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Most gun owners favor modest restrictions but deeply distrust government, poll finds
NPR ^ | 2022 | Domenico Montanaro , Eric Westervelt

Posted on 08/31/2025 10:23:46 AM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege

The overwhelming majority of gun owners are in favor of universal background checks, of raising the minimum age to buy guns to 21 and so-called "red flag" laws to remove guns from potentially dangerous people, a new NPR/Ipsos survey finds.

But most of these gun owners also don't want to see an AR-15-style semiautomatic weapon ban, doubt new gun-control measures would do anything to stop mass shootings and Republican gun owners in particular think passing new gun control laws is a slippery slope toward taking all guns away.

"As a gun owner myself, both pistols and hunting rifles, I feel that it's important that background checks, red flag laws and raising the age should be something that we as a country should be doing," said poll respondent Christopher Montes of Connecticut.

Montes, a self-declared independent, said there are simply too many guns in the wrong hands.

"I do support that [an assault-style weapons ban] because I think that we should be protecting our kids," said poll participant Lizzie, a 45 year old self-described conservative who lives in West Texas. She didn't want her last name used.

She said she's fed up with the horrific stream of mass shootings — at elementary schools, grocery stores, and Fourth of July parades.

"We don't need to be losing kids like that," she added.

Fred, a 73 year old Republican gun owner in Bakersfield, Calif., agreed.

"Get rid of the AR-15s…it’s made for war...Regular people have no business owning them. That's part of the problem we have."

But others disagree.

"I'm not for banning any of them," said Montes… "There are other high-powered, fairly high capacity guns that don't look like ARs. And so are you going to not ban those?"

(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...


TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: 2ndamendment; banglist; bs; crime; guncontrol; massshooting; nra; shootings
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

Die NPR. Your existence can’t go away fast enough.


21 posted on 08/31/2025 10:44:45 AM PDT by broken_clock (Go Trump! Prayers answered!)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

So much horse sh**


22 posted on 08/31/2025 10:46:14 AM PDT by Vaquero (Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you. )
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

Do you favor mall Santas passing out weapons to every child visiting him or would you prefer a modest restriction on that? Susan, here’s an AR-15. And Lucy, you’re small so here’s a Glock. (For Narnia fans 🙂)


23 posted on 08/31/2025 10:49:22 AM PDT by KarlInOhio (I refuse to call the left "progressive" because I do not see slavery to the government as progress.)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege
The 2022 “NRA Voter’s Guide” revealed this about Connecticut:

There were 32 Republican candidates running for a state Senate seat and 127 candidates running for a state House seat.

Of these, 7 Senate (GOP) candidates have a “C”, “D”, or “F” rating from the NRA and 16 “?” rating, meaning they did not bother to return their NRA questionnaire or have made contradictory statements regarding gun rights. Only 9 Senate candidates out of 32 have a pro-Second Amendment stance.

But the House numbers were even worse.

12 Republican candidates for a House seat either have a mixed voting record or are openly hostile to the concept of US citizens exercising their 2nd Amendment rights, and a whopping 70 are “indifferent” at best.

Democrat candidates with a poor NRA rating are at least being consistent with their Party’s anti-gun rights/Socialist platform. But Republicans should be standing for basic Constitutional principles. Sad.

24 posted on 08/31/2025 10:50:18 AM PDT by Psalm 73 ("You'll never hear surf music again" - J. Hendrix)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

Changing the culture is the ultimate solution, but that will require much time.
Banning firearms is out of the question as it would embolden only govt. and criminals against defenseless and lawful citizens. So...

For the sake of discussion about a problem that isn’t going away soon.

1) an enhanced ‘see anything suspicious, say something’, anonymously....
2) ...to discrete investigators assigned to verify the tips and warrant further surveillance and intervention when warranted
3) investigators are not known, never reveal names of those being investigated, unless passed up the chain and then only to level 2 personnel when sincere worry is established.
4) hold parents responsible which would encourage them to alert the 1st level if they were confident offsprings lives wouldn’t be ruined by a 1st alert. Tipsters would also be anonymous. Kids would never know who ratted.

We don’t think there are thousands and thousands of harmful crazies requiring investigation, so relatively small staffs could accomplish this.


