{"id":2579,"date":"2023-11-27T11:00:42","date_gmt":"2023-11-27T11:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/?p=2579"},"modified":"2023-11-27T11:00:42","modified_gmt":"2023-11-27T11:00:42","slug":"while-more-americans-are-armed-dont-expect-that-to-affect-the-parties-stances-on-guns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/?p=2579","title":{"rendered":"While More Americans are Armed, Don&#8217;t Expect That to Affect the Parties\u2019 Stances on Guns"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"td-post-featured-image\">\n<figure><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/AP20150286213733-scaled.jpg\" data-caption=\"Mostly peaceful protests in Minneapolis (AP Photo\/John Minchillo)\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"696\" height=\"464\" class=\"entry-thumb td-modal-image\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/AP20150286213733-scaled.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/AP20150286213733-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/AP20150286213733-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/AP20150286213733-700x467.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/AP20150286213733-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/AP20150286213733-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/AP20150286213733-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/AP20150286213733-770x513.jpg 770w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/AP20150286213733-217x145.jpg 217w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/AP20150286213733-430x287.jpg 430w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/AP20150286213733-597x398.jpg 597w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" alt=\"minneapolis third precinct riots\" title=\"minneapolis third precinct riots\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mostly peaceful protests in Minneapolis (AP Photo\/John Minchillo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>By Rob Morse<\/p>\n<p>Our society is changing and those changes have resulted in many of us choosing to buy a firearm. We see <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/nexstar_media_wire\/4258799-is-crime-going-up-in-america-some-types-are-new-fbi-data-shows\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">crime rising<\/a> around us. We notice that criminals are no longer routinely caught by police or prosecuted in the courts. The response is entirely predictable.<\/p>\n<p>We make decisions like considering a move to a safer location (see: <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/02\/18\/over-500000-people-left-california-in-two-years-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">California<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mystateline.com\/news\/local-news\/illinois-loses-105k-taxpayers-10-6b-in-income-as-residents-leave-state\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Illinois<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2023\/04\/12\/nearly-third-of-new-yorkers-want-to-move-out-fed-up-with-crime-housing-costs-poor-schools-and-more-poll\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York<\/a>) We decide that owning a gun for personal protection makes sense. That may sound like mere speculation but a number of recent surveys have confirmed these trends. Almost 14 million of us bought a gun for the first time in 2020 and 2021. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/nbc-news-poll-reveals-gun-ownership-has-hit-a-new-record-high-in-america\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">More than half of us<\/a> now own firearms.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/politics\/2023\/08\/16\/for-most-u-s-gun-owners-protection-is-the-main-reason-they-own-a-gun\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Personal protection<\/a> is the main reason we buy a gun today<\/strong>. By a two-to-one margin, more of us think crime is getting worse rather than getting better. Sixty percent say it\u2019s getting worse in our urban areas. Those opinions come from <a href=\"https:\/\/harvardharrispoll.com\/key-results-november-3\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a Harvard-Harris poll<\/a> conducted only a few weeks ago.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats think the increase in crime is because of a worsening economy while Republicans think it\u2019s because criminals aren\u2019t being prosecuted and punished for their crimes. Most Republicans think that the police are afraid to do their job while most Democrats disagree.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_543337\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-543337\" style=\"width: 2284px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-543337 size-full\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" alt=\"\" width=\"2284\" height=\"1317\" data-lazy-srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hh-poll.jpg 2284w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hh-poll-300x173.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hh-poll-700x404.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hh-poll-768x443.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hh-poll-1536x886.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hh-poll-2048x1181.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hh-poll-150x86.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hh-poll-696x401.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hh-poll-1068x616.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hh-poll-1920x1107.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hh-poll-728x420.jpg 728w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hh-poll-560x323.jpg 560w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 2284px) 100vw, 2284px\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hh-poll.jpg\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-543337 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hh-poll.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2284\" height=\"1317\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hh-poll.jpg 2284w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hh-poll-300x173.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hh-poll-700x404.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hh-poll-768x443.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hh-poll-1536x886.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hh-poll-2048x1181.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hh-poll-150x86.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hh-poll-696x401.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hh-poll-1068x616.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hh-poll-1920x1107.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hh-poll-728x420.jpg 728w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/hh-poll-560x323.jpg 560w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2284px) 100vw, 2284px\"\/><\/noscript><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-543337\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Courtesy <a href=\"https:\/\/harvardharrispoll.com\/key-results-november-3\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">harvardharrispoll.com<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>By a four-to-one margin, voters in both parties think that laws about minor crimes like shoplifting should be rigorously enforced\u2026except for Democrats. A majority of us blame \u201cwoke\u201d Democrat politicians and district attorneys who won\u2019t prosecute crimes. Most of us think that the US justice department is focused on politics rather than stopping gangs and crime syndicates.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A majority of voters in both parties now think that it is necessary to own a gun<\/strong> for personal protection. Including independent voters, 63-percent of us now believe it\u2019s necessary to own a gun to prevent criminal attacks.