December, 11 2009, 11:20am EDT
Gun Owners, NRA Members Once Again Show Strong Support For Reasonable Gun Restrictions
A new poll commissioned by the Mayors Against Illegal Guns, and
conducted by Republican pollster Frank Luntz, confirms surveys
conducted as far back as 1989 which show strong support for gun
violence prevention laws from gun owners as well as members of the
National Rifle Association.
WASHINGTON
A new poll commissioned by the Mayors Against Illegal Guns, and
conducted by Republican pollster Frank Luntz, confirms surveys
conducted as far back as 1989 which show strong support for gun
violence prevention laws from gun owners as well as members of the
National Rifle Association.
Paul Helmke, President of Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence,
said, "For at least 20 years the NRA's leaders have misrepresented to
elected officials the feelings of their members on many common sense
measures to reduce gun violence. These polls show that NRA
members strongly support Brady criminal background checks for all gun
sales at gun shows, and also strongly support keeping guns out of the
hands of suspected terrorists. Yet the NRA's leadership
ignores not only the wishes of the American people but also their own
dues-paying members by blocking these and other policies that will help
save lives."
In the Luntz poll, 82% of NRA members
supported prohibiting people on the "Terrorist Watch List" from buying
guns. Another 69% of NRA members supported requiring Brady criminal
background checks for all gun sales at gun shows. The NRA's leaders oppose both of these policies.
In
a separate survey of Election Day voters in November 2008, commissioned
by the Brady Campaign and conducted by the firm, Penn, Schoen &
Berland, 84% of gun-owning voters favored Brady criminal
background checks for all gun sales, while another 60% of gun-owning
voters favored the registration of gun sales and the licensing of gun
owners.
And in 1993, two researchers from the Harvard
School of Public Health - using survey data from a 1989 TIME
Magazine/CNN survey - concluded, "[T]he support for the NRA is
strongest when measured in very general terms.... However, when
gun owners are asked about specific regulatory requirements, they often
support the regulation, disagreeing with the stated position of the
organization [the NRA]. This finding holds for both NRA members and nonmembers."
Brady President Paul Helmke asked, "When
will Congress start listening to the American people, including NRA
members and gun owners, instead of responding to the dictates of NRA
bosses?"
- Read about the new Mayors' survey conducted by Republican pollster Frank Luntz here: https://www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org/html/federal/nra_member_poll.shtml
- Read the Election 2008 Brady Campaign survey conducted by Penn, Schoen & Berland here: https://www.bradycampaign.org/xshare/pdf/memo-11-18-08.pdf
- Read the study by Harvard School of Public Health researchers using 1989 survey data of NRA members here: https://www.bradycampaign.org/xshare/pdf/facts/1993-weil-Gun-Owners.pdf
Brady United formerly known as The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence and its legislative and grassroots affiliate, the Brady Campaign and its dedicated network of Million Mom March Chapters, is the nation's largest, non-partisan, grassroots organization leading the fight to prevent gun violence. We are devoted to creating an America free from gun violence, where all Americans are safe at home, at school, at work, and in our communities.
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