by Bob Adelmann November 19, 2024 ( November 19, 2024 )
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A month before the November presidential election, Gallup conducted a poll on Second Amendment and firearm issues. Predictably, the group reported that most Americans (56 percent) want more gun-control laws.
A month later, voters went to the polls and voted into office pro-gun, pro-Second Amendment candidates. This included the reelection of Donald Trump with his pro-gun, pro-Second Amendment agenda.
Gallup’s Bias
A close look at Gallup’s methodology of reveals the organization’s bias.
First, Gallup conducted the poll a month before the election. It likely reflected the hyped-up opposition to the Second Amendment promoted by the Harris/Walz campaign and the sycophantic media eager to put Marxists back into the Oval Office.
Second, the poll was conducted with text messages on smartphones. This tended to reflect a younger, more progressive audience.
Thirdly, its polling of just 1,023 Americans is such a tiny sliver of the 345 million people living in the country that its margin of error was, in some instances, in excess of six percent.
Next, the group included 930 registered voters, not likely voters. Likely voters tend to be much more engaged in the political process and would give a better picture of how people really feel about gun legislation and the Second Amendment.
Only 365 of the 1,023 people the group targeted by Gallup admitted that they were gun owners. Assuming that they were forthright in admitting such ownership, this percentage — 35.8 percent — falls far short of the more than 50 percent of Americans who own firearms.
The survey also failed to recognize that gun owners are much more politically engaged in the election process than non-gun owners. This is mainly because they fear government intrusion, registration, and ultimately confiscation of their arms.
Even some of Gallup’s questions included errors. For instance, the poll conflated regular semi-automatic rifles with military-style fully automatic rifles. The question, “Do you think there should be or should not be a ban on the manufacture, possession, and sale of semi-automatic guns, known as assault rifles?” is guilty on its face of deliberately confusing the two very different types of firearms.
Better Poll, Different Results
A recent poll conducted by McLaughlin & Associates for the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) reveals that nearly three out of four Americans (72 percent) support the right to keep and bear arms. Furthermore, 73 percent agree that the right to keep and bear arms is one of the most important rights the U.S. Constitution guarantees.
That poll further revealed that, contrary to Gallup, more than half (52 percent) of the public thinks that better and more effective enforcement of existing laws — not more laws — is the key to reducing gun violence. An even higher percentage — 55 percent — of Americans want politicians to focus on current law enforcement rather than enacting more laws.
And a remarkable 58 percent — nearly three out of five — American believe that any gun control should only come in the form of laws passed by Congress, and not by executive orders.
As Jim McLaughlin noted:
This survey shows clearly that Americans cherish their Second Amendment rights. It’s obvious. Anybody who tells you Americans don’t believe in the Second Amendment doesn’t know what they’re talking about.
It’s also clear they do not want Joe Biden deciding gun policy on his own, but instead want this issue debated through the democratic process.
The problem with misleading polls like the one by Gallup is that they fuel the anti-gun agenda of the Left and embolden far-left politicians to pursue policies that lack true public support.
