...right here:
Recent polls show shrinking support for new gun control measures and strong public sentiment for enforcing existing laws instead. So strong is the shift in public opinion that a proposed assault-weapons ban — once backed by three in four Americans — now rates barely one in two.
Frank Newport, editor in chief of the Gallup Poll, told reporters Tuesday that “every bit of data is showing us that Americans are getting more conservative about gun control.”
A CNN poll conducted in April found that 39 percent of Americans wanted stricter gun control laws, down from 50 percent in 2000. Another 46 percent said the gun laws should stay as they are, while 15 percent said they should be loosened — up from 9 percent in 2000.
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Even an assault-weapon ban is not the political “sure thing” it once was. An April poll by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal found that support for curbing the sale of assault weapons and semiautomatic rifles has dropped from 75 percent in 1991 to 53 percent today.
Now, one more time, the disclaimer: Even with their positive results, these polls only matter in the context of certain politicians wanting to keep their jobs. Our rights shouldn't be subject to the democratic process, and the fact that they are is a sadly illuminating commentary on how far away we've gotten from the principles of the Founding Fathers and those who influenced them. Now, with that said, yes, these figures are quite interesting. I would love to see someone do some digging to find out just what exactly got the polls swinging back the other way in the last 15 years or so, specifically how much of it was influenced by events such as Sept. 11, Hurricane Katrina and the Virginia Tech shootings. I would also be interested to find out how many of those who supported a ban on semiautomatic rifles way back when now own one of those rifles. At any rate, this is quite heartening, especially with so many pushing for more restrictive gun laws in the wake of the violence in Mexico. Question is though, will gungrabbers like Schumer, Feinstein and McCarthy listen? My guess is they won't, because of course their seats are safe.
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