I searched, thought somebody would have posted this already. Washington Post ran a featureon Sunday based on Pew Research polling data. The results, IMO, reflect a lack of understanding in the general public. Some results - 85% of respondents favor background checks on private sales, 70% (!) support a Federal sales database for tracking, 57% support an "assault weapons" ban. I don't know much about them, but I consider Pew research more trustworthy than the Bloomburg Center at Johns Hopkins.

Obviously, people in general don't understand the NICS system, or the fact that registration always leads to confiscation eventually. ATF can run traces in 24 hours in the vast majority of cases, so the value of any new database system is highly suspect. Also, the fact that ALL rifles add up to something like 3% of homicides shows that there is no rational basis for any kind of rifle ban. Furthermore, how many people know that the last three years have seen the lowest homicide rates in the last half-century? For most Americans alive today, the homicide rate has never been lower than it has been the last three years.

Gun rights supporters face an uphill battle due to popular ignorance on the subject, reinforced by the media. Only a few years ago, I didn't know better myself, and believed in the "gunshow loophole" because it was so widely accepted in the media and politicians. I know better, now, of course, but for people with no exposure to the shooting sports & hobbies, that ignorance is harmful to those who enjoy firearms. I would love to see a public survey like the Pew poll, but with better framing. Let people know that homicides have been in steady decline for 20 years and are near 50-year lows, that rifles are almost never used in homicides, and see what the poll results would be then. Remember, knowing is half the battle!

Stronger gun laws?

Unfortunately,the media is the 5th column.

With them controlling the narrative,"uphill battle" is an understatement.

LOL

The gun grabbers have NEVER had the facts or truth on their side.  Sure they've had some wins, but in the end our side's political will is much stronger than theirs.  Libs might get all butthurt and grabby right after a bad shooting but they're back to their usual BS within a week, such as enviro or race or whatever.

Related story:  in a recent survey of dogs, 87% responded that cats are "jerks"

As if to illustrate my point, had a conversation today. Person's cell phone gives her a "breaking news" alert with today's shooting in Fox Lake. She, like many, sees so much in the news, and says is this something because of gun laws? I scoff, and tell her about the homicide rate being historically low, which she didn't know. She asks, is it just because of social media and such that we just hear about it more than we used to? I answer, without a doubt. Again, the casual, uninformed voter just doesn't know the underlying facts, and gets this narrative from the news without the full picture. Sad.

It's easy to spread lies when it supports your agenda.

When they did i594 here, they question they asked was "do you believe there should be background checks for gun sales and online gun sales?" I told the man, there already is. "Please just answer the question."

The exact first thing I thought of when reading the thread title.

Polls are only part of the story. Intensity is the other, and far more important. 75% of voters could want the sky to be green. It doesn't mean they actually give a fuck about the matter to do anything about it. Voters have an opinion on everything, which can be polled, but unless its in their top 3 or 5 or whatever issues, it won't motivate them to actually do anything constructive about it.

90% of voters could very well like universal background checks. But its so far down the list of important issues that it has zero relevance to an actual election or congressional action.

There's stats, liars and damn stats. Or something. Im sure 90% of the men here want Charlotte Mckinney to sit on their face, but the likelihood of that happening is low. Fuck liberals.