SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Flowers, candles, and pictures are seen at a makeshift memorial outside the Uvalde County Courthouse in Texas on May 28, 2022. (Photo: Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)
'Radical and Disgusting Stance': 44% of GOP Voters Think US Just Has to Accept Mass Shootings
Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal responded that she cannot "accept children being gunned down in classrooms and mass shootings in grocery stores, salons, and places of worship."
Jun 06, 2022
A survey published Sunday shows that nearly half of Republican voters in the United States believe mass shootings of the kind that took the lives of 19 young children Uvalde, Texas last month are "unfortunately something we have to accept as part of a free society."
"I'm sorry, but living with the threat of random mass violence isn't freedom."
According to the CBS/YouGov poll, 44% of GOP voters and 15% of Democratic voters feel that frequent mass shootings are an inescapable reality in the U.S., where there are more guns than people.
That view appears to be out of step with the vast majority of U.S. society, however. The new survey shows that U.S. adults overall--regardless of party or political affiliation--believe by a 72% to 28% margin that mass shootings are "something we can prevent and stop if we really tried."
More specifically, the poll found that 62% of U.S. adults support a nationwide ban on AR-15s. But despite the proposal's popularity, it is not even on the table in the latest round of congressional gun control negotiations due to overwhelming GOP opposition.
In response to the survey results, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.)--chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus--described the view that nothing can be done to stop mass shootings as "a radical and disgusting stance."
"I cannot accept children being gunned down in classrooms and mass shootings in grocery stores, salons, and places of worship," Jayapal wrote in a Twitter post on Monday.
Former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner added, "I'm sorry, but living with the threat of random mass violence isn't freedom."
An estimated 33 mass shootings have occurred across the U.S. since a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 24.
Just this past weekend, as NPR reported, "a string of shootings left at least 15 people dead and more than 60 others wounded in eight states."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
A survey published Sunday shows that nearly half of Republican voters in the United States believe mass shootings of the kind that took the lives of 19 young children Uvalde, Texas last month are "unfortunately something we have to accept as part of a free society."
"I'm sorry, but living with the threat of random mass violence isn't freedom."
According to the CBS/YouGov poll, 44% of GOP voters and 15% of Democratic voters feel that frequent mass shootings are an inescapable reality in the U.S., where there are more guns than people.
That view appears to be out of step with the vast majority of U.S. society, however. The new survey shows that U.S. adults overall--regardless of party or political affiliation--believe by a 72% to 28% margin that mass shootings are "something we can prevent and stop if we really tried."
More specifically, the poll found that 62% of U.S. adults support a nationwide ban on AR-15s. But despite the proposal's popularity, it is not even on the table in the latest round of congressional gun control negotiations due to overwhelming GOP opposition.
In response to the survey results, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.)--chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus--described the view that nothing can be done to stop mass shootings as "a radical and disgusting stance."
"I cannot accept children being gunned down in classrooms and mass shootings in grocery stores, salons, and places of worship," Jayapal wrote in a Twitter post on Monday.
Former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner added, "I'm sorry, but living with the threat of random mass violence isn't freedom."
An estimated 33 mass shootings have occurred across the U.S. since a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 24.
Just this past weekend, as NPR reported, "a string of shootings left at least 15 people dead and more than 60 others wounded in eight states."
A survey published Sunday shows that nearly half of Republican voters in the United States believe mass shootings of the kind that took the lives of 19 young children Uvalde, Texas last month are "unfortunately something we have to accept as part of a free society."
"I'm sorry, but living with the threat of random mass violence isn't freedom."
According to the CBS/YouGov poll, 44% of GOP voters and 15% of Democratic voters feel that frequent mass shootings are an inescapable reality in the U.S., where there are more guns than people.
That view appears to be out of step with the vast majority of U.S. society, however. The new survey shows that U.S. adults overall--regardless of party or political affiliation--believe by a 72% to 28% margin that mass shootings are "something we can prevent and stop if we really tried."
More specifically, the poll found that 62% of U.S. adults support a nationwide ban on AR-15s. But despite the proposal's popularity, it is not even on the table in the latest round of congressional gun control negotiations due to overwhelming GOP opposition.
In response to the survey results, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.)--chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus--described the view that nothing can be done to stop mass shootings as "a radical and disgusting stance."
"I cannot accept children being gunned down in classrooms and mass shootings in grocery stores, salons, and places of worship," Jayapal wrote in a Twitter post on Monday.
Former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner added, "I'm sorry, but living with the threat of random mass violence isn't freedom."
An estimated 33 mass shootings have occurred across the U.S. since a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde on May 24.
Just this past weekend, as NPR reported, "a string of shootings left at least 15 people dead and more than 60 others wounded in eight states."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.