Wow.......Even National Propaganda Radio can't skew their OWN internet poll to show massive support for gun control.....92% against.......I'm sure there's anti-gunners whining 'But we're being flooded with pro-gunners'.......Meaning they couldn't find enough anti-gunners to flood it themselves......That in itself is telling.........The core group of 300 clowns at 'Anytown' aren't quite enough if they can't vote more than once........Why?
Because even those leftists who feel compelled to voice token support for gun control really don't care enough to pursue it.......they know it's a dead end, they know violent crime rates are falling, despite more guns, more concealed carry, and so they don't find a compelling reason to invest their time and effort on a lost cause. The radical anti-gunners are a minority or a minority of a minority.
tsk tsk tsk
tony - 9 years ago
Liberals cannot think critically enough to see that the problem is with the criminal justice system and the mental health system. How many regular citizens that get up everyday, work 45 hrs and just live life with their family are suddenly snapping and murdering children? Answer none. Liberals should join conservatives in pressuring our elected officials to enforce the laws on the books. We do that in Texas and crime is decreasing every year. You see, in America we punish the offender for the crime he/she commits not the tool used. The liberal logic is like 'Lets make a law for law abiding citizens to purchase and install $500 breathalyzers in every car to reduce drunk driving by the DWI offenders who have been released from jail on their 3rd DWI who will not install one in the 1st place!" Prosecute the criminals! Don't disarm the law abiding trying to defend themselves and their families.
John Galt - 9 years ago
Sorry for the second vote attempt. I didn't see the "Click here for results"
Martin Cohn - 9 years ago
No, shall not be infringed.
Milehisnk - 9 years ago
Of course I voted no. None of the proposed limitations will do anything to curb violence or crime.
Alex - your status as a reservist means nothing, other than you are an oath breaker. Your fellow soldiers look down on that sort of thing. The regular civilian should have access to the same firearms as the military, as that's the purpose of the 2nd Amendment.
Background checks have never worked to reduce anything. If a person is dead-set on killing someone, they will find a way to do it. Can't pass a background check? Buy it off the local drug dealer with no check. No local drug dealer? Steal one from a neighbor or family member.
Licenses and fees and such do nothing to prevent auto deaths, so why would we expect different with firearms?
Steve - My constitutional rights trump your fear for "safety" because there is no such thing as safety.
Casey - I'm not an NRA member....they support too many restrictions. I prefer real freedom. But I didn't get the link here from any NRA source, I received it from the Huffpost. People do read the news and people oppose bogus, misinformed decisions like these laws. That's just how life is. More people are opposite you, including every demographic.
Jess - 9 years ago
I am as liberal as they come, but I also believe in the right to own firearms. I don't understand why my party is so scared of guns when they aren't the problem. Young black men are shot every day because of the war on drugs, income equality, and lack of inspiration. Helping these kids is how we can make progress. Help to bring up our youth with respect and hope, not by passing restrictive laws that don't help. Guns are not the problem.
RTC - 9 years ago
We need to “really brainwash people into thinking about guns in a vastly different way.” - Eric Holder
That should tell you all you need to know about the REAL intentions of the leftists.
An unarmed populace is a compliant populace! Ripe for a totalitarian government takeover.
Lazybum - 9 years ago
"Gun Nutter Groups? What are you? 12?
Classic liberal response- you can vote in our poll any way you want, as long as it agrees with me.
What is funniest is that the very same people that say only cops should have guns are also supporting the ant-law enforcement looters / rioters across the country.
Only a crazed leftie could square those two with each other...
RTC - 9 years ago
Well, SmartieArtie ...... if you feel that way, what is stopping you from contacting all your anti gun friends to vote.
Eddie - 9 years ago
California already has some of the most restrictive firearms laws in the nation, yet criminals still disregard them and the state fails to enforce many of the existing laws. A greatly improved criminal justice system, along with targeting of the sociological issues that result in criminal activity, should be a top priority in our nation.
Ty - 9 years ago
NOOOOOOO!
People need to wake up. Gun control is only about control and nothing else.
William M. - 9 years ago
If you are in favor of additional gun control measures, make a convincing argument, based on facts, that laws prevent crimes.
If you are in favor of additional gun control measures, pick an incident like Newtown/Sandy Hook and describe factually how a gun control law could have prevented it.
If you are in favor of additional gun control measures, explain why gun-related violence has shown a steady decrease at the same time that gun ownership has shown a steady increase.
For extra credit, if you are in favor of additional gun control measures, explain why cities like Chicago and Washington DC, which have the most restrictive gun control laws, have disproportionately high rates of murder committed with firearms.
Josh - 9 years ago
Would I support more gun restrictions in my state - New Jersey?
Jersey. Land of "progressive" laws, where only the 1% 'have access' to a basic survival tool outside the threshold of their own home. And yes, if you live in Newark, Jersey City, Camden, Trenton (and the list goes on and on), or in one of the bear-infested suburbs (thanks to the loony animal rights/environmental whackos), you do need access to this right. Just ask the kids who got eaten by the oh-so-peaceful bears that never attack anyone.
Land where you must buy permission to even purchase a firearm, which includes BB guns, pellet guns and until relatively recently, paintball guns.
Permission that is only given after they call your landlord, employer, everyone in your house, etc. and scare them. After they get written, notarized character references from people that must reside in your town and have known you for years.
Permission that can take years and cost thousands. While you wait, there is ample chance that you'll be killed by some ten-year-old who skips all of this and buys a stolen piece of crap two blocks from the police precinct out of some junkie's trunk.
And if you manage to 'legally' own a firearm, there is an excellent chance that whatever you buy will become a felony to possess, transfer, destroy, transport, sell, once they decide that it is an "assault" weapon.