25 posted on 08/31/2025 10:51:13 AM PDT by chiller (Davey Crockett: "Be sure you're right. Then go ahead". (We'll go ahead))
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

My answer would be: Go sleep yourself, you marxist piece of garbage.


26 posted on 08/31/2025 10:52:42 AM PDT by cowboyusa ( YESHUA IS KING OF AMERICA AND HE WILL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE HIM!)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege
It took two -- Domenico Montanaro , Eric Westervelt -- to write this stuff, but only crotchety me to load and fire my .38 Chief's Special,and clean it regularly after a visit to the range.

I pick one over two.... And me over NPR....

27 posted on 08/31/2025 11:01:03 AM PDT by Worldtraveler once upon a time (Degrow government)
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To: arthurus

You’ve obviously never seen the wonder of redneck engineering. I would not put anything beyond what they can do for very little cost.


28 posted on 08/31/2025 11:02:05 AM PDT by Wilderness Conservative (Nature is the ultimate conservative)
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To: Tudorfly

Here here. I favor zero restrictions as well. If a man wants to possess a fully automatic SMG, I’m of the opinion that the only thing the government ought to be able to say about it is, “Gee, that sure looks like it’s a lot of fun!”


29 posted on 08/31/2025 11:02:33 AM PDT by cross_bearer_02
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

BS


30 posted on 08/31/2025 11:05:36 AM PDT by MileHi ((Liberalism is an ideology of parasites, hypocrites, grievance mongers, victims, and control freaks.)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

BS


31 posted on 08/31/2025 11:05:36 AM PDT by MileHi ((Liberalism is an ideology of parasites, hypocrites, grievance mongers, victims, and control freaks.)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

I doubt most do.


32 posted on 08/31/2025 11:13:32 AM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: Wilderness Conservative

That is something that applies to all tech- If it can be done, it will be done which does not bode well for futurre life on earth.


33 posted on 08/31/2025 11:16:58 AM PDT by arthurus (| covfeve )
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

“Universal background checks” = de facto registration

“Red flag laws” = confiscation at a whim

These are not “modest restrictions”, whatever the lying headline says.


34 posted on 08/31/2025 11:19:23 AM PDT by HartleyMBaldwin
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

Looks something they just made up.


35 posted on 08/31/2025 11:22:15 AM PDT by GingisK
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

It’s time to start placing all LGTBQ+ types in institutions and get them off the streets. If it takes putting them in a desert, so be it.


36 posted on 08/31/2025 11:25:45 AM PDT by DownInFlames (P)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

***Get rid of the AR-15s***
After over 25 years of screaming for handgun gun registration and bans with “Rifles will not be affected!” they made a grab for the rifles in 1984. Rifles have now become their main demand for bans.
A war on ugly rifles with scary stocks! The AR-15 shoots as slow as the Remington Model 8 made in 1906 and the Winchester 1903.
Are they afraid of ugly rifles? If it is good enough for Miss America 1962 to shoot it is good enough for US.
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2015/06/07/blast-from-the-past-miss-america-shooting-a-cutting-edge-rifle/


37 posted on 08/31/2025 11:28:24 AM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar ( )
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To: CondoleezzaProtege

***Weapons of war! Made for killing people!***

I remember the democrats using the same song and dance to ban the 5-shot bolt action army surplus rifle in 1968. Years later we find it was to protect New England’s own hunting rifle industry against cheap competition. Now they are driving their own gun industries out of those states.


38 posted on 08/31/2025 11:32:26 AM PDT by Ruy Dias de Bivar ( )
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To: Ruy Dias de Bivar

I’d buy a mini-14 if I had the money. It’s not scary, unless you were unlucky enough to be an FBI agent in Miami/Dade in the late 80s.


39 posted on 08/31/2025 11:45:34 AM PDT by JusPasenThru (Boobs are fascicoded.)
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To: CondoleezzaProtege
I'm a gun owner and favor zero restrictions on gun ownership. But for that to happen, we gotta get real with criminals. Execute capital crime offenders.

Get the guilty verdict and take'em out back and execute them.

Remove race from the judicial system. Stop giving minorities a pass ... for anything. Build more and bigger prisons and make them afraid to do time in an American prison.

For starters. Muzzle all these mutts then we won't need gun laws on ownership.

40 posted on 08/31/2025 11:56:47 AM PDT by LouAvul (1 John 2:22: Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist.)
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