GUN CONTROL SUPPORT SLIPS; DEMS WANT MORE, REPUBLICANS DON’T

BELLEVUE, WA – A new Rasmussen survey released Tuesday shows support for gun control is slipping among likely voters, and it also once again reveals Democrats are the “party of gun control” for wanting stricter gun laws, while Republicans favor enforcing current laws.

“Ten weeks before the midterm elections is a good time for these distinctions to be revealed by a national poll,” noted Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. “You have an overwhelming majority of Democrats saying the U.S. needs stricter gun control laws, and 65 percent of Democrats saying they would vote for a congressional candidate who promises to completely ban modern semi-automatic rifles.

“The timing of this Rasmussen survey is important and not just because of the looming midterm elections,” Gottlieb added, “but also because the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments in two consolidated cases challenging bans on so-called ‘assault weapons’ in the upcoming term, which begins in October. Both cases were brought by our sister organization, the Second Amendment Foundation, known as Viramontes v. Cook County in Illinois and Grant v. Higgins in Connecticut and we will be submitting an amicus brief.”

According to Rasmussen, a staggering 79 percent of Democrats want even stricter gun control laws, while only 29 percent of Republicans agree. Fifty-two percent of voters overall think stricter enforcement of existing laws would do more to reduce violent crime involving firearms—up two percentage points from last September—while only 34 percent say passing new laws would be better.

“Such surveys are important because they offer some guidance to voters about which candidates better represent their beliefs on important issues, especially the Second Amendment,” Gottlieb observed. “But it is also important that we keep in perspective the fact that constitutionally-protected fundamental rights are not now, and never should be, subject to the results of public opinion polls. Rights guaranteed by the Constitution are special, and recent Supreme Court rulings make it clear the Second Amendment is not a second-class right.”