Senate Democrats Represent A Declining Number Of Gun Control Supporters

Senate Democrats’ most recent push for stronger gun laws revolve around three key points: Closing ‘loopholes’ in the current background checks system, toughening up background checks in general, and shutting down the “illegal pipeline” of guns. These points are easily refuted as completely unnecessary and can be dismissed as gun grabbers trying to politicize a tragedy in an effort to push failed legislation through.

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While their talking points claim to represent the interests of the American people they were elected to serve, it’s hard to see where they’re getting their information when support for stricter gun laws is at an all time low.

“We want to solve the problem and not just talk. So we’re putting forward something that’s solid and is supported by 90 percent of the American people,” said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), however a Gallup Poll conducted Oct. 12-15, 2014 shows that less than half of Americans support stricter gun laws.

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According to the Pew Research Center, Americans say protecting gun rights is more important than gun control by a margin of 52 percent to 46 percent. Hardly the 90% support Boxer cites.

Another popular talking point the Democrats are using is a National reaction to the most recent shooting at UCC. “I sense almost a seismic shift in public reaction. It may just be the aftermath of the Oregon shooting but I really do think it will happen,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). “That point will come. And it may not be everything we want but there will be steps toward gun violence protection.”

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In direct contradiction to Blumenthal’s statement, the Gallup Poll’s conclusion says that point has clearly come and gone. “Public demand for stricter gun sale laws is returning to levels seen throughout the past decade. After seeing a spike in support for stricter laws following the Newtown school shooting in 2012, the call for more stringent laws has settled to near-record lows.”

The seismic shift Blumenthal refers to peaked in 2012 and while all surveys remain under the spike after Newtown, results also depend on who is conducting the survey.

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However, at the time the nation’s support for stricter gun laws was at it’s peak in 2013 after Sandy Hook, a bipartisan compromise to expand background checks for gun buyers, a ban on assault weapons and a ban on high-capacity gun magazines all failed to get the 60 votes needed. And in June, a HuffPost/YouGov survey asked Americans to choose the two most important issues from a list of eight topics, gun control ranked last, with only 10 percent of those surveyed naming the subject.

At the forefront of the Democrat’s charge toward gun control is Senator Harry Reid. “It is within our power to reduce gun violence and prevent mass shootings. Inaction is not an option,” Reid wrote in a Dear Colleague letter obtained by Politico. “We will again introduce a series of proposals to prevent those who should not have access to a gun from getting one.”

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With American support firmly behind gun rights and a Rasmussen Report conducted in September of this year which found that only 34% of likely voters believe laws regarding the ownership of guns should be the responsibility of the federal government, it looks like Reid’s latest attempt at gun control may have the same outcome as his attempts at physical fitness.

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