11 points since the
recent high water mark in 1993. The decline over this time period is roughly
the same in most major demographic groups. There are two exceptions to this
general pattern: Republicans and those living in the West, whose views have
essentially not changed.
Bottom Line
Gun control has not surfaced as a major -- or even a minor -- issue thus far
in the 2008 presidential campaign. The most that's been said is that the
issue is hardly even being debated. The Gallup trends reviewed help to
explain why. With public support for stricter gun laws waning after 9/11,
the political climate for championing gun control is indeed different from
when the Brady Bill was passed in 1993. Although half of Americans do say
they favor stricter gun laws today, this is well below the 70% found in
1993. And when public attitudes about banning guns and enforcement are
probed, there appears to be even less public demand for gun control.
Survey Methods
Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,010 national adults, aged
18 and older, conducted Oct. 4-7, 2007. For results based on the total
sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum
margin of sampling error is
October 11, 2007
Shrunken Majority Now Favors Stricter Gun Laws
Percentage favoring stricter gun laws has declined in recent years, while
most still oppose handgun ban
by Lydia Saad
GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- The gap between the proportion of Americans advocating
stricter gun laws and those in favor of maintaining or weakening existing
gun laws -- once nearly 60 points in favor of stronger gun control, and
registering 14 points a year ago -- is just four points in Gallup's latest
poll. According to the Oct. 4-7, 2007, survey, 51% of Americans believe the
laws governing the sale of firearms should be more strict. When combined,
the percentages saying the laws should either be kept as they are or made
less strict is nearly as high (47%).
In numerous measures of this question between 1990 and 2000, no fewer than
60% of Americans favored the "more strict" option, producing a consistently
sizeable gap in favor of the more gun-control oriented position.
There was a significant change in October 2001, one month after the 9/11
terrorist attacks. In that survey, the percentage favoring stricter gun laws
fell to 53%, narrowing the gap between this view and those favoring the
status quo or weaker laws to only 7 points. This gap remained low in 2002,
but then subsequently swelled to double digits for most of the period from
2003 to 2006, only shrinking again to this year's 4 points. Given that the
country is entering a national election year, a time when gun control issues
would normally be expected to be debated, the latest results are a notable
reversal.
Various localities around the country, including Washington, D.C., have
passed bans on the possession of handguns by ordinary citizens. However,
since 1975, Gallup has found a solid majority of Americans disagreeing with
laws. And, public opposition has expanded in recent years. The current 68%
saying handguns should not be banned is similar to the 66% last year, but
significantly higher than the 50% in 1987.
Americans' opposition to aggressive gun control is further evident in a
question eliciting their attitude about the need to pass new gun laws.
Gallup asked respondents whether they would prefer to see the United States
enforce current gun laws more strictly and not pass new gun laws, or pass
new gun laws in addition to enforcing current laws more strictly. A solid
majority of Americans (58%) opt for focusing exclusively on better
enforcement of existing laws -- a position similar to that advocated by the
National Rifle Association.
A Divisive Issue
Public attitudes on gun laws are far from homogenous. There are sharp
differences in support for stricter gun control according to gender, race,
region of the country, political ideology, and party identification.
Attitudes are also sharply different between gun owners and non-gun
owners -- a distinction that, to some degree, overlaps with gender and party
ID.
As seen in the accompanying table, a majority of men favor keeping gun laws
as they are or making them less strict, while a majority of women favor
making them stricter. Whites are closely split over the question, while a
solid majority of nonwhites favor stricter laws. A majority of residents in
the East and West favor stricter laws, while about half of those in the
Midwest and South hold the alternate views. Compared with those in urban and
suburban areas, residents of rural areas are also less in favor of stricter
laws. Two-thirds of Democrats favor stricter gun laws, while a majority of
Republicans and independents would rather they remain as they are or become
less strict. Three-quarters of gun owners take one of the two more lenient
positions on gun laws, while nearly as many non-gun owners favor stricter
laws.
Most of those not in favor of stricter gun laws fall into the "keep laws the
same" category, rather than the "make them less strict" category. This is
even the case among gun owners.
Support for stricter gun control laws has declined by 11 points since the
recent high water mark in 1993. The decline over this time period is roughly
the same in most major demographic groups. There are two exceptions to this
general pattern: Republicans and those living in the West, whose views have
essentially not changed.
Bottom Line
Gun control has not surfaced as a major -- or even a minor -- issue thus far
in the 2008 presidential campaign. The most that's been said is that the
issue is hardly even being debated. The Gallup trends reviewed help to
explain why. With public support for stricter gun laws waning after 9/11,
the political climate for championing gun control is indeed different from
when the Brady Bill was passed in 1993. Although half of Americans do say
they favor stricter gun laws today, this is well below the 70% found in
1993. And when public attitudes about banning guns and enforcement are
probed, there appears to be even less public demand for gun control.
Survey Methods
Results are based on telephone interviews with 1,010 national adults, aged
18 and older, conducted Oct. 4-7, 2007. For results based on the total
sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum
margin of sampling error is
