I've heard some talk recently about how the support for new restrictions on buying of guns has started to dwindle, and isn't as strong as it was immediately after the Newtown tragedy. That has been thrown around as an excuse for the Republican effort in Congress to block any new gun laws at all.In the Senate, three laws were voted out of the Judiciary Committee -- to increase the penalties for gun trafficking, to require background checks on all gun sales, and to ban the sale of assault weapons and high-volume ammunition clips. Majority Leader Reid has tossed out the ban of assault weapons and high-volume clips (saying he didn't have the votes to pass it), and combined the other two into one bill. But four Republicans (Cruz, Rubio, Paul and Lee) now say they will filibuster that bill and not even allow it to be voted on -- and it looks like the GOP will be able to sustain that filibuster. The situation is even worse in the House, where the anti-restriction Republicans have a majority.
Is the public's desire for more restrictions on gun sales really waning? Are they now starting to come around to the Republican view that nothing should be done? I don't believe it! And a new poll, done for the TV show Morning Joe, verifies that. The poll was done by Marist Polling between March 25th and 27th of 1,061 registered voters (with a margin of error of 3 points) -- and it clearly shows that public support for new gun sales restrictions are still strong. The public is fed up with all the gun violence, and wants to keep guns out of the hands of those who shouldn't have them as much as possible. Here are the poll numbers:
IS IT MORE IMPORTANT TO CONTROL GUN VIOLENCE OR PROTECT GUN RIGHTS?
Control gun violence...............53%
Protect gun violence...............44%
Unsure...............3%
SHOULD LAWS ON GUN SALES BE MORE STRICT, LESS STRICT, OR REMAIN THE SAME?
More strict...............60%
Less strict...............5%
Stay the same...............33%
Unsure...............2%
DO YOU SUPPORT OR OPPOSE A BAN ON THE SALE OF ASSAULT WEAPONS?
Support...............59%
Oppose...............37%
Unsure...............4%
DO YOU SUPPORT OR OPPOSE REQUIRING BACKGROUND CHECKS ON PRIVATE GUN SALES AND SALES AT GUN SHOWS?
Support...............87%
Oppose...............12%
Unsure...............1%
The truth is that support for new restrictions (constitutional restrictions) on the sales of guns is NOT dwindling. That support remains strong, and on this issue, the congressional Republicans are out of step with the general public -- not just a little, but a lot.
