(Click on figure to make it larger.)
This result is from a Fox News poll given from January 15-17, 2013, and so it was done right after the Newtown attack. Presumably the results at other times would have been even more lopsided.
Still the Fox News survey is possibly biased in that it compares a complete ban with some more gun ownership. A more balanced question might have been comparing a 10 percentage point increase or decrease in law-abiding citizens owning guns, though that might be getting too complicated.
ABC News/Washington Post has a related survey question: “Do you think having a gun in the house makes it a safer place to be or a more dangerous place to be?” The gap isn’t 5-to-3 rather than 2-to-1, but it is still large and consistent with the More Guns, Less Crime hypothesis. It also provides some idea why people won’t put up a sign on their home saying that it is a gun-free zone, though even if people think that having a gun makes their home more dangerous that still doesn’t mean that they would want to put up such a sign.
While it isn’t a national poll, a Quinnipiac University Polling Institute poll shows that Coloradans support letting teachers and school officials carry permitted concealed handguns at school.
A recent Gallup headline gives a good idea where the gun debate is currently heading: “Americans’ Dissatisfaction With Gun Laws Highest Since 2001.” While dissatisfaction is up, what is interesting to note is that most of the increase is from people who want the laws less strict. Since 2012 the percent who want less strict laws has increased from 8 to 16 percent. The percent who wanted looser gun laws actually tripled over the last year.
It is also interesting how consistent the opposition to new gun laws has been over the last decade. Those who were happy with the current law or wanted it looser totaled 56 percent in 2002, 2003, and 2007. In 2004, 2005, and 2008, the total was 57 percent.
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