Guns (2)

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Guns (p. 2) See also: Crime

Polls listed chronologically. Data are from nationwide surveys of Americans 18 & older.

CBS News Poll. Nov. 10-13, 2003. N=1,177 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3 (for all adults).
						.
"In general, do you think gun control laws should be made more strict, less strict, or kept as they are now?"
		More Strict	Less Strict	Same	Unsure
		%	%	%	%
	ALL	51	10	35	4
	Republicans	40	14	44	2
	Democrats	65	4	27	4
	Independents	48	12	36	4
						.
"Do you or does any other member of your household own a handgun, rifle, shotgun, or any other kind of firearm?"
		Yes	No	Unsure
		%	%	%
	ALL	43	54	3
	Republicans	54	42	4
	Democrats	35	65	0
	Independents	41	55	4

NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll conducted by the polling organizations of Peter Hart (D) and Robert Teeter (R). Nov. 8-10, 2003. N=1,003 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3.1.
					.
"About 10 years ago, Congress banned the sale and manufacture of assault weapons. In your view, should Congress keep or end this ban?"
		Keep Ban	End Ban	Not Sure
		%	%	%
	11/03	78	16	5

Newsweek Poll conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates. Oct. 24-25, 2002. N=1,001 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3 (for all adults).
					.
"Every gun makes a unique mark -- or 'ballistic fingerprint' -- on the bullets it shoots. Some people favor new laws requiring every gun sold in this country to be test fired so its ballistic fingerprint can be identified by law enforcement if it is ever used in a crime. Others oppose such new laws because a gun's ballistic fingerprint is not permanent, and can be changed by a criminal seeking to avoid detection. Do you favor or oppose new laws requiring ballistic fingerprinting of all guns sold in the U.S.?"
		Favor	Oppose	Unsure
		%	%	%
	ALL	53	37	10
	Gun owners	40	52	8
	Non-gun owners	64	26	10

ABC News Poll. Oct. 16-20, 2002. N=1,032 adults nationwide. Field work by TNS Intersearch. MoE ą 3 (for all adults).
					.
"Every gun makes a unique marking on bullets it shoots. This is known as its ballistic fingerprint. Would you support or oppose a law requiring every gun sold in this country to be test-fired first so the authorities would have its ballistic fingerprint in case it was ever used in a crime?"
		Support	Oppose	Unsure
		%	%	%
	ALL	73	22	5
	Gun owners	61	35	5
	Non-gun owners	82	13	5

ABC News.com Poll. May 8-12, 2002. N=1,028 adults nationwide. Field work by TNS Intersearch. MoE ą 3.
			.
"The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution reads as follows: 'A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.' In your opinion does this guarantee only the right of the states to maintain militias, or also the right of individuals to own guns?"
		%
	States to maintain militias	20
	Individuals to own guns	73
	No opinion	8

*CBS News/New York Times* Poll**. May 10-13, 2000. N=947 adults nationwide, including 215 women with children under 18 living at home. MoE ą 3 (total sample).
						.
		ALL	Men	Women	Women With Kids
		%	%	%	%
"Regardless of which candidate you prefer for president, who do you agree with more on the issue of gun control: Al Gore or George W. Bush?"
	Gore	35	35	35	24
	Bush	37	45	30	33
	Both (vol.)	1	2	0	0
	Neither (vol.)	2	3	2	2
	Don't know	25	15	33	41
						.
"Do you favor or oppose the nationwide ban on assault weapons?"
	Favor	67	63	71	69
	Oppose	28	34	23	24
	Don't know	5	3	6	7
						.
"Do you favor or oppose requiring gun manufacturers to put child safety locks on handguns that are sold in the United States?"
	Favor	84	76	91	91
	Oppose	15	23	7	7
	Don't know	1	1	2	2

The Harris Poll. May 4-8, 2000. N=1,007 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3.
					.
"In general, would you say you favor stricter or less strict laws relating to the control of handguns?"
		5/00	6/99	4/98
		%	%	%
	Stricter	72	73	76
	Less strict	20	20	19
	Neither (vol.)	6	5	5
	Don't know	2	2	-
					.
"And which of the two main candidates for the presidency -- Governor George W. Bush or Vice President Al Gore -- do you think would do a better job on the gun control issue?"
		%
	Bush	42
	Gore	38
	No difference/Neither (vol.)	6
	Don't know	14
					.
"Which do you think would do a better job on the gun control issue: a Republican-controlled Congress or a Democratically-controlled Congress?"
		%
	Democratically-controlled	38
	Republican-controlled	34
	No difference/Neither (vol.)	11
	Don't know	18

