Pew: Amid a Series of Mass Shootings in the U.S., Gun Policy Remains Deeply Divisive

MaverickNH

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Narrow majority favors stricter gun laws, but deep partisan divisions persist: "Today, just over half of Americans (53%) say gun laws should be stricter than they currently are, a view held by 81% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents but just 20% of Republicans and Republican leaners."


LOL! With an error rate of 2.1%, that NARROW MAJORITY is <1% 😅

But Pew’s numbers look more real than the oft-claimed 80-90% of Americans that support stricter [fill in the blank] gun laws. In the two states that held referenda on Universal Background Checks, what Democrats consider to be the "low bar" in passing new gun laws, UBCs lost in one state and won by <1% in another.
 
Yeah. People want stricter gun laws. They want a magic law where criminals can't get guns because it's illegal. They want background checks on shady people - like shady people should never be allowed to buy a gun w/o a background check.

How "regular people" view the law is skewed, at best. It's these UBC laws that show how little support they have. "Oh wait - I'M going to be affected?? Yeah. I'm good with current policy."
 
Is it a wonder, when gun ownership by Reps/Leaners is twice that of Dems/Leaners that Reps/Leaners oppose having gun rights restricted twice (or more) as frequently as Dems/Leaners?

Republicans = Keep what they earned and own

Democrats = Take what Republicans earn/own for themselves and give away scraps to the masses

054A9807-D5A3-4AD5-9B8E-1FF1E207FC20.jpegB888A926-1E23-4F7C-876B-DD3CC1AB906F.jpeg
 
Is it a wonder, when gun ownership by Reps/Leaners is twice that of Dems/Leaners that Reps/Leaners oppose having gun rights restricted twice (or more) as frequently as Dems/Leaners?

Republicans = Keep what they earned and own

Democrats = Take what Republicans earn/own for themselves and give away scraps to the masses

View attachment 474765View attachment 474766
Notably absent: "law and order"-style questions. Absent questions on things like
"increase mandatory minimum sentences for crimes committed with guns",
that's a troll - not a poll.

I'm even suspicious of the "mental illnesses" question's wording.
 
Notably absent: "law and order"-style questions. Absent questions on things like
"increase mandatory minimum sentences for crimes committed with guns",
that's a troll - not a poll.

I'm even suspicious of the "mental illnesses" question's wording.
Yeah, I couldn’t find the exact wording on that mental health question - probably not "adjudicated as mentally ill or involuntarily committed to a mental health institution for more than 10 days with findings".

Here’s the silver lining from a 2017 survey - back then, a lot of folks were thinking they might just buy a gun. Last year, a lot more did. That 71% who say they used to own a gun is almost exactly equal to the 70% that say they have fired a gun before - total BS and bluster. But the 50/50 who could see themselves owning a gun got real in 2020 and is getting more real in 2021.

71A51F91-0EE9-463D-992F-1E47402C28FC.jpeg
 
Yeah, the devil's in the details.

Pew is pretty reputable, and given the way the country's divided about everything else, a 50/50 split sounds right. But remember that the overwhelming majority of our countrymen probably couldn't name a single aspect of firearms policy and explain what it means. We here are super-focused on gun laws, but most people don't know or care.

So, sure. "More gun laws!" That'll magically fix everything. Because a whole lot of people out there probably assume there are no gun laws at all. Remember, you can buy machine guns on the internet.
 
Yeah, I couldn’t find the exact wording on that mental health question - probably not "adjudicated as mentally ill or involuntarily committed to a mental health institution for more than 10 days with findings".
Yeah, the devil's in the details.

Pew is pretty reputable, and given the way the country's divided about everything else, a 50/50 split sounds right.
I'll concede to both of you that I was throwing shade.
But hopefully you know the kind of poll biases
I don't trust not to be snuck in to a survey


Can Pew's polling capabilities can be rented by 3rd party "sponsors"?

(In the same way that during election season,
parties and campaigns charter private polls
whose results are kept confident?

It is said that almost no candidate is surprised by an election outcome,
win or lose, because they pay through the nose for unbiased polls
which are never made public).

