By Joseph Tanfani, Tribune Washington Bureau –
WASHINGTON — Second Amendment rights to carry firearms are cherished by most gun owners, a new poll finds — no surprise there. But the same poll says a sizable majority of those same gun owners, even members of the National Rifle Association, also strongly support some gun-control measures.
The poll, done for Mayors Against Illegal Guns, found that 76 percent of gun owners think people on the terrorist watch list should be barred from buying guns, and 68 percent were in favor of measures requiring gun owners to tell police if their guns are lost or stolen. The NRA has opposed such measures.
The May survey by Republican pollster Frank Luntz surveyed 945 gun owners nationwide, half of them “current or lapsed” members of the NRA. It has a margin of error of plus or minus three points.
An NRA spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment.
“Gun owners and NRA members overwhelmingly support commonsense steps to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, even as the NRA leadership continues to oppose them,” said New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Since the mass shooting in Aurora, Colo., Bloomberg has been pressing to make gun control an issue in the presidential campaign.
The poll also found that 82 percent of gun owners think anyone purchasing a gun should get a criminal background check. And 80 percent of the sample believed that concealed carry permits should only be granted to applicants who have completed gun safety training.
Other polls in recent years have found that support for gun control measures has steadily been dropping nationwide. But Lowell Baker, president of Luntz Global, said Tuesday he believes other surveys incorrectly framed the debate, by asking whether gun rights were more important than gun controls.
“It’s not an either/or choice,” he said, at a news conference sponsored by the Center for American Progress. “What they’re trying to tell us is they understand that with these rights come responsibilities.”
We have enough regulations in place already.
The type of gun has nothing to do with it. Give an inch and they will take it all.
I do not wish to become a sheeple and live under the governments nor anyone eles’s thumb.
LVS,
Well said. You have it exactly right!
And everyone knows ol’ money bags Bloomberg has no animosity towards guns. Yeah right!
He’s never met a gun of any kind or type that he wouldn’t like to take away from all of us.
I find the headline of this article somewhat misleading.
Seems to me what these polls have found is that legal gun owners believe in responsible ownership and common sense. It appears the polls also found people still believe in citizens legal right to own guns as granted in the 2nd Amendment.
I suppose one could say that is a form of gun control but I don’t believe that is the general concept of gun control as used in today’s vernacular.
As a gun owner and hunter I am going to say something that will be unpopular I think. I really see no reason that anyone need to own or shoot a military style weapon. Just limiting them to 10 rounds does no good as they just would lose multiple clips. However, it would slow them down. I own a semi-automatic 30/06 deer rifle that is by far my favorite gun. It holds a 5 round clip and that is enough for hunting. Most people favor a bolt action but I am somewhat handicapped so this works for me. The problem is we just can’t trust the government. Just look what they did in Canada and California. Register and eveything is OK then they used the lists to go take the guns away. I wouldn’t trust Obama and company as far as I could throw them. Chicago took away guns and look who has them, the same as New York, just the criminals and gang bangers. The rest the world is just as bad with the terrorists getting all the guns they want. Being honest and fair just doesn’t work in this world.
What do you mean….exactly? You’re right, it appears to be very unpopular but I want to make sure I understand you correctly first. What is a military style weapon? An AUTOMATIC or a rifle that is a semi-automatic like an AR?