Pew Research Center for the People & the Press survey conducted by Princeton Survey Research Assoc. May 2-6, 2000. N=1,303 adults nationwide.
			.
"In your opinion, how likely is it that the president and Congress will pass significant new gun control laws this year? Is it very likely, somewhat likely, not too likely or not at all likely?"
		%
	Very likely	14
	Somewhat likely	34
	Not too likely	25
	Not at all likely	21
	Don't know/Refused	6

*NBC News/Wall Street Journal* Poll** conducted by the polling organizations of Peter Hart (D) and Robert Teeter (R). April 29-May 1, 2000. N=500 registered voters nationwide.
			.
"Which do you think would be more effective in reducing gun violence: passing new restrictions on the sale of handguns, such as requiring trigger locks and registration; or ensuring stricter enforcement of existing laws on gun sales and ownership; or do you feel that both new restrictions and stricter enforcement would be best?"
		%
	New restrictions	11
	Stricter enforcement	35
	Both	45
	Neither/Other (vol.)	7
	Not sure	2
			.
"If Congress does not pass gun-control legislation this year, who do you think will be most responsible: the Republicans in Congress, the Democrats in Congress, or President Clinton?"
		%
	Republicans in Congress	39
	Democrats in Congress	11
	President Clinton	10
	All (vol.)	16
	None/Other (vol.)	3
	Not sure	21

Associated Press Poll conducted by ICR. April 14-18, 2000. N=829 adults nationwide. MoE +/- 4.
						.
		4/00	8/99	5/99	4/99
		%	%	%	%
"Do you favor stricter gun control laws or do you oppose them?"
	Favor	60	56	63	55
	Oppose	30	39	31	34
	Don't know	10	5	6	11
						.
"Which of these do you think is more likely to decrease gun violence: better enforcement or tougher gun laws?"
	Better enforcement	42
	Tougher laws	33
	Neither (vol.)/Don't know	25
						.
"The federal government requires background checks for most gun purchases. Do you think these background checks help reduce the number of crimes committed with guns, or not?"
	Yes	54	44
	No	41	52
	Don't know	5	4
						.
"Do you favor or oppose laws requiring that all guns be sold with a trigger lock, which must be unlocked before the gun can be fired?"
	Favor	76
	Oppose	20
	Don't know	4

Pew Research Center for the People & the Press survey conducted by Princeton Survey Research Assoc. April 12-16, 2000. N=1,000 adults nationwide.
					.
Form 1 registered voters (N=358): "Suppose a member of Congress voted AGAINST gun control. Do you think this member should be reelected, or not?"
		4/00	7/99
		%	%
	Should be	44	35
	Should not be	41	55
	Don't know/Refused	15	10
					.
Form 2 registered voters (N=358): "Suppose a member of Congress voted FOR gun control. Do you think this member should be re-elected, or not?"
		4/00	7/99
		%	%
	Should be	60	69
	Should not be	25	25
	Don't know/Refused	15	6
					.
All respondents: "Please tell me if you think the Republican Party or the Democratic Party could do a better job of reflecting your views about gun control?"
		4/00	6/99	12/93
		%	%	%
	Republican Party	30	34	32
	Democratic Party	36	42	42
	Both equally (vol.)	4	4	-
	Neither (vol.)	7	8	8
	Don't know/Refused	23	12	18

*ABC News/Washington Post* Poll**. March 30-April 2, 2000. N=1,083 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3. Field work by TNS Intersearch.
					.
"How important will handling the issue of gun control be to you in deciding how to vote in the 2000 presidential election in November: very important, somewhat important, not too important, or not important at all?"
		4/00	10/99	9/99
		%	%	%
	Very important	62	61	56
	Somewhat important	21	24	25
	Not too important	8	8	9
	Not important at all	9	6	9
	No opinion	-	1	1
					.
"Do you think the National Rifle Association has too much influence, too little influence, or the right amount of influence over gun control laws in this country?"
		4/00	9/99
		%	%
	Too much	44	47
	Too little	18	17
	Right amount	32	31
	No opinion	6	5

