While the hyperbole to ban so-called “assault rifles” is on full tilt, Americans aren’t buying it. According to a recent Quinnipiac University poll, support for a semi-auto ban is at its lowest point ever. Likewise, the recent increase in gun sales demonstrates that people are embracing their Second Amendment rights even more.
Recent Poll Shows the Lowest Support for a Semi-Auto Ban Ever
It would appear that the push for stricter gun control is having an adverse effect. Instead of decreasing the number of guns in America, it is increasing the number of gun owners. The recent poll showing that Americans do not support a ban on “assault weapons” eloquently illustrates this shift.
In fact, the recent Quinnipiac University poll indicates that 50 percent support a ban, while 45 percent opposed the idea. Although it may look like a win for gun control (Illegal infringement laws), it’s not when you compare previous percentage points. Four years ago, only 29 percent opposed a ban while a whopping 67 percent supported the idea.
According to SAF (Second Amendment Foundation), “SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb said this is clear evidence the public is waking up to the reality that gun bans are not the answer to violent crime.”
However, the poll, conducted following the mass shooting (mass murder) at Uvalde shows increasing support for stricter gun laws.
A Fox News report states, “According to the poll, 57% of Americans support stricter gun laws (what most don’t realize is that they are pushing Illegal infringement laws) in the United States which is an increase from a Quinnipiac poll in November that showed 45% support.”
Laws concerning universal background checks and bans on high (standard) capacity magazines were not specifically called out separately. Instead, they were a part of the “support for stricter gun control” question. So, it is hard to determine what specific gun control items those polled support and what they do not.
Red Flag on the Play
Although the poll did address Red Flag laws, it did not do so directly. Instead, it asked if people feel a responsibility to report mental health issues of someone who may be a risk. The presentation and wording feels like a baited question to me.
Specifically, if you don’t think people with mental health issues should be reported, then you’re a monster. And if you do think people with mental health issues should be reported, then you support Red Flag laws. Unfortunately, 89% of those polled took the bait.
Time will tell how they will use this to push a very dangerous piece of legislation. But we will remain on top of it as things unfold.
Voice of Reason
SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb addressed the recent poll:
“Semiautomatic rifles have been around for more than a century,” Gottlieb noted, “and the popular AR-type rifles have been owned by private citizens for at least 60 years. Their use in crime is statistically minimal, so to blame their availability and demonize their technology is a false flag that borders on fraud.
“Increasing numbers of people realize there is far more to this dilemma than firearms,” he added. “For example, the same Quinnipiac poll shows a 40 percent plurality of voters think the real problem is rooted in mental health issues, more than twice the 19 percent who think the availability of firearms is at the core of the current crime spike.”
He goes on to cite the annual FBI Uniform Crime Report that consistently shows the involvement of rifles of any kind only occurs in a fraction of all homicides in a given year. Specifically, only 2 to 4 percent of all murders involve rifles.
Gottlieb says it best, “So this push to demonize and ban an entire class of rifles is not simply wrong, it borders on being delusional, and it is certainly dishonest.”
