Posted on 02/20/2018 8:46:14 AM PST by Simon Green
Fewer Republicans now support a ban on assault weapons than they did nearly two decades ago, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll released Tuesday.
The number of independents who support such a ban has also dropped starkly since 1999, according to the survey.
Only 29 percent of Republicans said that they would back a ban on assault weapons in the U.S., while 45 percent of independents said the same. That's down significantly from 1999, when more than 7 in 10 Republicans and independents supported the prohibition.
A solid majority of Democrats – 71 percent – still supports such a proposal.
The Washington Post/ABC News poll was conducted in the wake of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., roughly 25 miles northwest of Fort Lauderdale. That attack left 17 people dead and 14 injured.
The shooting was allegedly carried out by Nikolas Cruz, 19, a former student at the school, who had been expelled for disciplinary reasons. Cruz has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.
Cruz allegedly carried out the shooting with an AR-15, as assault-style rifle that he purchased legally from a dealer in nearby Coral Springs about a year ago. The attack has renewed calls for tighter gun-control laws, including a new ban on assault weapons.
Congress banned such firearms in 1994, though the prohibition lasted only 10 years.
Overall, about half of Americans support a ban on assault weapons, according to the new Washington Post/ABC News poll, compared with 46 percent who oppose such a ban. That shows little change from 2016, when 51 percent support a prohibition on assault weapons.
The Washington Post/ABC News poll of 808 adults was conducted from Feb. 15-18. Its margin of error is 4 percentage points
I support the ban on murder, it’s been so effective!
Why would someone support it in the first place? Oh, rational thought process absent.
For the record, conservative does not necessarily equal republican.
So if you shoot someone with a .22 it’s not an assault?
What kind of bat is an assault weapon?
Car?
Fist? Does the fist have to be a certain size?
Or pounds per square inch on impact? Maybe everyone should have to hit a bag hooked up to a monitor that shows their punching impact.
Those over 400 pounds per square inch should be considered as having assault hands.
I don’t support an agreement with fascists.
I’m an Independent.
People recall the widely reported conclusions that the “Assault Weapon Ban” of 1994-2004 had no measurable effect.
Gee, with all the liberal talk of killing whites and Republicans I wonder why that might be the case.
I thought assault weapons were made illegal for civilians in about 1934?
Still waiting for the precise definition of “Assault Weapon”.
A Baseball Bat is just a Baseball Bat until someone hits you over the Head with one.
That's fully automatic weapons. And, there ain't no such thing as an assault weapon, only weapons that can be used in an assault, which is virtually any weapon.
Leftists are “assault weapons” - let’s ban ‘em!
I hope more conservatives will join good, peaceful, conscientious liberals to push a ban on guns in movies and video games.
Any gun.
Liberals discovered once they took over Hollywood that they love big profits. That’s why you don’t hear them talk about movie violence anymore.
Oh, you mean like Anus King and Bernie Sanders?
what exactly is an ‘assault weapon’? A Semi automatic? Is that what we are now calling ‘assault weapons’?
Well, it pretty much does once you scrape off all the RINOs.
So, they dug back to 1999 to make an argument that someone once supported it? How much further do they want to dig?
“Assault weapon” is a made up term to conjure up an emotional response from the low information voter.
JoMa
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