These decisions are made by people who don't even have the most fundamental understanding of the existing laws or basic firearms knowledge - and who frequently have exemptions from the law or can get away with breaking them in this corruptocracy.
You know what - you want to live in a world where some morons who want to protect you from pumping your own gas want to run your life, be my guest - MOVE TO SOME OTHER COUNTRY and leave us ALONE.
Smarty Artie - 9 years ago
I don't know how accurate this poll is going to be. All the Gun Nutter groups are sending out e-mails to slam it by voting "No".
Ted - 9 years ago
"Feeling safe" is not, and never has been, a human right. Equipping and training oneself to counter possible aggression by a superior force (and thereby feel safer), however, is a human right. It's really that simple.
Pashta - 9 years ago
"Gun freakies"?? REALLY? LOL! No, this is how we the people ACTUALLY think, add it SHOULD be!
Me - 9 years ago
If you really want an accurate number on one of these polls about gun control you are going to have to HIDE the question inside of another poll that doesn't have the words "gun control" attached to the title. The gun freakies literally sit around trolling the internet for firearms anything. When the tides slow, they just leave comments about gun control on news stories that have nothing to do with guns.
Vindicator - 9 years ago
When a law is made in attempt to prevent any crime that law is a violation of civil rights how dare they punish us for something we have not even done.
For there to be a crime there must be a victim if there is no victim there is no crime this is an absolute truth.
Justice Requires a crime to have already been committed and for justice to be carried out the offender must be help accountable for there actions the punishment must match the crime eye for and eye fashion.
If criminals would be properly punished we would not have any of these problems all violent criminals verified to be guilty should be executed immediately by stabbing.
As far as other non violent crimes once you have completed you sentence you should be considered to be forgiven and all your rights returned.
Dave - 9 years ago
Fix the legal system, i.e., don't let people buy their way out of criminal charges by hiring a great criminal attorney. And , make the legal age to own and purchase firearms 21 with mandatory background checks that may or may not include psychological testing and serious reoccurring certification.
Tim - 9 years ago
If you voted for or not sure let me change your mind very quickly. If you're reading this and are for more "gun control" get in your vehicle and take your ass to the ghetto and walk around for ONE day I know there is one close by EVERY town has one if that doesn't change your mind about self defense NOTHING will.
Elaine S - 9 years ago
There's an old saying. I remember it from when I was a kid, some 50+ years ago. It's a true statement. I will never support additional gun confiscation measures and I will fight against all of them.
"When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns."
Trey Percenter - 9 years ago
Lynn, you are delusional. only Democrats and Liberals vote as you suggest. Step away from the Kool-aid.
Roberto - 9 years ago
First off Sandy Hook had an agenda, to put people in fear. Second, the FBI for that year show in their own murder reports that no one was killed in the Sandy Hook area during that period of time with a gun. Next, you want to see how restrictive gun control works... Look at Syndey Austraila today! The only ones with guns are the criminals and law abiding citizens can not protect themselves, sheep for the slaughter, sad really, because if America does not wake up, we will be in the same position.
Don - 9 years ago
I came because of FB, not the NRA. Every red blooded American who enjoys all his/her rights should belong to the NRA. I voted no.
Jim - 9 years ago
To you gun control advocates. We don't live in a utopian society. There is evil in every community, and the the sooner you realize that and the sooner you realize that you cannot depend on the the police or the government to protect you the better off all of us will be. RIGHT NOW in Australia, a country with VERY restrictive gun laws there is a standoff with ISIS terrorists. If there were an armed citizen in that shop when they stormed in it would have been over in an instant. What are you going to do when that starts happening here in the US? Will you stop going shopping? Will you only go out if you see a police officer? Will you shiver and shake and wish you had a means of protecting yourself? I have a great idea for gun control. 10 years in prison if you use a firearm in the commission of a crime, no parole, no plea bargain, nothing but 10 years. 2nd offense 20 years, no parole, no plea bargain, nothing but 20 years. 3rd offense LIFE. What do you think about that?
Kerry Hooks - 9 years ago
I was looking for the HELL NO option but that wasn't available. With the VA and others passing out "mental diagnoses" like candy, we will ALL be labeled as mental. In the new DSM, even SLEEP APNEA is labeled a mental disorder. So NO, and HELL NO would I support more gun control.
Lynn - 9 years ago
When tallying this poll, be certain to take the total number of participants into consideration. People who may oppose gun restriction are more organized and vocal than those who support it ; therefore may vote immediately and repeatedly.
Nancy - 9 years ago
Unarmed people are potential victims for criminals. Unarmed people in a location designated as a, "Gun Free Zone" are sitting ducks. Armed people at least have a chance to prevent or stop a crime. It's much safer to live in a state where our 2nd Amendment rights are respected. A criminal will think twice if he knows that most of his potential victims are carrying. That's one of the reasons I moved from California to Idaho.
David P. - 9 years ago
Wrong Casey. The limitations on magazines will do nothing. The Virginia Tech shooter used 10 and 8 round magazines when he killed all those people. He simply dropped an empty and reloaded. Takes mere seconds.
Background checks are a failure. Even the government doesn't prosecute those who falsify a background check.
My gun is ALREADY locked away - behind my front door. Why do I need to secure it further? Is breaking into a gun safe somehow MORE illegal than breaking into a house? Also, my kid has already been taught to properly handle guns so I don't need to lock it up.
You are an utter failure at critical thinking.
AR15 lover - 9 years ago
Casey you're wrong... I'm an NRA member and they didn't contact me I saw the poll on Facebook and you're wrong about new laws... I have owned many guns for 30 years and was raised with guns... I have taught all the kids in my family gun safety, how to shoot and that they are not toys... We need to teach our kids about gun and enforce the laws on the books... Some of the states with the strictest gun laws have the lowest conviction and enforcement rates... If you people (sheeple) would do your homework instead of just listening to what you're told you would find these facts for yourself...
