And then there were two.
Last week, the New York Times released a poll showing that — despite the paper’s endless calls to action — Americans are no longer interested in arbitrary bans on commonly owned rifles. Today, ABC agrees with the Times’s findings:
A majority of Americans oppose banning assault weapons for the first time in more than 20 years of ABC News/Washington Post polls, with the public expressing vast doubt that the authorities can prevent “lone wolf” terrorist attacks and a substantial sense that armed citizens can help.
Just 45 percent in this national survey favor an assault weapons ban, down 11 percentage points from an ABC/Post poll in 2013 and down from a peak of 80 percent in 1994. Fifty-three percent oppose such a ban, the most on record.
The trendlines really are something to behold:
Moreover, despite the best efforts of Harry Reid, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and co., the claim that the threat of terrorism necessitates stricter gun control is being met with admirable resistance:
Americans by 47-42 percent think that encouraging more people to carry guns legally is a better response to terrorism than enacting stricter gun control laws.
In fact, the attack in San Bernardino seems to have had the opposite effect on the gun debate than the Everytowns of the world had hoped:
Personal fears about being victimized by a terrorist attack is not up –- it’s 42 percent now, vs. 49 percent in a Gallup poll last summer. But views on the government’s limitations, and on arming citizens, relate strongly to attitudes on banning assault weapons. Consider:
- Among the roughly three-quarters of Americans who doubt the government’s ability to prevent a lone-wolf attack, 57 percent oppose banning assault weapons, vs. 41 percent in support. Those numbers are reversed among those who are more confident in government counterterrorism –- 56 percent favor banning such weapons, while 42 percent are opposed.
- The split is even more striking between those who see stricter gun control as the better way to fight terrorism, vs. “encouraging more people to carry guns legally.” The former group divides 71-26 percent in favor of banning assault weapons. The latter group splits 22-77 percent, support-oppose.
Sorry, Hillary. These are not the automatons you’re looking for.