Support for More Gun Restrictions Across The Board

I feel inadequately prepared to discuss this next post on gun control, because it is difficult to intellectualize an issue that is so relevant and raw. But I simultaneously don’t feel that as a researcher, we can ignore an issue that is so pressing on our political landscape.

So, here is the data from the court of public opinion. Please offer your own take.

1. America is nearly split on whether the justices of the Supreme Court should follow the law exactly as it is written (54%) or use their own judgment or discretion to make decisions (46%).
2. With respect to the Second Amendment – which reads “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed” – the definition and spirit of the law appears to be in dispute. Close to half of the country (46%) believe the Second Amendment declares that we need to protect the rights of citizens to own guns, while slightly over half (54%) believe instead we should create stricter gun laws.
3. Today, 34% of U.S. adults say there is a gun in their household.
4. Very few (16%) Americans favor making guns illegal to own in the United States. That said, there appears to be broad support for creating more and stricter limits on gun ownership and greater transparency, perhaps bringing the U.S. laws closer to some of the gun laws in the rest of the developing world. For example, the majority of U.S. adults favors:

As with most data, there are no clear, bright lines separating the data into pro- and anti-. In fact, there are many interesting blends to consider:

• Many gun owners express support for creating stricter gun laws.
• Many non-gun owners maintain that the 2nd Amendment is designed to protect the rights of citizens to own guns if they want to.
• Many adults who believe that the 2nd Amendment was designed to protect the rights of citizens to own guns still believe we should have stricter gun laws.
• Many adults who believe justices should follow law as it is written also feel that the 2nd Amendment needs to be re-interpreted to today’s culture by creating more restrictions on gun ownership.

Where do you stand on gun ownership and the 2nd Amendment – and why?