Tim Lankins - 9 years ago
Gun Laws work! I mean c'mon, look at how safe it is in Chicago.
robert - 9 years ago
I'm not a member of the nra Casey. However if they had contacted me and told me to come here then where are the rest of the votes for the people who are for strong gun restrictions...so far the American population is saying these gun laws are absolutely bullshit.....so can I get back to my porn, pizza, and guns now
martin - 9 years ago
I did NOT receive any notification about this poll from the NRA. I am a PBS junkie and a legal gun owner. I voted no.
Jeffrey Stone - 9 years ago
The only way to reduce gun violence in the long run is to have a well armed and educated populace. The criminal population will not pursue hard targets.
The normalization of firearms, and education on firearm safety is the best way to protect children (and adults) from accidents.
Thomas Gage - 9 years ago
Hey Casey - while it's true Americans use guns to kill each other, we use lots of other means too. We Americans also use guns anywhere from 500,000 to 2,500,000 times reach year to stop a crime, and millions more times in lawful activities like hunting or target shooting... which means the good uses of guns outnumber the bad by a factor of at least 30:1.
If you outlaw guns, all you're doing is guaranteeing that criminals who have them, as well as criminals who are bigger, younger or stronger, will be able to continue to victimize the older and weaker. But it seems that's perfectly acceptable to many on the left.
Richard - 9 years ago
mjbarr,
Its called the Bill Of Rights. Not the Bill Of Needs.
Richard - 9 years ago
Hey Casey,
Can you tell me where the NRA sent my notification of this poll. I am a member and have received nothing about this from them. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong spot. Or, more likely, you're making a comment that has no truth behind it.
Kevin Baker - 9 years ago
I'm an NRA member. I received no notification from them. I saw a link to this on Facebook.
Not the outcome PBS was expecting? Color me shocked!
Jesse Stalder - 9 years ago
I have several firearms and ammunition, not one of them have ever injured or killed anyone. So long as no one threatens me or my family they never will!
Me - 9 years ago
Background checks for ammunition is over the top.
Squid - 9 years ago
All these gun control laws do is go after legal gun owners. Not a single law will stop a criminal because criminals don't follow laws.
Any restrictions that are passed will never be followed by criminals but the law following citizens are the ones that will suffer because of them.
I am a Connecticut resident Independent voter. You better believe I voted No
Lee Shelton - 9 years ago
Please tell me how a magazine limited to.10 rounds will stop mass shootings?....all that is needed is multiple mags to accomplish the same results....people. who know guns will tell you that 20 round mags are more rare, expensive than 30 round mags...because you can't shoot from a rest, for sighting in your rifile!!!!!
mike - 9 years ago
Oh, I forgot to add, I voted NO.
mike - 9 years ago
Funny I am a NRA member , and i was sent no email. Maybe because I am also a sustaining member of my local NPR and PBS stations, and routinely donate to the democratic party.
Jason Butow - 9 years ago
I love this debate. Here's my view. Give the right to carry to all lawful gun owners and bring back hanging all criminals and watch crime drop. Until that happens enjoy the mass shooting and needles death's. Rainbows and unicorns do not exist. Good guys with guns stop bad guys with guns. The second amendment was put in place for many reasons. Wake up sheep.
Ed - 9 years ago
Hey Casey - have any proof that the NRA has contacted it's members to skew the numbers?
Didn't think so. I didn't get any emails from them. I saw the poll and voted based on logic over emotion.
Casey - 9 years ago
The NRA has contacted its members to come take this poll in order to skew the results. For my part, I know that there are responsible gun owners and irresponsible gun owners. Protecting the rights of the first while protecting the rest of us from the second is a very difficult thing to do, but we must do what is right rather than what is easy. Universal background checks, liability insurance, limits on magazine capacity, and ensuring those who have weapons know how to store them and care for them so that they don't end up in the hands of criminals and children and psychopaths are reasonable steps to take. It is not possible, nor is it consistent with the Constitution, to take weapons from those who already have them. I do not advocate for confiscation. I advocate for responsible weapon ownership. While it is true that guns don't kill people, far too many people kill other people using guns.
Andre Sanford - 9 years ago
Fools, more laws when you can't control the laws already on the books. How about making the criminals using weapons pay a higher price for crimes committed with weapons. Use common sense, criminals do not abide by laws!
Jeremy - 9 years ago
America doesn't have a gun problem: it has a thug problem and a mental health problem. Most murders are gang-on-gang warfare and innocents caught in their crossfire. Meanwhile, of the 30 most recent mass shootings, 29 had a shooter who was on or who had recently quit using antidepressants.
If you can't trust someone to have a gun, you can't trust them to live free among the rest of society. The worst school massacre in American history, at the town of Bath, Michigan, was a result of arson and explosives. Don't think that getting rid of guns will keep children safe; it is the criminal and mentally unstable people who would attack a child that need to be kept away from the rest of society.
Rich - 9 years ago
Gun violence is dropping despite the Assault Weapon Ban of the Clinton Admin expiring and gun laws becoming more relaxed nationwide. 7.0 per 100k in 1993 to 3.6 per 100k in 2011 as of a 2013 report by the US Dept of Justice using CDC statistics. That is roughly 18k in one year down to to 11k. Statistically you have a greater chance of dying from the flu than being gunned down. The hype from "news" sources has to end.
