I started off today's posts with the news of two gun control bills heading to Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger's desk, so I think it's fitting that my last post of the day focuses on a new poll that found the Democrats' extensive anti-gun agenda is broadly unpopular among residents of the Old Dominion
The survey of 800 likely voters was conducted by Quantus Insights in mid-February, and contains a number of interesting findings. Among them:
- 84% of those surveyed agree that the right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental freedom protected by the U.S. Constitution
- 65% agree that "gun control laws mainly make it harder for law-abiding citizens to protect themselves, while criminals ignore the laws either way"
- 63% of Virginians say judges delivering tougher sentences and prosecution of existing laws would be most effective at reducing crime, while 16% say more laws regulating firearms would be most effective
- 14% say "passing new restrictions" should be the focus of Virginia's firearms policy, compared to 56% who prefer enforcing existing laws
- 60% "oppose a ban on commonly owned firearms labeled as 'assault weapons,' even if hundreds of thousands of Virginians already own them"
- 58% "oppose a ban on magazines holding more than 10 rounds, even if it restricts equipment commonly used for self-defense and sport shooting"
- 71% "oppose proposed legislation in Virginiathat would allow lawsuits against the firearms industry, even in cases where criminals misuse their products"
- 65% "oppose a brand new 11% state tax on firearms and ammunition"
- 56% "oppose additional state taxes or fees on firearm suppressors"
Now, you could argue that these questions are slanted in their presentation, but I'd say they actually provide survey respondents with far more information than pollsters generally provide. I'm curious about what the responses would have been if Quantus also included the criminal penalties for violating the gun and magazine bans that are being pushed by Virginia Democrats, and my guess is that opposition would have increased even more than what the survey found.
The only gun control measures that polled within the margin of error were "a government-mandated 14-day waiting period to buy a firearm, even if the person has already passed a background check (47% approve/45% oppose) and "additional barriers, which may include paperwork, fees, and waiting periods, before someone can purchase a firearm" (49% oppose/45% support).
It's odd to me that imposing artificial delays on the exercise of a "fundamental freedom" would be as popular as this survey indicates, but even on that issue we're still talking about a roughly 50-50 split among likely voters. There's clear opposition, on the other hand, to the vast majority of the Democrats' anti-2A agenda.
I can't help but wonder if Democrats themselves aren't seeing something similar in their own internal polling. Though they have the numbers to ram through virtually every piece of gun control legislation that's been introduced this year, we've seen the demise of bills imposing a $500 tax on suppressors and an 11% excise tax on firearms and ammunition, while legislation creating a "permit to purchase" was amended to strike that language (while keeping in place a ban on the sale of handguns and "assault firearms" to adults younger than 21).
Instead of adopting every gun control bill introduced, Democrats appear to be focused on the top priorities for the gun control lobby; bans on "assault firearms" and magazines that can hold more than ten rounds of ammunition, restrictive storage mandates, and changing Virginia's system of universal reciprocity for concealed carry, to name a few.
Spanberger is still going to have the opportunity to sign multiple gun control bills into law this session, including several that will significantly infringe on our Second Amendment rights. Still, Democrats appear to be acting with at least a little bit of caution and trying to walk a tightrope between the approval of gun control groups and overwhelming voter backlash. If the Quantus survey is anywhere close to accurate, Dems are making a huge political miscalculation, and one that voters aren't going to forget or forgive before next November's elections.