(From the Activist Ammunition section in Volume 19, No. 24 of the Liberator Online. Subscribe here!)
Good news for the Second Amendment: support for gun rights is higher than it’s been in decades, 
according to a new survey from the respected Pew Research Center.
The Washington Times describes the findings as “a stunning turnaround in how Americans feel about the issue just two years after the [2012] Newtown school shooting.”
The Pew survey found that fully 52% of Americans say protecting gun rights is more important than gun control — the highest support found by Pew in two decades, the first time they’ve found a majority championing gun rights over gun control, and a rise of seven points in just two years.
Further, nearly six-in-ten Americans (57%) say gun ownership does more to protect people from crime that put them at risk.
The numbers are helped by a huge increase in support for gun rights among black Americans. Fifty-four percent of blacks now say firearms protect people from crimes, nearly double the percentage saying this just two years ago. Thirty-four percent of blacks support gun rights over gun control, a rise of 50% from 2012’s 24%.
Some statist limitations on gun rights still have significant support, such as universal background checks (favored by 90%) and limits on various rifles and ammunition magazines (around 50%).
But overall this is a rousing show of growing support for one of the most basic and fundamental rights.
according to a new survey from the respected Pew Research Center.
The Washington Times describes the findings as “a stunning turnaround in how Americans feel about the issue just two years after the [2012] Newtown school shooting.”
The Pew survey found that fully 52% of Americans say protecting gun rights is more important than gun control — the highest support found by Pew in two decades, the first time they’ve found a majority championing gun rights over gun control, and a rise of seven points in just two years.
Further, nearly six-in-ten Americans (57%) say gun ownership does more to protect people from crime that put them at risk.
The numbers are helped by a huge increase in support for gun rights among black Americans. Fifty-four percent of blacks now say firearms protect people from crimes, nearly double the percentage saying this just two years ago. Thirty-four percent of blacks support gun rights over gun control, a rise of 50% from 2012’s 24%.
Some statist limitations on gun rights still have significant support, such as universal background checks (favored by 90%) and limits on various rifles and ammunition magazines (around 50%).
But overall this is a rousing show of growing support for one of the most basic and fundamental rights.
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