A new poll was released by the Des Moines Register that said Iowans favor tougher gun laws. The headline buried the lede somewhat. A majority of Iowans also favor Iowa’s gun laws as they are. So there isn’t any support for overturning the “shall issue” status for carry licenses. An overwhelming number of Iowans support background checks at the point of sale, which is probably the less controversial aspect of the new legislation. 60% support an assault weapons ban… I’ve already discussed how asinine such a ban would be, but will address a couple points again. Notice the picture below:
Looking at the picture above, one has to believe that people oppose such weapons because they look scary not because any such ban will actually curtail gun violence. These are primarily cosmetic concerns, in fact, many hunting rifles are more powerful than your typical “assault” weapon.
59% say they “favor limiting the size of ammunition clips to 10 rounds.” Any gun enthusiast can tell you that this will barely slow down somebody who is trained. Here is all you need to know about this poll…
In general, women favor tightening gun laws at a greater rate than men, and city residents more than rural residents. For example, 74 percent of Iowa women support a ban on assault weapons, but only 47 percent of men do. Sixty-four percent of Iowans who say they live in cities favor a ban, but only 49 percent of Iowans who say they live in rural areas do.
In rural areas, there’s a pronounced split in how men and women view a possible ban: 71 percent of rural women favor it; 30 percent of men do.
I know this isn’t exactly “politically correct” to say (like that has ever stopped me), but this seems to suggest that the people who favor tougher gun laws are folks who are likely ignorant about firearms. Not all certainly, but I think it would be fair to say a majority of those who favor gun control probably are those who either haven’t grown up around firearms or have handled them.
Here’s the assault weapon I believe we need to ban.
