ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

"...48% of the people polled have a favorable opinion of NRA. That is up from a 1995 CBS poll..."

      This past Monday, CBS aired a news segment on yet another poll on the subject of guns and crime.

      Gun owners are all too familiar with the national news media's pattern of conducting polls asking biased questions on guns immediately following acts of violence and using the skewed results to suggest widespread support for new restrictions on the Second Amendment. Remarkably, CBS's recent poll was different in that many of the questions posed went beyond sound bites to determine what America truly think about gun control.

Among the results:

• Only 14% of people polled believe that gun control can prevent violence with guns.

• When given the choice between new gun laws and better enforcement of existing laws, 56% of people said enforcement is the better way to reduce violent crime.

• Only 4% said gun control should be a top issue for the government.

      One question even gauged feelings about the NRA. Not surprising to us, the CBS poll showed NRA as very much in the mainstream of public opinion, as 48% of the people polled have a favorable opinion of NRA. That is up from a 1995 CBS poll that showed a 40% favorable rating.

=+=+=+=+
This information is provided as a service of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, Fairfax, VA.

This and other information on the Second Amendment and the NRA is available at: http://WWW.NRA.Org