Thursday, April 15, 2021

New McLaughlin Poll Shows Majority Support for 2A, Focus on Current Laws

BELLEVUE, WA – A new survey by McLaughlin & Associates, a nationally-recognized polling firm based in Blauvelt, N.Y., shows overwhelming public support for the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms, and a clear majority belief that more gun control laws would not have prevented recent mass shootings in Georgia and Colorado.

According to Alan Gottlieb, founder and executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation, the new McLaughlin data shows how out-of-touch extremist gun control proponents are with public sentiment on gun rights and how to address violent crime. The survey may be read here.

“Based on these survey results, anti-gunners, including Joe Biden, should cool their zeal for passing new legislation,” Gottlieb observed. “Over 72 percent of Americans support the right to keep and bear arms. Over 73 percent agree the Second Amendment is one of our most important and cherished rights protected by the U.S. Constitution. And more than 58 percent say they are likely to support a candidate for Congress who supports the right to keep and bear arms.”

The McLaughlin survey revealed that 52.2 percent of the public thinks better enforcement of existing gun laws is the right approach to reducing violent crime, and 55.5 percent want politicians to focus on current laws rather than enact more laws (36.1%). Importantly, 58.1 percent of Americans believe any proposed firearm policies should be debated and enacted through a democratic process, while only 31 percent think the president should enact policy by executive order.

They also believe by a margin of 44.9 percent to 37.6 percent that more gun control laws would not have stopped recent mass shooting tragedies, while 17.5 percent aren’t sure.

SAF commissioned the survey. McLaughlin & Associates conducted the poll among 1,000 likely voters across the country April 8-13. It has a +/- 3.1 percentage point sampling error with a 95% level of confidence, according to Jim McLaughlin.

McLaughlin told SAF, “This survey shows clearly that Americans cherish their Second Amendment right. It’s obvious. Anybody who tells you Americans don’t believe in the Second Amendment doesn’t know what they’re talking about. It’s also clear they do not want Joe Biden deciding gun policy on his own, but instead want this issue debated through the democratic process.”

“As we’ve been saying for years,” Gottlieb observed, “gun control extremists have been completely wrong in their desire erase the Second Amendment and turn a right to bear arms into a heavily-regulated privilege. That notion doesn’t even square with non-gun owners, as the McLaughlin survey results confirm.

“Americans are protective of their constitutional rights,” Gottlieb said, “and we will use these poll results to fight the attacks on gun owners happening right now on Capitol Hill and in the Oval Office.”

Contact: Alan Gottlieb (425) 454-7012

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 700,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.