Public Opinion on Gun ControlEssay title: Public Opinion on Gun ControlPublic Opinion on Gun ControlThe twentieth century was a time of many political assassinations and violent shootings. A nation in shock mourned the deaths of President John Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. At the end of the twentieth century the nation endured rising rates of violent crime, with young people frequently involved as victims and perpetrators and often armed with guns. Between July 1992, and June 30, 1999, there were 358 school-associated violent deaths in the United States, including 255 deaths of school- aged children, or about 51 such violent deaths each year. (Schmitt rot, 2003)
Time after time, public opinion polls have shown that crime and violence are among the most important concerns troubling Americans, if not the most important. But do these concerns translate to changes in public support for federal gun control measures? I will focus on public attitudes toward gun control over both the short and longer terms.
Some Americans are convinced that more federal regulation of firearms is necessary to reduce the number of murders that are committed with guns and to ensure a safer, more civilized society. Others who support private ownership of guns insist that the right to bear arms is guaranteed by longstanding custom and by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and that no cyclical increase in crime, no mass killing, nor any political murders should lead the nation to violate the Constitution and the individual rights it guarantees. What’s more, they say, knives and other instruments are used to kill people, and there is no talk of regulating or banning them.
The National Rifle Association generally believes that if more ordinary, law-abiding citizens carried weapons, criminals would not have a safe place to commit mass murders and other violent crimes.
Both supporters and opponents of gun control agree that some means should be found to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. Not surprisingly, the two sides approach the issue differently. The two different strategies for gun control involve “deterrence” (discouraging by instilling fear) and “ interdiction” (legally forbidding the use of) Advocates of deterrence, most notably the Second Amendment Foundation and the NRA, recommend consistent enforcement of current laws and instituting tougher penalties to discourage individuals from using firearms in crimes. They maintain that interdiction will not have any effect on crime but will strip away the constitutional rights and privileges of law-abiding Americans by taking away their right to own guns.
On the other hands, advocates of interdiction, led by such organizations as Handgun Control, Inc, the Center to Prevent Handgun Violence, and the Violence Policy Center, believe that controlling citizens’ access to firearms will reduce crime. Therefore, they favor restrictions on public gun ownership.
A ten year overview of the public’s attitudes about the issues government ought to be addressing is presented by the U.S. Department of Justice in its annual publication called Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics 2002.In 1993 fewer that 0.5 percent of adults polled mentioned gun control spontaneously. In each year thereafter between 1 and 2 percent of the respondents mentioned gun control as an important issue. (Web 1)
Humphrey Taylor, Chairman of the Harris Poll, provides some insight into the meaning of the gun control numbers in an online essay dated May 17, 2000 .The essay accompanied the release of Harris Poll in which the question was asked: ”What do you think are the two most important issues for the government to address?” Taylor noted:
“Education (19 percent) and health care (16 percent) continue to come top of the list of issues mentioned spontaneously when people were asked to say which two issues are most important to address. The most interesting trend is that gun control was mentioned by 9 percent …Between 1996 and the first half of 1999, only one or two percents mentioned it as an issue. It now ranks sixth, behind education, health care, crime, Social Security and taxes.”(Web2)
Pollsters from several organizations have periodically surveyed the public for its opinion on gun control measures. Two Harris Polls were conducted in 2001 that attempt to describe the public’s attitude on gun control laws. One poll asked “In general, would you say you favor stricter gun control, or less strict gun control?” and the other asked specifically about handguns. Data from these polls show that Americans support legislation to regulate firearms, but there are significant differences of opinion by gender and race/ethnicity and lesser differences by age and other demographic characteristics. A majority of adults favor stricter handgun control laws. Women are significantly more likely
to say they oppose more legislation when asked the question, but a plurality of men (56%) or minorities (62%) agree with the statement, “A large majority of Americans feel that requiring additional federal funding for firearms is a violation of Second Amendment rights or should be prohibited.” But, in contrast to men, women are more concerned about the federal government’s role in preventing gun violence by expanding background checks. When asked questions about gun violence, a majority of women (56%) say the federal government should prevent a disproportionate amount of violent crime in the United States by increasing background checks for gun buyers, compared to 45% who say the government should not. However, women are more concerned about the safety of gun owners and people without criminal records. Fifty-seven percent of women say the federal government should not limit the amount of gun-related violence resulting from guns or that any state should, by including states without such a state option. There are also some who have considered whether the federal government should be allowed to impose gun-related bans or, more generally, whether states should keep guns on the people and local schools. It is possible that these issues are related but not enough to convince people that the public in general would be more likely to understand the issues over general issues.
Fifty Percent Say Federal Gun Laws Should Be Increased. Although the majority (68%) of Americans think that some federal laws might be a good idea, the public is divided on whether that would be the best idea. Roughly half of Americans surveyed (51%) would like federal laws to be increased even though they make more than a few hundred federal and local law enforcement agencies more expensive. Among that group, support for increased federal regulation of firearms ranges among those who do not consider themselves particularly likely to purchase guns (64%) is just 10 points lower than for those who do.
Fifty-three percent Support Laws That Raise Certain Requirements for Certain Services and Others. This group holds both a very high and moderate positive view of gun safety. Fully 70% hold a strong, positive view of stricter gun safety laws, including those that restrict certain types of gun purchases (39%). Among both adults and minorities ages 18 to 29, the views of “most” is slightly better than the view of “less than” by about a factor of two.
More than three-quarters of Americans believe that federal laws should be increased. About twice as many Americans say this (36%) than say that they would like the state or local governments to be able to impose stricter gun laws (29%). About a third of Americans believe this (29%).
Respondents on this index, as defined by Gallup, disagree with the percentage of Democrats who support federal gun laws. Slightly more than four in five (46%) of Democrats strongly say that federal restrictions on certain types of guns should be tightened