Whenever there is a poll related to increasing safety around guns, the NRA sends emails out to members to start ranting about their second amendment rights. What about the right to feel safe from a person who snaps (goes off the deep end) and conveniently has access to an assault weapon that can murder multiple children in a few short seconds? Let's put safety first.
Jimmy - 9 years ago
Daily reminder that your liberal feel good measures get more people killed than they save
Jean - 9 years ago
This poll is flawed. I was able to vote over and over again, increasing the numbers by 1 each time. I think people who are angry about enacting safe gun laws are voting multiple times. Please make polls work fairly.
Scorpionmain - 9 years ago
I swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitutions of the United States. That oath means something to me. I swore before God, my fellow citizens, military members, my family, to protect them, to protect their rights and those precious documents. My swearing to defend these principles does not end with those who would pass such a law stripping current and future citizens of their right to keep and bear firearms.
If any proposed legislation passes and is signed into law it is a direct violation of the Constitutions of the United Sates. I will not obey it, I will not enforce it, nor will I participate with any organization or government entity in the enforcing of such a law. On that day I will move from being a long term law abiding citizen to a citizen who will not comply with the blatant infringement of our rights.
Our Founding Fathers warned us about an overreaching tyrannical government. With great forethought they made sure the Bill of Rights included the 2nd Amendment as the only way to protect all the other amendments. No one can read that document and writings of the Founding Fathers and not know the true meaning of the 2nd Amendment. It is not about sporting purposes or hunting. It is for the defense of the citizens against harm and a government that no longer serves the people but wishes to strip them of their rights.
I will not shrink from this responsibility nor will I hide in the shadows of tyranny.
MTMissy - 9 years ago
I find it sad that more don't want more gun restrictions. From what I can tell, if we had more women in politics and power we would see different results. I like to shoot guns and hunt but I support restrictions for those who don't deserve the right to own arms.
RG - 9 years ago
Background checks try to stop prohibited persons from purchasing a firearm. I would suggest that instead of universal background checks, we should prohibit the release of homicidal maniacs back into society. Furthermore, law abiding citizens should be free to carry anywhere including so called gun free zones. See how the problem would fix itself?
Also consider that FBI crime statistics show that hammers are used in more murders than the "assault" rifles liberals/communists wants to ban. I would argue that if these freedom destroyers truly cared about "protecting" the people they would focus on banning hammers instead of rifles since it would save more lives.
Can we get a poll about banning hammers?
mjbarr - 9 years ago
How many bullets do you need?
How many guns do you need?
Alex - 9 years ago
Besides background checks for all guns and ammo sales, I'd require licencing for any firearms besides hunting rifles and handguns. Like concealed carry - take class, register, pay fees. I dont see why regular people would need anything beyond these 2 categories. I am a former army reservist, in case you have questions.
micki - 9 years ago
These gun laws will not stop mass killings. These crimes are committed by extremely disturbed and unstable people. They will find another way to carry out their intentions. There are other countries that have laws forbidding guns completely. An example is China, yet in that country there have been multiple mass killings, including at least one in a kindergarten class, in which guns were not the weapons used. These mass crimes are premeditated and these people will find a weapon. These laws will not stop these horrors. We have to face the fact that we no longer live in a society that is like that of times past. The people who speak publicly always mention that this was not the way they grew up--that this was not a situation with which our society had to deal. Newsflash: we had just as many guns, or more, when we were growing up (in relation to the number of population). It isn't the number of guns--it is the mentally unstable people using them.
Tango - 9 years ago
Since the Supreme Court case South v Maryland in 1856, and in nearly two dozen cases since, the courts have held that outside of a few limited circumstances the government bears no affirmative duty to protect us as individuals. This has been the law of the land.
How many of the people calling for more "gun control" are aware of this fact, or will even acknowledge it?
Denis Gould - 9 years ago
We certainly can debate this but why PBS News continues to spend time airing Dick Cheney's views, makes me want to turn you off!
Bryan - 9 years ago
Here's the thing. I'm not usually so cynical about all of this, but these control freaks have been allowed to get far to out of hand. If you want violent crime to stop, then allow people to be armed, unhampered, and take personal responsibility for their own safety. People need to refuse to comply. Gun owners have the upper hand in numbers alone. There is no possible way to arrest, harass, incarcerate, or otherwise inhibit our right to keep and bear arms, if one hundred million people stood up all at once and just said, "No more".
Metaphysical - 9 years ago
What happens when those who have properly exercised their 2nd Amendment rights decide to no longer suffer ridiculously unconstitutional mandates from those who have not? At some point, and it may be already starting, the heretofore lawfully armed will simply refuse and say "I will not comply". Then what? Who will force them? How? Even a hint of confiscation may make Ferguson. MO look like a stroll in the park.
Eventually civil disobedience may become stronger as several states pass laws forbidding any more unconstitutional intrusions. Even such socialist & progressive nightmare states like CT, who jammed through but unconstitutional and useless laws in a knee jerk reaction appear to seeing massive non compliance. History has shown over and over that registration = confiscation.
Feel good, knowledge deficient far left lawmakers need to stop trampling on rights and the constitution.
Bryan - 9 years ago
OH NO!!! A nationwide poll has shown that the population is in favor of gun rights over gun control!!! Quick, post a poll in our echo chamber so that we can report that the Pew Poll is wrong!!! OH NO!!!! We are so frightened of freedom and self responsibility, we must have our leaders watch over, control, and provide everything...Come on, It's for the children.
Morons.
sam adams - 9 years ago
I find it disturbing that people believe laws will stop gun crime from happening. With a bachloret in Criminal justice, and with my own research , the basis for such laws are unfounded and completely restrive to the law abiding citizen. However good the intentions are, the fact is that it defies logic that making another law to stop criminals from using a weapon in the comittion of breaking the law. The crime most likely will be comitted no matter the restrictions. The commision of a violent crime is only so with intent . We should focus more on stoping the crime, but that has been the goal of mankind since the beginning.
