Just thought this was funny after the smoking thread.

By ANNE PAINE
Staff Writer


White Tennesseans are more likely to have a gun in their home, but African-Americans are more likely to be a shooting victim or know someone who has been, a Middle Tennessee State University survey released today says.

The statewide survey discloses that Tennesseans who favor more gun control outnumber those who don't, their attitudes vary little among the state's three Grand Divisions, and they are largely nonsmokers. It also indicates that older, better-educated, more conservative and more religious adults have more doubts about a state lottery.

Four MTSU professors conducted the survey using students as questioners. They gathered responses from 622 people chosen by a sampling company through a random telephone-dialing system. There is a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

''One of the more interesting things we found is that most Tennesseans are in favor of gun control,'' said Robert Wyatt, director of the MTSU Office of Communication Research.

He said that result was ironic because former Vice President Al Gore, who lost Tennessee in the November election, was considered to be in favor of more gun control.

''At least anecdotally, we were told that was one of the reasons people voted against Al Gore.''

About 47% of respondents said that government hasn't gone far enough to control gun ownership, while only 38% said it has gone too far, Wyatt said. About 15% said they weren't sure.

''African-Americans are less likely to own or shoot guns or have parents who owned a gun, but they're more likely to be a victim of a shooting,'' Wyatt said.

The numbers show that 58% of whites say they have a gun in their home, compared with 25% of African-Americans.

When asked if someone close to them had ever been shot, 57% of everyone answering said no, and 43% said yes. About 40% of whites and 63% of African-American said yes.

''It's a considerable difference,'' Wyatt said. ''It's my opinion that African-Americans are in danger, but it's the whites that are paranoid.''

Almost half, 49%, of everyone with a gun in their home said it's there for protection, and 40% said the gun is loaded. A total of 78% said they would shoot an intruder.

The survey found that while nearly 65% of Tennesseans favor a state lottery, there are large segments of the population where such support is not strong.

A lottery has the most support among 18- to 34-year-olds, at 78%. It's 61% among the 35-to-49 set, 59% for those ages 50 to 64 and 51% for those 65 and older. Eighty-one percent of Tennesseans with average or less religious devotion favor a lottery, compared with 50% of those who are more religious.

About 75% of liberals but 53% of conservatives support a lottery.

Among college graduates, 59% back a lottery, compared with 72% who have some trade or college training and 63% of those with no more than a high school education.

More educated and upper-income people turn out to vote at higher rates, but Bruce Oppenheimer, a Vanderbilt University political science professor, said he's not sure a strong relationship exists between church attendance and voter turnout.

Because the referendum asking the public if it wants to remove a lottery ban from the state Constitution will be held in the 2002 general election, a larger turnout is expected anyway.

The survey determined there's little difference in the thinking of people living in the three Grand Divisions of the state: East, Middle and West Tennessee.

The two main exceptions had to do with football and guns. People in East Tennessee tend to think of the University of Tennessee as the state team, while those in Middle Tennessee are more likely to say the Titans are, Wyatt said.

More people living in Middle Tennessee, 94%, say gun training should be required of anyone purchasing a firearm, he said. About 85% outside the Midstate support that idea. About one-third of Tennesseans smoke.

They asked a whopping 622 people & decided that it was equal to statewide results? Freaking amazing.

Equally amazing is their conclusion that there's little difference between the 3 Grand Divisions. In reality there's a good bit of differences.

Totally asinine is their so-called discovery of support of gun control. TN ranks as one of the highest percentage of CCL holders in the US per state population.

I'm ashamed to say I graduated from that sorry assed school, as did my brother. No wonder we can't get decent jobs.

You know, liberals only take a survey that will prove their side.

Yeah, they went to the "hood" in Nashvile and asked all the people in the inner city.

Typicaly west TN is Democratic while E TN is Republican, however everyone I now of from my home state east or west owns guns.

Downtown metropolis giving the south a bad name.

R35