While President Barack Obama and other Democrats are calling for expanded gun control measures following the finally-acknowledged terrorist attack in San Bernardino, news reports and new poll results show that Americans aren’t buying it.
They’re buying guns, instead. ABC News reported that people in the San Bernardino area actually lined up outside of one gun store, while an online report in Time revealed that gun sales could reach a record level this year.
A new Rasmussen/New York Daily News telephone survey revealed that 61 percent of American adults “at least somewhat agree with the statement, ‘The NRA supports gun policies that make all Americans safer.’ This includes 35% who Strongly Agree.”
A separate Rasmussen survey also reported that only 34 percent of likely U.S. voters gave the president good or excellent marks for his “reassurance” speech Sunday evening. More voters thought his response to the terrorist attack was poor.
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It only took him about seven minutes – halfway into his short address – to mention gun control. Surprisingly, however, he did not talk about expanded background checks, since California already requires so-called “universal” checks on all gun transfers.
It breaks down along party lines to some extent, too. According to Rasmussen, “Sixty-two percent (62%) of Democrats view the president’s response to the horrific events in San Bernardino as good or excellent, while 69% of Republicans say he did a poor job. Among voters not affiliated with either major party, 27% feel the president’s response was good or excellent, while 44% categorize it as poor.”
But it is on the subject of guns where the Rasmussen survey suggests that American voters are reacting with their wallets and gun purchases to calls for more gun restrictions. The survey results also show that gun control proponents are definitely in the minority.
According to the survey results, only 29 percent disagree with the notion that NRA gun policies make the country safer, including 20 percent strongly disagree. Ten percent did not take a position.
When the gun prohibition lobby can’t even achieve 30 percent support for its position, that’s significant.
Rising interest in gun ownership and applications for carry permits and licenses started in the days following the Paris terrorist attack. At that time, many pundits were saying that it was not a matter of “if” but “when” a terrorist attack would happen in the United States. San Bernardino demonstrated that they didn’t have to wait long.
Rasmussen also noted that 51 percent of Americans “think more gun control is more likely to make it harder for law-abiding citizens to purchase a gun rather than keep guns out of the hands of criminals, people with mental illness and suspected terrorists.” That also reflects what NRA and other organizations including the Second Amendment Foundation and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms have maintained for years.
H/T Seattle Gun Rights Examiner
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