Ed steeves - 9 years ago
I will not support any gun control measures in Texas that would in any way shape form or wording,be similar or comparable to any gun control measure from Connecticut or any state in New England or The state of New York or the states of Maryland Colorado California or the District of Colombia. We ha enough gun control laws and little proper enforcement. Fiascos like Fast & Furious programs and the people who allowed and administered such programs go in prosecuted. New Town was the act of a mentally disturbed individual and reactionary knee jerk feel good legislation won't cure anything. Criminals and mentally I'll people are not deterred by ANY laws. You cannot plan for crazy but crazy can plan. An armed society is a polite and safe society. Law enforcement agencies are generally so poorly funded and trained that they should NOT be the only ones allowed to have firearms and they should be prohibited from any debate regarding gun control legislation. In short to answer the poll NO.
Wow.......Even National Propaganda Radio can't skew their OWN internet poll to show massive support for gun control.....92% against.......I'm sure there's anti-gunners whining 'But we're being flooded with pro-gunners'.......Meaning they couldn't find enough anti-gunners to flood it themselves......That in itself is telling.........The core group of 300 clowns at 'Anytown' aren't quite enough if they can't vote more than once........Why?
Because even those leftists who feel compelled to voice token support for gun control really don't care enough to pursue it.......they know it's a dead end, they know violent crime rates are falling, despite more guns, more concealed carry, and so they don't find a compelling reason to invest their time and effort on a lost cause. The radical anti-gunners are a minority or a minority of a minority.
tsk tsk tsk
Liberals cannot think critically enough to see that the problem is with the criminal justice system and the mental health system. How many regular citizens that get up everyday, work 45 hrs and just live life with their family are suddenly snapping and murdering children? Answer none. Liberals should join conservatives in pressuring our elected officials to enforce the laws on the books. We do that in Texas and crime is decreasing every year. You see, in America we punish the offender for the crime he/she commits not the tool used. The liberal logic is like 'Lets make a law for law abiding citizens to purchase and install $500 breathalyzers in every car to reduce drunk driving by the DWI offenders who have been released from jail on their 3rd DWI who will not install one in the 1st place!" Prosecute the criminals! Don't disarm the law abiding trying to defend themselves and their families.
Sorry for the second vote attempt. I didn't see the "Click here for results"
No, shall not be infringed.
Of course I voted no. None of the proposed limitations will do anything to curb violence or crime.
Alex - your status as a reservist means nothing, other than you are an oath breaker. Your fellow soldiers look down on that sort of thing. The regular civilian should have access to the same firearms as the military, as that's the purpose of the 2nd Amendment.
Background checks have never worked to reduce anything. If a person is dead-set on killing someone, they will find a way to do it. Can't pass a background check? Buy it off the local drug dealer with no check. No local drug dealer? Steal one from a neighbor or family member.
Licenses and fees and such do nothing to prevent auto deaths, so why would we expect different with firearms?
Steve - My constitutional rights trump your fear for "safety" because there is no such thing as safety.
Casey - I'm not an NRA member....they support too many restrictions. I prefer real freedom. But I didn't get the link here from any NRA source, I received it from the Huffpost. People do read the news and people oppose bogus, misinformed decisions like these laws. That's just how life is. More people are opposite you, including every demographic.
I am as liberal as they come, but I also believe in the right to own firearms. I don't understand why my party is so scared of guns when they aren't the problem. Young black men are shot every day because of the war on drugs, income equality, and lack of inspiration. Helping these kids is how we can make progress. Help to bring up our youth with respect and hope, not by passing restrictive laws that don't help. Guns are not the problem.
We need to “really brainwash people into thinking about guns in a vastly different way.” - Eric Holder
That should tell you all you need to know about the REAL intentions of the leftists.
An unarmed populace is a compliant populace! Ripe for a totalitarian government takeover.
"Gun Nutter Groups? What are you? 12?
Classic liberal response- you can vote in our poll any way you want, as long as it agrees with me.
What is funniest is that the very same people that say only cops should have guns are also supporting the ant-law enforcement looters / rioters across the country.
Only a crazed leftie could square those two with each other...
Well, SmartieArtie ...... if you feel that way, what is stopping you from contacting all your anti gun friends to vote.
California already has some of the most restrictive firearms laws in the nation, yet criminals still disregard them and the state fails to enforce many of the existing laws. A greatly improved criminal justice system, along with targeting of the sociological issues that result in criminal activity, should be a top priority in our nation.
NOOOOOOO!
People need to wake up. Gun control is only about control and nothing else.
If you are in favor of additional gun control measures, make a convincing argument, based on facts, that laws prevent crimes.
If you are in favor of additional gun control measures, pick an incident like Newtown/Sandy Hook and describe factually how a gun control law could have prevented it.
If you are in favor of additional gun control measures, explain why gun-related violence has shown a steady decrease at the same time that gun ownership has shown a steady increase.
For extra credit, if you are in favor of additional gun control measures, explain why cities like Chicago and Washington DC, which have the most restrictive gun control laws, have disproportionately high rates of murder committed with firearms.
Would I support more gun restrictions in my state - New Jersey?
Jersey. Land of "progressive" laws, where only the 1% 'have access' to a basic survival tool outside the threshold of their own home. And yes, if you live in Newark, Jersey City, Camden, Trenton (and the list goes on and on), or in one of the bear-infested suburbs (thanks to the loony animal rights/environmental whackos), you do need access to this right. Just ask the kids who got eaten by the oh-so-peaceful bears that never attack anyone.
