Eye-opening events in Boston caused shift in gun control support

A poll by USA Today published Tuesday shows support for the most recent attacks on the Second Amendment is gradually slipping – something the paper blames on an inattentive American public and the distraction of the Boston Marathon bombings.

The idea that weakening gun rights never had real support to begin with doesn’t seem to be a possibility.

The story’s lead sentence tips its hand:

“Four months after the shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School, a USA TODAY Poll finds support for a new gun-control law ebbing as prospects for passage on Capitol Hill seem to fade.”

photo credit: CNN.com
photo credit: CNN.com

Note the cart-before-the-horse  perspective: Support fades as the possibility of passage fades.

That’s not quite the way things work. In a democracy, “prospects for passage on Capitol Hill” are pretty much dependent in the end on the support an idea has among the voting population. So support doesn’t drop as political momentum slows, it’s the other way around.

But to admit that would be to admit that the famous “90 percent of Americans” our president seems to think agree with him on gun control was actually a mirage in the first place. (Unless you think 90 percent of Georgetown or New York’s Upper West Side means 90 percent of Americans.)

USA Today makes no secret of its liberal preferences on issues like health care, the economy and the Second Amendment – or it tries to and does it very badly – so a poll by the paper that finds its preferred position in trouble is pretty instructive.

Then there’s the Boston Marathon, and this quote in the story, attributed to political analyst Stuart Rothenberg:

“It wouldn’t be shocking if people sitting in their homes in Massachusetts cities and towns thought to themselves, ‘Boy, I wish I had something to protect myself with if a terrorist came through the door now.'”

That’s something “90 percent”of Americans really would agree on.

DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW

Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!

Success! Thank you for donating. Please share BPR content to help combat the lies.
Joe Saunders

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

BPR INSIDER COMMENTS

Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!

Comments are closed.

Latest Articles