Record-Low 26% in U.S. Favor Handgun Ban
 

A record-low 26% of Americans favor a legal ban on the possession of handguns in the United States other than by police and other authorized people. When Gallup first asked Americans this question in 1959, 60% favored banning handguns. But since 1975, the majority of Americans have opposed such a measure, with opposition around 70% in recent years.

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For the first time, Gallup finds greater opposition to than support for a ban on semiautomatic guns or assault rifles, 53% to 43%. In the initial asking of this question in 1996, the numbers were nearly reversed, with 57% for and 42% against an assault rifle ban. Congress passed such a ban in 1994, but the law expired when Congress did not act to renew it in 2004. Around the time the law expired, Americans were about evenly divided in their views.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/150341/Re...ndgun-Ban.aspx


I guess more people are coming to realize the need to protect themselves

Hmm...for whatever the reason...I was not aware that the majority of Americans were opposed to the ownership of hand guns. I was aware that some cities had banned handguns and I was aware that some states had banned the sale of so called "assault rifles" and/or the size of the clips...but I thought the majority had opposed these bans.

If I am not mistaken the Federal Supreme Court has recently ruled against those cities that had bans on the sale of handguns.

I will not part with my guns...as the saying goes "from my cold dead hands" or something to along those lines.

I read the other day that gun ownership is up too - half of American houses now have guns in them.

I understand why. Local city governments are strapped for cash, and cutting back on police. This is exactly what's happened in my small home town here. We used to have a massive police presence. Now, not so much.

Most of the people that know me believe I'm paranoid because I keep a food and water supply that will last for 3 months and because I'm a gun owner who doesn't shoot anything for sport. I may be paranoid, but I believe being prepared for a "when shit hits the fan scenario" is a smart move, even if it never comes.

I think this change in support for weapons shows that a lot of other people are preparing for darker times. Of course, that could again just be my paranoid mind.

i dont want to live anywhere where i would feel the need to have a gun for my safety

what planet are you moving to? name a country that doesnt have guns? i mean countries with a population above a million :helpme

no way im giving up my guns

Maybe it is the government and police that people are really worried about?

I think if you live in the United states you should be Default Have a weapon . However thats just my opinion ... I personally have a conceal Carry permit in a bunch of states , too bad my home state is so liberal if you even think abouttaking a gun outside they throw you in jail ... Which is a waste of tax money

I personally wish the country as a whole would outlaw all firearms. I have conceal carry permit as well, and many pistols, rifles, and shotguns. I would gladly see them all destroyed if the nation would outlaw all firearms. I only feel the need to have them because others have them.

some people abuse the law and they punish the majority. :2 cents: something bad happens then they want to ban shit. like when that lady was shot giffords or whatever the guy had a extended clip on his 9. so now they want to ban the clip. its bullshit

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

The right to be able to defend yourself, your family and your home is becoming more fully understood by Americans. You don't bring a knife to a gunfight. I think a lot of this change is the growing mistrust of police due to caught on tape incidents. I think overall police are less likely to abuse their powers now than ever in the past, but due to everyone having a video recorder on thier phone what few incidents there are go viral fast and make it seem like police abuse is running rampent.

read what i wrote - you can keep your guns, you can even buy 20 more if you think you need them.

here you can buy guns too, but hardly anyone does. because no one needs them.

people outside of the US don't understand the whole problem here, while we have a very good system here, the government and the police don't follow that system. None of them can be trusted, thats why they want the guns that belong to those that own them leaglly and keep passing laws to make is harder to own them. Laws passed about guns are not going to effect those that dont follow the law. And if they ever made them illegal , I wouldn't follow the law either.

A bit off topic.

I have been thinking of buying a handgun for home defense. What type would you recommend? I already have a shotgun.

A litmus test of how people feel about rowdy hippies taking over parks nationwide

S&W 40, lots of knock down power. Accurate, lots of the cops carry them, 9mm will bounce off a windsheild, 40 won't

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/w...layErrorView_Y

Thanks, you are the second person to recommend the 40. :thumbsup

wtf are they putting in the drinking water down there? ritalin? :helpme you dont like guns? :Oh crap :1orglaugh :1orglaugh

I prefer a .45

When my diving buddy, the Clark County Coroner, says that he carries a .45 because he sees first-hand the damage that they do, thats a good enough reason for me.

Those of you who are adamantly against firearms, its a personal choice and thats ok if you feel like that. Just remember that everyone has the personal responsibility of protecting themselves.

When seconds count, the police are usually just minutes away.

The biggest Problem with that is our Police departments cannot afford to protect every single citizen. If we had a nationwide gun ban that would mean the only people with guns would be the Police and Criminals. This is a bad mixture .. someone robs your house shoots you cause they feel like it , you have no means of defense.

Right now its a even playing field ..

Hehe same here, no need for guns ;)

How many darkies live in your country?
Nuff said.

race wars are coming.

don't think you are going to win this one late at night with many of the europeans not around, but yes it's strange I prefer waking up to read the newspaper where it is extremely rare that you will hear anyone has been shot (in a country of over 60 million).

I do not agree... I have been hearing this for 20+ years

yeah around the y2k era good thing is tho i have like 60 pounds of beef jerky and about 100 tubes of ky jelly :thumbsup

Not sure what you intend to do with that mixture just be careful of all the salt

By banning firearms, I mean for police as well. We have the technology for nonlethal tactics to be used in almost all situations that call for guns to be used, assuming there are no other guns being used against such nonlethal tactics. Even with guns, the nonlethal technology we have available measures up fairly well.