Land where you must buy permission to even purchase a firearm, which includes BB guns, pellet guns and until relatively recently, paintball guns.
Permission that is only given after they call your landlord, employer, everyone in your house, etc. and scare them. After they get written, notarized character references from people that must reside in your town and have known you for years.
Permission that can take years and cost thousands. While you wait, there is ample chance that you'll be killed by some ten-year-old who skips all of this and buys a stolen piece of crap two blocks from the police precinct out of some junkie's trunk.
And if you manage to 'legally' own a firearm, there is an excellent chance that whatever you buy will become a felony to possess, transfer, destroy, transport, sell, once they decide that it is an "assault" weapon.
These decisions are made by people who don't even have the most fundamental understanding of the existing laws or basic firearms knowledge - and who frequently have exemptions from the law or can get away with breaking them in this corruptocracy.
You know what - you want to live in a world where some morons who want to protect you from pumping your own gas want to run your life, be my guest - MOVE TO SOME OTHER COUNTRY and leave us ALONE.
I don't know how accurate this poll is going to be. All the Gun Nutter groups are sending out e-mails to slam it by voting "No".
"Feeling safe" is not, and never has been, a human right. Equipping and training oneself to counter possible aggression by a superior force (and thereby feel safer), however, is a human right. It's really that simple.
"Gun freakies"?? REALLY? LOL! No, this is how we the people ACTUALLY think, add it SHOULD be!
If you really want an accurate number on one of these polls about gun control you are going to have to HIDE the question inside of another poll that doesn't have the words "gun control" attached to the title. The gun freakies literally sit around trolling the internet for firearms anything. When the tides slow, they just leave comments about gun control on news stories that have nothing to do with guns.
When a law is made in attempt to prevent any crime that law is a violation of civil rights how dare they punish us for something we have not even done.
For there to be a crime there must be a victim if there is no victim there is no crime this is an absolute truth.
Justice Requires a crime to have already been committed and for justice to be carried out the offender must be help accountable for there actions the punishment must match the crime eye for and eye fashion.
If criminals would be properly punished we would not have any of these problems all violent criminals verified to be guilty should be executed immediately by stabbing.
As far as other non violent crimes once you have completed you sentence you should be considered to be forgiven and all your rights returned.
Fix the legal system, i.e., don't let people buy their way out of criminal charges by hiring a great criminal attorney. And , make the legal age to own and purchase firearms 21 with mandatory background checks that may or may not include psychological testing and serious reoccurring certification.
If you voted for or not sure let me change your mind very quickly. If you're reading this and are for more "gun control" get in your vehicle and take your ass to the ghetto and walk around for ONE day I know there is one close by EVERY town has one if that doesn't change your mind about self defense NOTHING will.
There's an old saying. I remember it from when I was a kid, some 50+ years ago. It's a true statement. I will never support additional gun confiscation measures and I will fight against all of them.
"When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns."
Lynn, you are delusional. only Democrats and Liberals vote as you suggest. Step away from the Kool-aid.
First off Sandy Hook had an agenda, to put people in fear. Second, the FBI for that year show in their own murder reports that no one was killed in the Sandy Hook area during that period of time with a gun. Next, you want to see how restrictive gun control works... Look at Syndey Austraila today! The only ones with guns are the criminals and law abiding citizens can not protect themselves, sheep for the slaughter, sad really, because if America does not wake up, we will be in the same position.
I came because of FB, not the NRA. Every red blooded American who enjoys all his/her rights should belong to the NRA. I voted no.
To you gun control advocates. We don't live in a utopian society. There is evil in every community, and the the sooner you realize that and the sooner you realize that you cannot depend on the the police or the government to protect you the better off all of us will be. RIGHT NOW in Australia, a country with VERY restrictive gun laws there is a standoff with ISIS terrorists. If there were an armed citizen in that shop when they stormed in it would have been over in an instant. What are you going to do when that starts happening here in the US? Will you stop going shopping? Will you only go out if you see a police officer? Will you shiver and shake and wish you had a means of protecting yourself? I have a great idea for gun control. 10 years in prison if you use a firearm in the commission of a crime, no parole, no plea bargain, nothing but 10 years. 2nd offense 20 years, no parole, no plea bargain, nothing but 20 years. 3rd offense LIFE. What do you think about that?
I was looking for the HELL NO option but that wasn't available. With the VA and others passing out "mental diagnoses" like candy, we will ALL be labeled as mental. In the new DSM, even SLEEP APNEA is labeled a mental disorder. So NO, and HELL NO would I support more gun control.
When tallying this poll, be certain to take the total number of participants into consideration. People who may oppose gun restriction are more organized and vocal than those who support it ; therefore may vote immediately and repeatedly.
Unarmed people are potential victims for criminals. Unarmed people in a location designated as a, "Gun Free Zone" are sitting ducks. Armed people at least have a chance to prevent or stop a crime. It's much safer to live in a state where our 2nd Amendment rights are respected. A criminal will think twice if he knows that most of his potential victims are carrying. That's one of the reasons I moved from California to Idaho.
Wrong Casey. The limitations on magazines will do nothing. The Virginia Tech shooter used 10 and 8 round magazines when he killed all those people. He simply dropped an empty and reloaded. Takes mere seconds.
Background checks are a failure. Even the government doesn't prosecute those who falsify a background check.
My gun is ALREADY locked away - behind my front door. Why do I need to secure it further? Is breaking into a gun safe somehow MORE illegal than breaking into a house? Also, my kid has already been taught to properly handle guns so I don't need to lock it up.
You are an utter failure at critical thinking.