Pew might do unbiased polls to build their brand and satisfy their own curiosity,
but perform contract polls that are biased.

Anyhow, more speculation.
Jus' sayin'.
 
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I'll concede to both of you that I was throwing shade.
But hopefully you know the kind of poll biases
I don't trust not to be snuck in to a survey


Can Pew's polling capabilities can be rented by 3rd party "sponsors"?

(In the same way that during election season,
parties and campaigns charter private polls
whose results are kept confident?

It is said that almost no candidate is surprised by an election outcome,
win or lose, because they pay through the nose for unbiased polls
which are never made public).

They might do unbiased polls to build their brand and satisfy their own curiosity,
but perform contract polls that are biased.

Anyhow, more speculation.
Jus' sayin'.

What little I know about legit pollsters like Pew, Gallup, or Quinnipiac is that you hire them to do your public polling, but they're professional pollsters who want to do it their way. I'd imagine they'd push back against overly biased questions submitted by a client, given that Pew's name is on the final product and they want to maintain their credibility.

With that said, yes, surveys are always vulnerable to framing and lack of follow-up. But you hope companies like Pew factor that in. I think if you're not prepared to trust ANY pollsters, you're not going to buy these results either. And I still think most Americans have no idea what the current federal or state gun laws are.
 
I'll concede to both of you that I was throwing shade.
But hopefully you know the kind of poll biases
I don't trust not to be snuck in to a survey


Can Pew's polling capabilities can be rented by 3rd party "sponsors"?

(In the same way that during election season,
parties and campaigns charter private polls
whose results are kept confident?

It is said that almost no candidate is surprised by an election outcome,
win or lose, because they pay through the nose for unbiased polls
which are never made public).

They might do unbiased polls to build their brand and satisfy their own curiosity,
but perform contract polls that are biased.

Anyhow, more speculation.
Jus' sayin'.
Look at who Pew Charitable Trusts on Open Sectets. Smart people, with a purpose.

E5783A0B-C562-4530-85DC-9D1761A3E77E.png
 
I'd imagine they'd push back against overly biased questions submitted by a client, given that Pew's name is on the final product and they want to maintain their credibility.
I can imagine a world where they're sufficiently concerned about preserving their brand.
I don't want to guess whether we live in it, but I can imagine it...
 

"Public support for prioritizing new laws to reduce gun violence has declined from a high 3 years ago, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released Wednesday.

The survey found that 50% of Americans back enacting new legislation to reduce gun violence. That number was down from a peak of 57% after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Despite the drop in support, the 50% backing is more than the 43% of Americans who said protecting the right to own guns should be a more important priority, which is up from 34% just 3 years ago."

How easily they dismiss that pro-gun restriction polling lost 7% and pro-gun rights polling gained 9% in 3 years...
 
Yeah, the devil's in the details.

Pew is pretty reputable, and given the way the country's divided about everything else, a 50/50 split sounds right. But remember that the overwhelming majority of our countrymen probably couldn't name a single aspect of firearms policy and explain what it means. We here are super-focused on gun laws, but most people don't know or care.

So, sure. "More gun laws!" That'll magically fix everything. Because a whole lot of people out there probably assume there are no gun laws at all. Remember, you can buy machine guns on the internet.
Just remember the golden rule about human nature. If it doesn't affect you... you probably don't care enough to learn about it.

Everyone is guilty of it in some way shape or form.
 
Lol most polling these days is gutter trash.

Other than a land line telephone poll, and some mail in survey, I’ve never been polled in my life.

The sample sets are liable to be filled with lard or some poor cross section of people.
 
Its not really about PEW though.....people broadly have distrusted polls and not provided accurate/honest answers for many years

How many people would honestly respond wrt gun ownership to a polling company?

Based on above, I believe there's every reason to believe that gun ownership is much much higher than polls show

I think people would, I just don’t think the polling methods ever really evolved.
 
"Mass shootings" gotta love the moving goal posts LOLOL

A mass shooting now is, what, 3 or 4 persons involved in a shooting crime scene or something? LOL All these "mass shootings" are gang/drug related, happening in the inner cities, between black and/or hispanics.
 
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