Fox News/Opinion Dynamics Poll. March 22-23, 2000. N=900 registered voters nationwide. MoE +/- 3.
.
		ALL	Gun Owners
		%	%
"The National Rifle Association says failed enforcement of gun laws is the reason for gun violence, but the Clinton Administration says guns and access to guns are the problem. Which comes closer to your view: lack of enforcement of gun laws is the problem, or guns and access to guns are the problem?"
	Enforcement	36	49
	Guns	44	32
	Neither/Both (vol.)	14	15
	Not sure	6	5
				.
"Which of the following do you think is more likely to decrease gun violence: better enforcement of existing gun laws, or more laws and restrictions on obtaining guns?"
	Better enforcement	41	54
	More laws	37	24
	Both (vol.)	14	13
	Not sure	8	8
				.
"Do you think President Clinton is serious about imposing stronger gun control laws, or is he more interested in having a political issue to use against Republicans in the upcoming election?"
	Serious about laws	40	35
	Wants political issue	45	50
	Not sure	15	15

Zogby International Poll. March 15-17, 2000. N=826 likely voters nationwide. MoE +/- 3.6 (total sample).
					.
"Which of the following statements do you agree with? "Statement A: Wayne LaPierre of the National Rifle Association says that President Clinton actually is willing to accept an increased level of violence so that he can promote an anti-gun agenda, because the President refuses to implement a program that requires mandatory sentencing of criminals who use a gun in a crime. "Statement B: President Clinton says that, especially with the recent killing of a six-year-old child by a fellow six-year-old, it is time for Congress to strengthen gun control legislation with child-safety trigger locks and waiting periods for gun show sales."
		Statement A	Statement B	Not Sure
		%	%	%
	ALL	27	64	9
	Democrats	12	82	6
	Republicans	46	41	12
	Independents	24	67	9
	Men	35	58	8
	Women	20	70	10

*CNN/Time* Poll** conducted by Yankelovich Partners. March 8-9, 2000. N=1,559 adults nationwide. MoE +/- 2.5.
					.
"Do you favor or oppose the federal government requiring people to get a license in order to legally own a handgun?"
		Favor	Oppose	Not Sure
		%	%	%
	3/00	72	25	3
	7/99	77	21	-

ABC News.com Poll. March 3-7, 2000. N=1,012 adults nationwide. MoE +/- 3. Field work by ICR.
			.
"Say a child takes a gun owned by his parents and uses it to shoot someone. Do you think the parent should or should not be charged with a crime for failing to prevent the child from getting the gun?"
		%
	Should be charged	75
	Should not be	15
	No opinion	10

*Gallup/CNN/USA Today* Poll**. Jan. 13-16, 2000. N=1,027 adults nationwide. MoE +/- 3.
					.
"Would you favor or oppose the registration of all handguns?"
		Favor	Oppose	No Opinion
		%	%	%
	1/00	73	26	1
	2/99	79	19	2
	1993	81	18	1
	1991	80	17	3
	1990	81	17	2
	1985	70	25	5
	1982	66	30	4
					.
"Do you think the amount of gun-related violence in America could be significantly reduced by stricter enforcement of the current gun laws, or is it also necessary to pass new gun laws?"
			%
	Stricter enforcement		41
	New gun laws		47
	Other (vol.)		2
	Neither (vol.)		7
	No opinion		3

Gallup/CNN/USA Today Poll. Dec. 9-12, 1999. N=1,037 adults nationwide. MoE +/- 3.
			.
"To what extent do you blame gun manufacturers in the United States for crimes committed with guns in this country? Do you blame them completely, a lot, a little, or not at all?"
		%
	Completely	4
	A lot	20
	A little	24
	Not at all	51
	No opinion	1
			.
"As you may know, the U.S. Justice Department is considering filing a lawsuit against the gun manufacture industry seeking to recover the costs associated with gun-related crimes. The companies that manufacture guns in the U.S. have stated the charges have no merit. Which side do you agree with more in this dispute: [rotate] the Justice Department or the gun manufacturers?"
		%
	The gun manufacturers	67
	The Justice Department	28
	Both equally (vol.)	1
	Neither (vol.)	1
	No opinion	3

Los Angeles Times Poll. Nov. 13-18, 1999. N=1,430 registered voters nationwide.
						.
"What is your personal view on gun control laws? Generally speaking, do you think they ought to be more strict than they are now, or less strict, or do you think the laws we have now are about right?"
		ALL	Demo- crats	Indepen- dents	Repub- licans
		%	%	%	%
	More strict	56	69	51	45
	Less strict	9	6	11	11
	About right	31	21	35	40