Poll: Support for stricter gun control wanes

[Paul E Ester]

Soon after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced an assault weapons ban would not be part of a gun control bill, a new CBS News poll shows support for stricter gun control laws overall has dropped since the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Currently, support for stricter gun control laws stands at 47 percent today, down from a high of 57 percent just after the shootings. Thirty-nine percent want those laws kept as they are, and another 11 percent want them made less strict.

Women (55 percent) are more likely than men (39 percent) to want stricter laws, as are those living in the Northeast. Only 44 percent in the Midwest and South want stricter laws; 47 percent in the West.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57576248/poll-support-for-stricter-gun-control-wanes/

52 percent of Republicans want the laws kept as they are, while 66 percent of Democrats want stricter laws (down from 78 percent in February).

[kudzu22]

1. I'd really like to see a poll

that in addition to asking whether the person supports stricter gun control, also measures their knowledge of current gun control laws. I'd wager that those who want tighter controls don't really know how tight they are now.

[melm00se]

2. "act in haste repent at leisure"

is a cliche for a reason.

Too many times (and not just in this case) we slam laws into place in a panic while emotions are running high and a year (maybe more, maybe less) people look at the law(s) and say "oh shit...what have we done!" but by then it's too late because getting a law repealed is extraordinarily difficult.

[bowens43]

3. Americans aren't the brightest bulbs on the tree......

no wonder the world sees us as bunch of fucking jackasses

[Tuesday Afternoon]

4. and, of course, that is why they come running to us for help because we are a bunch of

fucking jackasses. stupid Americans.

[WinniSkipper]

5. The rest of the world

will be in for a treat when they turn to China or India, who will surpass us in economic productivity eventually, and we are #3.

[Eleanors38]

6. I believe there is a poll which measured gun-control attitudes...

against a number of "mass shootings," and graphing over time.

Sure enough, folks wanted more "control" after each mass event.

Sure enough, the want of more controls fell precipitously after some months.

We will likely resume a long-term decline in more gun-control support as measured in surveys.