by David Safier
A poll released today shows voters in Arizona are far more sane about gun policy than the Republicans who are pushing through as much of the NRA agenda as they can. Strong majorities of polled AZ voters want to make sure lost and stolen guns are reported, all gun buyers pass background checks — including at gun shows — and bulk purchases of assault rifles are traced. They also oppose concealed weapons in government buildings and on college campuses.
The message to Arizona Democrats on gun policy is similar to the message to Wisconsin Dems on collective bargaining for state workers. The voters are on our side, and Dems should make strong, reasonable public statements on these issues. Republicans, meanwhile, are in real danger of overreaching. Voters are beginning to say, "We were voting our frustration with the economy in 2010, not signing a blank check for extreme right wing legislation."
Here are some details about the poll.
It was conducted in February by five polling companies in five states, three generally used by Democrats and two by Republicans, so it isn't a biased political poll. The pollster in Arizona was American Viewpoint, a Republican-leaning company. The five states polled trend conservative: Arizona, Indiana, Colorado, Ohio and Virginia. Nearly half of Arizonans polled are gun owners.
All states had similar results to Arizona's on the survey questions — varying a bit, but conforming to the general favorable/unfavorable trends. Gun owners were more gun-friendly by a few points on most questions, but their results were surprisingly close to those of non-gun owners.
Here are some of the responses in Arizona:
- Laws covering sales of guns should be more or less strict: 49% stricter, 5% less strict, 42% keep laws the same. (Only 8% in gun households want less strict laws)
- Report lost or stolen guns: 92% favorable
- Require all gun buyers to pass background checks, including at gun shows: 82% favorable
- Track bulk purchases of assault rifles: 75% favorable
- Require sellers to report failed background checks: 77% favorable
- Require gun owners to register guns: 62% favorable
- Ban high capacity magazines: 51% favorable (40% unfavorable, 9% undecided)
- Allow concealed weapons in government buildings: 75% opposed
- Allow concealed weapons on college campuses: 69% opposed
Not surprisingly, when it comes to banning the sales of all handguns, 80% were opposed, but no one is suggesting gun ban laws these days, so that's a moot point which most people in politics and out agree on.
For more information, you can see slides summarizing the results and the polling data.