The problem with that is, of course, it's very expensive for some of the more advanced nonlethal technology to be issued to all law enforcement officials across our country.

If we issued a national ban on all firearms, law enforcement included, and then issued lifetime prison sentences for even 1 weapons violation, I think we could soon rid the country of all weapons. A country our size, with no firearms, would be a much safer place to live than a country our size with all the firearms we have today.

This is all a fantasy of course. It would never happen, or go so smoothly. It's a nice thought though.

That all sounds lovely. But if you haven't noticed, we have a neighbor to the south. They don't follow their own laws, let alone ours. Guns will always have a large presence in the United States, whether they are legal or not.

Don't own a gun and have never had a problem.

Having said that I support most of you paranoid people having one since you're convinced a big black man is going to rape your wife.

Who is going to pay for all those people to spend their lives in jail getting 3 meals a day , Heat , TV , Showers, Lights ETC... I sure as hell do not want to waste my money on that ...

Well said. I live in "dangerous" Eastern Europe and I do not know anybody who owns a gun. I never heard that someone try to rob a house with a gun and I never heard that someone tried to rob a house while owners were inside. And like you say we VERY RARELY read that someone was shot (and if we exclude criminal people shooting each other over something that almost never happens).

So no you do not have to move to another planet, not every country the same way as USA.

Good Point !

You only have to be a crime victim one time to change your whole perspective. Or have someone you love be a crime victim.

Its better to have a gun and not need it, than to need a gun and not have it.

I don't think I have ever met anyone who wants to ban private ownership of a handgun. The people who want to restrict gun ownership are interested in limiting the number of handguns a person owns, preventing people from buying 50 Cals, restricting the sale of machine guns and the like... or they want stricter security on handgun sales with real background checks and waiting periods. If someone offered a limit of any 1 handgun per civilian the anti-gun lobby would be over the moon with excitement to accept that offer.

Personally I believe people should own any guns they want but any crime committed with a gun you own (whether it was by you or someone who stole it or took it etc) should be YOUR legal responsibility. If someone steals your gun and kills someone, you do the time for murder right alongside them.

I support the right to own.

I've lived in "bad areas" twice. Like you, I have never felt threatened or scared and carrying a gun around with me surely would not have done anything at all. I don't get the paranoia myself, but hey, have at it.

Waste money? Seriously, take an economics course. Our entire legal system, the prison system included, is a huge revenue/job source to our economy. Construction to build and maintain the prisons, huge farms and food distributors dedicated to supplying those meals, soaps, linens, electricity, etc., etc. It's like selling our product to small colonies all across the U.S.

Yes, we the tax payer pay for those items, which pay our salaries and employ our people.

You think too small.

This could of course be solved if we really wanted to. We could bring our troops home to patrol our borders and make them incredibly secure. Along with our ports and airports. This is a solvable problem to a nation that actually wants to do so.

That made me laugh. So if someone steals my car runs over someone and kills them on purpose I should go to jail for murder also? If someone sneaks into my garage swips my claw hammer then goes home and beats their wife over the head with it until she's dead I should go to jail for his crime?

Is that you, Gaddafi?

Red Dawn!

Personally I do not think im 100% correct , I just telling you my opinion. The prison systems are over populated to begin right now .. they could not get money from the government to fix our infrastructure where would the money to build more prisons come from ?

They Eat and take a Baths outside the Jail also, so just the jails and guards..

nearly everyone here in DR is armed, as a deterrent mostly. hatians walk down the street with machetes and harpoon guns for christsakes... used for their daily work, but it still takes a bit of getting used to. dominicans mostly all pack a piece in their jeans, even if its a homemade contraption. go to the disco and there is a sign that says "no armas" next to a basket full of guns that must be checked before entering. go to the bank, the grocery store, or anywhere money is exchanged and the guards have sawed offs and street sweepers. all this display is a bit shocking to tourists but honestly its very safe here and nobody hardly ever uses weapons. there are no bank robberies or corner store stickups. there are street thugs that steal iphones from working girls but thats about the extent of local crime here. the guns are just there and you get used to being around them. not a bad thing and not something to fear

That's me. In Baltimore City I lived on a good block but two blocks west was gangland. The liquor store on the bad block was the only thing open after midnight so if I needed something I walked there.

If I saw a thug I would look him in the eye and give a little nod. Never had a problem and I am a 5'6" fag... easy prey. Criminals are like dogs, they smell fear. Respect them and they respect you.

That makes no sense, must have learned this from the movies I guess.

A crack or meth addict respects nothing but you busting their head open. At least some of them are smart enough to back off when you pull out an equalizer.

no, i dont like guns. i also opted not to go to the (mandatory) army and did "civil service" instead, cleaning and feeding old people. Made more sense to me helping them instead of learning how to shoot people i don't even know cause someone told me to do so.

actually i was for a total of 6 weeks at the army, even learned how to disassemble a G3 and put it back together. never fired one shot though and the day i got out again was one of my happiest ever.

but while i was working at the retirement home i met a guy who fought in WW1 in France and the stories he told me were simply horrible.


i am not sure if it's a race question, i think it's just a very different mindset. crime rates in total are way lower, i see drunk girls alone in short skirts at 3 am all the time - nothing happens. even compared to other countries in Europe, CZ is very peaceful.