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Americans have acted on those beliefs and gun ownership has grown over time.<\/strong>\u00a0We\u2019ve seen\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/gun-sales-tick-back-up-in-october-with-over-1-3-million-adjusted-background-checks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">record gun sales<\/a> for the last 50 months. We have some data on the number of new gun owners. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/politics\/2023\/08\/16\/for-most-u-s-gun-owners-protection-is-the-main-reason-they-own-a-gun\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pew research poll from August<\/a>\u00a0said that 41 percent of us live in a household with a firearm. That estimate may be on the low side since\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/news.gallup.com\/poll\/264932\/percentage-americans-own-guns.aspx\">a Gallup poll<\/a>\u00a0put the number at 44 percent. A recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/meet-the-press\/meetthepressblog\/poll-gun-ownership-reaches-record-high-american-electorate-rcna126037\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NBC poll<\/a> put the number at 52% of us who live with a gun in our home. The variance between different polling organizations are significant, but the trend of increased gun ownership is consistent.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_543339\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-543339\" style=\"width: 1361px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-543339 size-full\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns=\" http:=\"\" alt=\"\" width=\"1361\" height=\"1156\" data-lazy-srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/nbc-poll.jpg 1361w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/nbc-poll-300x255.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/nbc-poll-700x595.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/nbc-poll-768x652.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/nbc-poll-150x127.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/nbc-poll-696x591.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/nbc-poll-1068x907.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/nbc-poll-494x420.jpg 494w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/nbc-poll-560x476.jpg 560w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1361px) 100vw, 1361px\" data-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/nbc-poll.jpg\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-543339 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/nbc-poll.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1361\" height=\"1156\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/nbc-poll.jpg 1361w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/nbc-poll-300x255.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/nbc-poll-700x595.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/nbc-poll-768x652.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/nbc-poll-150x127.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/nbc-poll-696x591.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/nbc-poll-1068x907.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/nbc-poll-494x420.jpg 494w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/nbc-poll-560x476.jpg 560w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1361px) 100vw, 1361px\"\/><\/noscript><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-543339\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Courtesy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/meet-the-press\/meetthepressblog\/poll-gun-ownership-reaches-record-high-american-electorate-rcna126037\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NBC News<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>We have to be skeptical about these polling numbers.<\/strong> Recent <a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s00127-023-02515-y\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">research indicates<\/a> that many of us don\u2019t tell the truth to strangers on the phone when the strangers ask if we own firearms. As many as 60 percent of adults might own a gun as compared to 30 percent or so indicated by other polling.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s another indication of our changing society. It makes increasing sense that we are reluctant to tell strangers whether or not we own firearms. Gun owners don\u2019t want to be targeted and have their guns taken. Households without guns feel more vulnerable if they admit they are disarmed. More of us are increasingly concerned about having our personal information gathered and sold.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s undeniably true that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/ny-times-finally-informs-readers-that-millions-of-women-minorities-bought-guns-post-pandemic\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the face of gun ownership<\/a> is changing. The stereotypical gun owner used to be an old, white, rural male. Gun owners now are increasingly young, urban female, and of a minority group. In short, gun ownership now better represents the population at large. The older stereotype of gun owners was that they were politically conservative. It doesn\u2019t follow any more that new gun owners will follow suit and vote Republican.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gun ownership is unlikely to significantly change voting patterns.<\/strong>\u00a0Party affiliation is<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/short-reads\/2023\/09\/13\/key-facts-about-americans-and-guns\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> a stronger predictor<\/a> of attitude towards firearm regulation than is gun ownership. In general, Republicans who don\u2019t own a gun are slightly closer to Democrats. Democrats who own a gun are slightly closer to Republicans. That said, the <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/anvFV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">difference between the political parties is larger<\/a> than the difference between gun owners and non-gun owners within those parties.<\/p>\n<p>Owning a firearm is only one of many cultural differences that separate liberal from conservative politics. The Democrat party may have adopted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/04\/25\/us\/washington-gun-control-bill.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">firearms prohibition<\/a> as a basic party plank, but most liberal gun owners ignore that and vote for liberal candidates anyway.<\/p>\n<p>As usual, change happens at the margins. A centrist Democrat who recently bought a gun may now see the Democrat party\u2019s gun prohibitions as the issue that changes his vote. But old habits die hard. That\u2019s not something anyone should count on.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>This article originally appeared at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/slowfacts.wordpress.com\/2023\/07\/13\/the-murderers-in-city-hall-are-never-arrested\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Slow Facts Blog<\/a>\u00a0and is reprinted here with permission.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/while-more-americans-are-armed-dont-expect-that-to-affect-the-parties-stances-on-guns\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mostly peaceful protests in Minneapolis (AP Photo\/John Minchillo) By Rob Morse Our society is changing and those changes have resulted in many of us choosing to buy a firearm. We see crime rising around us. We notice that criminals are no longer routinely caught by police or prosecuted in the courts. The response is entirely [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2580,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2579","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-reviews"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2579"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2579\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}