The gun control lobby loves to proclaim itself as the voice of most Americans on Second Amendment issues. They'll not only point to surveys that show 80 percent approval for things like background checks*, but to any poll that shows even the slightest majority support for whatever restriction they want to put in place.
They're not going to be talking much about a new poll by Marquette University, though. That survey found that most Americans firmly disagree with the gun control lobby's position that even medical marijuana users should be charged with federal felonies if they also own a gun.
According to the poll, 61 percent of respondents agree with the Supreme Court's decision in Hemani that unlawful drug use, by itself, does not disqualify someone from exercising their right to keep and bear arms. That support is found in virtually every demographic surveyed by Marquette, including Democrats.
68 percent of Republicans back the Hemani decision, along with 57 percent of independents and 55 percent of Democrats.
Young voters aged 18 to 29 support Hemani 62-38. The oldest cohort of voters (those 60 and above) also support the Supreme Court's decision, and by about the same margin (60-39).
Income levels? 60 percent of those making $30,000 or less agree with SCOTUS, as do 59 percent of those making $100,000 or more.
Race? 61 percent of white, non-Hispanic voters approve, along with 68 percent of black, non-Hispanics. Hispanics and other ethnicities also back Hemani by wide margins (59-41).
60 percent of those who attend church more than once a week concur with SCOTUS. 57 percent of those who never go to church agree as well.
More than 60 percent of born-again Christians, mainline Protestants, and Catholics approve, along with 53 percent of other faiths.
The only group that I found with less than 50 percent approval for Hemani are those who describe themselves as liberal or very liberal. 48 percent of liberals and 49 percent of those who identify as "very liberal" said they support the decision. 70 percent of self-described "very conservative" survey respondents back the decision, along with 68 percent of those who describe themselves as conservative.
It doesn't seem very liberal to think that a grandma who eats a gummy at night to help her sleep, a veteran who uses marijuana to deal with the effects of PTSD, or a black grad student who imbibes on the weekend should go to prison if they also own a gun. Yet that is what these self-proclaimed liberals are backing.
If Marquette surveyed these same voters and asked about their views on marijuana use, my guess is that 80 percent or more of liberal respondents would agree that it should be legal. The liberal opposition to Hemani is opposition to gun ownership in general, and it's downright pathetic that half of that demographic supports incarcerating individuals who dare to exercise a fundamental right if they use pot too.
We are watching the locus of democrat power slide from the upper left quadrant to the lower left. Gun controllers, who built their empire in the upper left, are fading into irrelevance. Ironically, they are suffering the very same fate that predicted would consume the NRA.
— Assault Clip, #2A Voter (@assaultclip) August 6, 2026
Is that really true? Based on the survey results, it's Democrats on the far left of the political dial who are most opposed to Hemani, and those are the same Democrats who are elevating candidates like Abdul El-Sayed, Zohran Mamdani, and Francesca Hong this cycle. The DSA might not mention gun control in their latest party platform, but historically the group has viewed the Second Amendment as a "threat to us all."
... the only way to guarantee that we will dramatically reduce acts of violence involving guns is to remove guns from society, and until somebody gets enough ‘oomph’ to repeal the Second Amendment that’s not going to happen.
The gun control lobby has spent untold time and resources to become a lynchpin of the Democrat establishment, but I don't think Kris Brown or even Gabby Giffords would lose any sleep over endorsing Democrat Socialists like El-Sayed. David Hogg and younger anti-gun activists are even less wedded to the establishment on the left, and will be instrumental in the effort to make the gun control movement a key component of DSA politics.
The gun control lobby is definitely out of step with most Americans when it comes to punishing people who want to use marijuana and own guns. Anti-gun activists have worked too long and too hard to slide into irrelevance without a fight, though, and I think it's way too early to declare the gun control lobby defanged.
*Background checks are already required on all commercial sales of firearms, and I suspect that if the question was framed as "should someone go to prison for selling a gun to a friend or neighbor without putting them through a background check," you'd see far less than 80 percent support.