Casey you're wrong... I'm an NRA member and they didn't contact me I saw the poll on Facebook and you're wrong about new laws... I have owned many guns for 30 years and was raised with guns... I have taught all the kids in my family gun safety, how to shoot and that they are not toys... We need to teach our kids about gun and enforce the laws on the books... Some of the states with the strictest gun laws have the lowest conviction and enforcement rates... If you people (sheeple) would do your homework instead of just listening to what you're told you would find these facts for yourself...
Gun Laws work! I mean c'mon, look at how safe it is in Chicago.
I'm not a member of the nra Casey. However if they had contacted me and told me to come here then where are the rest of the votes for the people who are for strong gun restrictions...so far the American population is saying these gun laws are absolutely bullshit.....so can I get back to my porn, pizza, and guns now
I did NOT receive any notification about this poll from the NRA. I am a PBS junkie and a legal gun owner. I voted no.
The only way to reduce gun violence in the long run is to have a well armed and educated populace. The criminal population will not pursue hard targets.
The normalization of firearms, and education on firearm safety is the best way to protect children (and adults) from accidents.
Hey Casey - while it's true Americans use guns to kill each other, we use lots of other means too. We Americans also use guns anywhere from 500,000 to 2,500,000 times reach year to stop a crime, and millions more times in lawful activities like hunting or target shooting... which means the good uses of guns outnumber the bad by a factor of at least 30:1.
If you outlaw guns, all you're doing is guaranteeing that criminals who have them, as well as criminals who are bigger, younger or stronger, will be able to continue to victimize the older and weaker. But it seems that's perfectly acceptable to many on the left.
mjbarr,
Its called the Bill Of Rights. Not the Bill Of Needs.
Hey Casey,
Can you tell me where the NRA sent my notification of this poll. I am a member and have received nothing about this from them. Maybe I'm looking in the wrong spot. Or, more likely, you're making a comment that has no truth behind it.
I'm an NRA member. I received no notification from them. I saw a link to this on Facebook.
Not the outcome PBS was expecting? Color me shocked!
I have several firearms and ammunition, not one of them have ever injured or killed anyone. So long as no one threatens me or my family they never will!
Background checks for ammunition is over the top.
All these gun control laws do is go after legal gun owners. Not a single law will stop a criminal because criminals don't follow laws.
Any restrictions that are passed will never be followed by criminals but the law following citizens are the ones that will suffer because of them.
I am a Connecticut resident Independent voter. You better believe I voted No
Please tell me how a magazine limited to.10 rounds will stop mass shootings?....all that is needed is multiple mags to accomplish the same results....people. who know guns will tell you that 20 round mags are more rare, expensive than 30 round mags...because you can't shoot from a rest, for sighting in your rifile!!!!!
Oh, I forgot to add, I voted NO.
Funny I am a NRA member , and i was sent no email. Maybe because I am also a sustaining member of my local NPR and PBS stations, and routinely donate to the democratic party.
I love this debate. Here's my view. Give the right to carry to all lawful gun owners and bring back hanging all criminals and watch crime drop. Until that happens enjoy the mass shooting and needles death's. Rainbows and unicorns do not exist. Good guys with guns stop bad guys with guns. The second amendment was put in place for many reasons. Wake up sheep.
Hey Casey - have any proof that the NRA has contacted it's members to skew the numbers?
Didn't think so. I didn't get any emails from them. I saw the poll and voted based on logic over emotion.
The NRA has contacted its members to come take this poll in order to skew the results. For my part, I know that there are responsible gun owners and irresponsible gun owners. Protecting the rights of the first while protecting the rest of us from the second is a very difficult thing to do, but we must do what is right rather than what is easy. Universal background checks, liability insurance, limits on magazine capacity, and ensuring those who have weapons know how to store them and care for them so that they don't end up in the hands of criminals and children and psychopaths are reasonable steps to take. It is not possible, nor is it consistent with the Constitution, to take weapons from those who already have them. I do not advocate for confiscation. I advocate for responsible weapon ownership. While it is true that guns don't kill people, far too many people kill other people using guns.
Fools, more laws when you can't control the laws already on the books. How about making the criminals using weapons pay a higher price for crimes committed with weapons. Use common sense, criminals do not abide by laws!
America doesn't have a gun problem: it has a thug problem and a mental health problem. Most murders are gang-on-gang warfare and innocents caught in their crossfire. Meanwhile, of the 30 most recent mass shootings, 29 had a shooter who was on or who had recently quit using antidepressants.
If you can't trust someone to have a gun, you can't trust them to live free among the rest of society. The worst school massacre in American history, at the town of Bath, Michigan, was a result of arson and explosives. Don't think that getting rid of guns will keep children safe; it is the criminal and mentally unstable people who would attack a child that need to be kept away from the rest of society.
Gun violence is dropping despite the Assault Weapon Ban of the Clinton Admin expiring and gun laws becoming more relaxed nationwide. 7.0 per 100k in 1993 to 3.6 per 100k in 2011 as of a 2013 report by the US Dept of Justice using CDC statistics. That is roughly 18k in one year down to to 11k. Statistically you have a greater chance of dying from the flu than being gunned down. The hype from "news" sources has to end.
http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/fv9311.pdf
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/deaths.htm
Whenever there is a poll related to increasing safety around guns, the NRA sends emails out to members to start ranting about their second amendment rights. What about the right to feel safe from a person who snaps (goes off the deep end) and conveniently has access to an assault weapon that can murder multiple children in a few short seconds? Let's put safety first.
Daily reminder that your liberal feel good measures get more people killed than they save
This poll is flawed. I was able to vote over and over again, increasing the numbers by 1 each time. I think people who are angry about enacting safe gun laws are voting multiple times. Please make polls work fairly.
I swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitutions of the United States. That oath means something to me. I swore before God, my fellow citizens, military members, my family, to protect them, to protect their rights and those precious documents. My swearing to defend these principles does not end with those who would pass such a law stripping current and future citizens of their right to keep and bear firearms.
If any proposed legislation passes and is signed into law it is a direct violation of the Constitutions of the United Sates. I will not obey it, I will not enforce it, nor will I participate with any organization or government entity in the enforcing of such a law. On that day I will move from being a long term law abiding citizen to a citizen who will not comply with the blatant infringement of our rights.
Our Founding Fathers warned us about an overreaching tyrannical government. With great forethought they made sure the Bill of Rights included the 2nd Amendment as the only way to protect all the other amendments. No one can read that document and writings of the Founding Fathers and not know the true meaning of the 2nd Amendment. It is not about sporting purposes or hunting. It is for the defense of the citizens against harm and a government that no longer serves the people but wishes to strip them of their rights.
I will not shrink from this responsibility nor will I hide in the shadows of tyranny.
I find it sad that more don't want more gun restrictions. From what I can tell, if we had more women in politics and power we would see different results. I like to shoot guns and hunt but I support restrictions for those who don't deserve the right to own arms.
Background checks try to stop prohibited persons from purchasing a firearm. I would suggest that instead of universal background checks, we should prohibit the release of homicidal maniacs back into society. Furthermore, law abiding citizens should be free to carry anywhere including so called gun free zones. See how the problem would fix itself?
Also consider that FBI crime statistics show that hammers are used in more murders than the "assault" rifles liberals/communists wants to ban. I would argue that if these freedom destroyers truly cared about "protecting" the people they would focus on banning hammers instead of rifles since it would save more lives.
Can we get a poll about banning hammers?
How many bullets do you need?
How many guns do you need?
Besides background checks for all guns and ammo sales, I'd require licencing for any firearms besides hunting rifles and handguns. Like concealed carry - take class, register, pay fees. I dont see why regular people would need anything beyond these 2 categories. I am a former army reservist, in case you have questions.
These gun laws will not stop mass killings. These crimes are committed by extremely disturbed and unstable people. They will find another way to carry out their intentions. There are other countries that have laws forbidding guns completely. An example is China, yet in that country there have been multiple mass killings, including at least one in a kindergarten class, in which guns were not the weapons used. These mass crimes are premeditated and these people will find a weapon. These laws will not stop these horrors. We have to face the fact that we no longer live in a society that is like that of times past. The people who speak publicly always mention that this was not the way they grew up--that this was not a situation with which our society had to deal. Newsflash: we had just as many guns, or more, when we were growing up (in relation to the number of population). It isn't the number of guns--it is the mentally unstable people using them.
Since the Supreme Court case South v Maryland in 1856, and in nearly two dozen cases since, the courts have held that outside of a few limited circumstances the government bears no affirmative duty to protect us as individuals. This has been the law of the land.
How many of the people calling for more "gun control" are aware of this fact, or will even acknowledge it?
We certainly can debate this but why PBS News continues to spend time airing Dick Cheney's views, makes me want to turn you off!
Here's the thing. I'm not usually so cynical about all of this, but these control freaks have been allowed to get far to out of hand. If you want violent crime to stop, then allow people to be armed, unhampered, and take personal responsibility for their own safety. People need to refuse to comply. Gun owners have the upper hand in numbers alone. There is no possible way to arrest, harass, incarcerate, or otherwise inhibit our right to keep and bear arms, if one hundred million people stood up all at once and just said, "No more".
What happens when those who have properly exercised their 2nd Amendment rights decide to no longer suffer ridiculously unconstitutional mandates from those who have not? At some point, and it may be already starting, the heretofore lawfully armed will simply refuse and say "I will not comply". Then what? Who will force them? How? Even a hint of confiscation may make Ferguson. MO look like a stroll in the park.
Eventually civil disobedience may become stronger as several states pass laws forbidding any more unconstitutional intrusions. Even such socialist & progressive nightmare states like CT, who jammed through but unconstitutional and useless laws in a knee jerk reaction appear to seeing massive non compliance. History has shown over and over that registration = confiscation.
Feel good, knowledge deficient far left lawmakers need to stop trampling on rights and the constitution.
OH NO!!! A nationwide poll has shown that the population is in favor of gun rights over gun control!!! Quick, post a poll in our echo chamber so that we can report that the Pew Poll is wrong!!! OH NO!!!! We are so frightened of freedom and self responsibility, we must have our leaders watch over, control, and provide everything...Come on, It's for the children.
Morons.
I find it disturbing that people believe laws will stop gun crime from happening. With a bachloret in Criminal justice, and with my own research , the basis for such laws are unfounded and completely restrive to the law abiding citizen. However good the intentions are, the fact is that it defies logic that making another law to stop criminals from using a weapon in the comittion of breaking the law. The crime most likely will be comitted no matter the restrictions. The commision of a violent crime is only so with intent . We should focus more on stoping the crime, but that has been the goal of mankind since the beginning.
I will not support any gun control measures in Texas that would in any way shape form or wording,be similar or comparable to any gun control measure from Connecticut or any state in New England or The state of New York or the states of Maryland Colorado California or the District of Colombia. We ha enough gun control laws and little proper enforcement. Fiascos like Fast & Furious programs and the people who allowed and administered such programs go in prosecuted. New Town was the act of a mentally disturbed individual and reactionary knee jerk feel good legislation won't cure anything. Criminals and mentally I'll people are not deterred by ANY laws. You cannot plan for crazy but crazy can plan. An armed society is a polite and safe society. Law enforcement agencies are generally so poorly funded and trained that they should NOT be the only ones allowed to have firearms and they should be prohibited from any debate regarding gun control legislation. In short to answer the poll NO.