Poll: PA voters back new gun laws
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Poll: PA voters back new gun laws
WASHINGTON -- As VP Joe Biden prepares for a trip to Philadelphia to push President Obama’s proposals for new gun laws, a new poll shows that most Pennsylvania voters favor new restrictions on firearms.
The Franklin and Marshall College Poll found that 43 percent of registered voters in the state strongly favor “creating more laws that regulate gun ownership” and 15 percent somewhat favor such measures. That’s compared to 28 percent who strongly oppose new regulations and 10 percent who somewhat oppose them.
Those numbers show an overall tilt in favor of tougher restrictions on guns, but are not much different from the poll’s historical findings.
The Franklin and Marshall poll comes about a week after a Quinnipiac University survey also found that Pennsylvania voters support new gun laws.
The survey also found that 94 percent of registered voters favor background checks on all gun sales, while 61 percent back banning assault weapons and 61 percent favor banning high-capacity gun magazines.
Those numbers reflect the political reality in Washington: the push for universal background checks appears to have the best chance of becoming law. The assault weapons ban is seen as unlikely to win enough support. Banning clips that hold 10 or more rounds falls into a middle ground in terms of its political viability.
The issue has split lawmakers from the Philadelphia area. Democrats strongly favor new gun laws, but Republicans have been tentative. Congressmen Mike Fitzpatrick, from Bucks County, and Pat Meehan, from Delaware County, both Republicans, have said they favor laws that try to keep guns out of criminals’ hands -- such as strengthening the background check system or increasing penalties for trafficking -- but have not taken firm stands on the proposals on assault weapons or clips.
The state’s Senators are split, too. Democrat Bob Casey has changed his stance and now favors bans on assault weapons and high-capacity clips. Republican Pat Toomey has expressed some openness to Obama’s proposals, and gun-control advocates believe they might be able to persuade him to back tougher background checks, though it seems unlikely that he would support the other proposals. He has not made a detailed statement on his position.
The survey also took a look at Casey and Toomey’s approval ratings. Voters approve of Casey 40-24, with 16 percent undecided. Toomey won 26 percent approval to 20 percent disapproval, with 16 percent undecided.
The poll surveyed 622 registered voters and has a 3.9 percent margin of error.
Per recent FBI statistics, "assault weapons" account for less than 0.012% of all gun crime(1). Further that since 2007, "long guns", which includes modern rifles (aka "assault rifles"), account for a decreasing amount of incidents across the country(2), while at the same time, "in 2011, there were 173 MORE murders committed with hammers and clubs than there were with guns(3).
The FBI statistics concludes that people are more likely to be killed or assaulted with a hammer or clubs then they are an "assault weapon". Ironically, the number of crimes involving guns has decreased since the expiration of Clinton's "assault weapons ban".
(1) - http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/crime-in-the-u.s.-2011/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-11
(2) - http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/united-states
(3) - http://washington.cbslocal.com/2013/01/03/fbi-hammers-clubs-kill-more-people-than-rifles-shotguns/— Professor1982
I don't think those polls are accurate. I never heard of these surveys to vote. None of my fellow Philadelphians have heard of either one of these surveys. Has the TV news stations and the local paper stated there are polls and where to go to vote. If so, when? I believe these polls would look a lot different if every PA resident voted on it. I do not agree with new gun restrictions and I did not get a chance to vote in either one of these polls.
Who did they poll ?, city council.— winter- Johndalls, the professor posts links and states facts. You post opinion at best and spend most of your post deriding anyone who doesn't agree with your unsupported positions. If the professor posts right wing drivel, are your posts mostly left wing drivel? Poles of 622 people reaching the conclusions stated in the story are about as accurate as a $2.00 watch. And you would bet the farm on those conclusions I'd bet. I'll take the professor's facts over your opinion any day.— Kranzley
- So according to the "professor" you can kill more schoolchildren faster with a hammer than an assault weapon?— Jeff West
- The ban is a joke, nothing to do with stopping these nut jobs. It's all a smoke screen to make Republicans look bad. Where are the jobs, gas at $3.65, taxes gone up on everyone, property taxes keep going up, wait till inflation kicks in. It's over people.— BushisGood
- Another sign that the brain-washed are targeting the wrong cause of violence. Until the violent movies, video games, killer rap music, and mental health aspect are addressed, you'll continue to have a society that will live with tragedy.— dogman5
- So lets see here the majority of the people are in favor of stricter gun control and that's a good thing, however, when the majority of the people are against gay marriage that's a bad thing, hmmmm, people can come up with statistics to prove anything. 14% of people know that.
— TimmyDay - Video games are far more freq and violent in Japan and they have low rate of gun crimes. Did you hear the ER Dr from Newtown describe what assualt weapons/ ammo do to the body of a 6 yr old child. Some of these children had 8- 11 hits and the little bodies explode! Handguns can go straight thru the body and often do not kill.
I fully support VP on all 3 items. No need for assualt weapons. People still have all their handguns and rifles to play with. But remember the most often victims of the smaller guns are usually the women or children in the homes of the gun owner.— rita rn
Jonathan Tamari is the Inquirer’s correspondent in Washington, where he follows the Philadelphia area’s interests and representatives. Tamari comes to D.C. after two years as a beat writer reporting on the Philadelphia Eagles and the NFL (where, a political source once told him, there are at least rules against hitting below the knees). He previously wrote about politics and government from Trenton, reporting on the characters and color of New Jersey state government.Jersey born and bred, Tamari now lives in the capital city, where he is looking for stories, places to run, soccer bars and good meals.
Reach him at jtamari@phillynews.com.
Follow Jonathan on Twitter: @JonathanTamari.
