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A recent Rasumssen poll shows that a majority or plurality of Americans support the right to keep and bear arms and oppose cities legislating against handguns.

I am always suspicious of polls unless I see the actual questions. Well, here they are:

1* Does the U.S. Constitution guarantee the right of an average citizen to own a gun?

70% Yes
14% No
16% Not sure

2* Does the United States need stricter gun control laws?

42% Yes
49% No
9% Not sure

3* Some people believe city governments have the right to ban ownership of handguns within their cities. Others say that’s a violation of the Second Amendment which guarantees citizens the right to bear arms. What do you think? Do city governments have the right to prevent citizens from owning handguns?

25% Yes
69% No
6% Not sure
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_ ... h_2_3_2010" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Analysis: http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_ ... n_handguns" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- Jim

Fascinating read Jim. Thanks for posting.

I would be curious as to the size and demographics of the sampling. I suspect that the results are correct, but it is always harder for the opposition to dispute the results if the sampling is large enough. Smaller samplings make it easier to dispute. But at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter what the people think. What matters is what the SCOTUS thinks. Without getting into the specifics of the abortion/right to life arguments, when Roe v. Wade was was decided, it was not a particularly popular decision, but it has been the "law of the land" for the past 37 years, and it will remain such until and unless such time as the court reverses itself - a fairly rare occurrence. What the court rules today can change tomorrow, depending on presidential appointments...

...something to keep in mind when you vote.

It said 1,000 adults nationwide. That is the number usually taken to give a 95% confidence rating. (I didn't do well enough in statistics to explain why.)

If you want more detailed data, you have to pay for it.

We don't get to vote on rights, of course; but SCOTUS does not ignore public opinion. Ultimately standards like reasonable depend upon public opinion. The elected legislators of most of the states consider it reasonable for a person who is not disqualified by judicial findings (i.e., felons, etc.) to own a handgun. Only a few city councils think otherwise.

- Jim

I somehow got on the Zogby poll list. If any of you guys want to be included in their polls, PM me your email and I'll forward it to them.

Zogby has the reputation for being a no-nonsense polling organization that never tries to skew things. At least, that's what I've read.

The polls only take a few minutes. There's usually only about one per month. The questions are straightforward and not leading or "loaded" at all. One question they always ask is if I'm a fan of NASCAR (of which I am not). I don't work for them. It's just a cool feeling when a poll I participated in gets quoted in some news article.

Anyway, let me know.

Interesting, thanks for the information.