Steve Watson
Prisonplanet.com
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Democratic Party donors, members of Congress and gun control groups are being urged to lobby the president to speak on gun control laws during the upcoming state of the union address, according to an investigative NBC report.
“There’s a major push to get [Obama] to say something on this,” said Chad Ramsey, legislative director of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a leading gun control group. “We’ve been told he will say something, but we’re not sure how strong it will be.”
It is believed that Obama will be asked to expand on his apparent support for a bill introduced by Democratic Rep. Carolyn McCarthy of New York that proposes a ban on the sale or transfer of high-capacity gun magazines, as reportedly used by Jared L. Loughner two weeks ago.
Meanwhile, a major new scientific research poll indicates that Americans’ opinion on gun laws have not altered significantly at in the wake of the Tucson event, despite intense media demonization of second amendment rights.
A Pew Research Center poll showed that 49 percent of people polled say it is more important to protect the right of Americans to own guns than to control them, against 46 percent who prioritize gun control, reports AFP.
An identical poll undertaken by Pew last September found that 50% prioritized gun laws and 46% prioritized gun rights.
If anything popular opinion has shifted slightly toward protection of gun rights in that time.
Of 1000 adults polled a majority of 58% identified the shooting in Arizona as an isolated incident rather than a reflection of wider social unrest.
“There is no sign that the longer trend toward an emphasis on gun owners’ rights has abated,” Pew said.
