A new Pew poll revealed that for the first time in 20 years the American people prefer gun rights to gun restrictions. The poll reflects “a substantial shift in attitudes since shortly after the Newtown school shootings.”
From the Huffington Post:
While 46 percent prioritize gun control, 52 percent of Americans are more concerned about the right to own guns, the first time a majority has held that position since Pew started asking the question in 1993. In a poll taken immediately after the December 2012 shootings, public opinion favored gun control by 7 points, 49 percent to 42 percent.
While the partisan divide on the question remains as wide as ever, the increasing support for gun rights spans across a wide swath of demographics. Compared with last January, support for gun rights increased by 6 points among Republicans and Democrats, 7 points among independents, 8 points among whites and 10 points among African Americans.
From the Washington Times:
Pew found 54 percent of blacks now say firearms protect people from being victims of crimes, compared to 41 percent who say they are a public safety risk. Just two years ago, only 29 percent of blacks said guns were a public safety boon.
“Over the past two years, blacks’ views on this measure have changed dramatically,” Pew researchers said.
Support for gun control peaked at 66 percent in the late 1990s, or about the time of the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, and has dropped 20 percentage points since then.
The recent shift has also happened across nearly all demographic lines.
The poll was conducted using live phone interviews of 1,507 adults using both landlines and cell phones.
