Polls Contradict Pundits on Gun Control

      You keep hearing how the Colorado tragedy will not change gun control laws and that Obama and the Democrats can't follow Bloomberg in pushing for tougher gun control laws because the voters will punish them.

      The facts show a different picture:

      "In the wake of last week's tragic mass shooting in Aurora, CO, some in the media are distorting public opinion and election results to predict that the events will not have an impact on the debate over gun violence prevention. In fact, polls indicate public support for a broad range of stronger gun restrictions, including the reinstatement of the assault weapons ban, which may have prevented the legal purchase of one of the alleged shooter's guns."

       http://mediamatters.org/blog/2012/07/23/aurora-and-the-media-myth-of-public-opposition/187276

       Yet we keep hearing the opposite.

       

86 percent support requiring all gun buyers to pass a criminal background check, no matter where they purchase the weapon or from whom they buy it. (January 2011 American ViewPoint/Momentum Analysis poll)

63 percent favor a ban on high capacity magazines or clips. (January 2011 CBS News poll)

69 percent support "limiting the number of guns a person could purchase in a given time frame." (April 2012 Ipsos/Reuters poll)

66 percent support requiring gun owners to register their firearms as part of a national gun registry. (January 2011 American ViewPoint/Momentum Analysis poll)

88 percent support banning those on the terrorist watch list from purchasing guns. (January 2011 American ViewPoint/Momentum Analysis poll)

      Some of these are such no brainers it's amazing they aren't already done. I mean the NRA is pushing for even those on the terrorist watch list to be allowed to purchase guns and the hawkish GOP, Dick Cheney and John Ashcroft's GOP are opposed to it. They want people on terrorist watch lists to be able to own guns!

      The registry is also a no-brainer and it's amazing that you need not pass a criminal background check to buy a gun. I'm sure the opposition to any regulation goes so far they probably oppose even prohibiting illegal immigrants from buying guns.

      I mean we live in an age where employers think nothing of demanding criminal background checks, credit scores, and every other personal piece of data they want to peak at and yet we can't even make sure that someone who buys a gun does not have a criminal record?

     I can just imagine a conservative trying to argue this. They'd probably cherry pick and say, 'Well that shows you the futility of restricting rights. James Holmes had no criminal background.'

     I can imagine that one now. It's what Krugman calls the conservative onion. That would gloss the fact that his weapon of choice was banned until the GOP Congress and George W. Bush let it lapse in 2004. Obviously not every idea would equally work the same way to discourage in every case but the cumulative effect is what you get.