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Americans Favour Stricter Gun Laws
- Many adults in the United States would like to enact tougher regulations for firearms, according to a two recent public opinion polls. In a survey by TNS released by the Washington Post and ABC News, 61 per cent of respondents favour stricter gun control laws in their country.
In a study by Gallup released by USA Today, 56 per cent of respondents feel that the laws covering the sale of firearms should be made more strict, down one point in a year.
The U.S. Constitution's second amendment guarantees Americans the right "to keep and bear arms." Some American states have enacted their own gun control regulations, independent of existing federal legislation.
In May 2001, U.S. president George W. Bush introduced Project Safe Neighborhoods, which seeks tougher sanctions against people who use weapons illegally. The federal administration has committed $1 billion U.S. to the program, which contemplates the distribution of safety locks for guns and new guidelines to reduce violent crime.
In July 2004, Bush signed the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act. The legislation exempts law enforcement officers from state directives which forbid individuals from carrying concealed firearms.
Polling Data
a) Do you favour or oppose stricter gun control laws in this country?
Oct. 2006 | May 2002 | Jan. 2001 | |
Favour | 61% | 57% | 59% |
Oppose | 37% | 37% | 39% |
No opinion | 2% | 6% | 2% |
Source: TNS / Washington Post / ABC News
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,204 American adults, conducted from Oct. 5 to Oct. 8, 2006. Margin of error is 3 per cent.
b) In general, do you feel that the laws covering the sale of firearms should be made more strict, less strict, or kept as they are now?
Oct. 2006 | Oct. 2005 | Oct. 2004 | |
More strict | 56% | 57% | 54% |
Less strict | 9% | 7% | 11% |
Kept as now | 33% | 35% | 34% |
No opinion | 2% | 1% | 1% |
Source: Gallup / USA Today
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,001 American adults, conducted from Oct. 9 to Oct. 12, 2006. Margin of error is 3 per cent.