Gallup claims that concerns about personal protection is the reason that support for more gun control has dropped to 47 percent, with 52 percent wanting to either keep the current regulations or eliminate some of them.
Personal protection is the top reason Americans own a gun, as was true in 2000 and 2005. This, rather than views on the Second Amendment, may explain why moving toward greater gun control, as Obama and many Democrats have sought to do, is so difficult. Those who own firearms for protection may feel that their own personal safety is a vital need on which they do not wish to compromise. . . .
However, it isn’t clear how Gallup makes that determination for the reason that support for gun control has fallen as the polling results are not directly comparable over time. The main problem is that multiple explanations for ownership could be offered in the earlier surveys. Interestingly, in the 2000 and 2005 surveys, Democrats gave personal protection as the answer for gun ownership more frequently than either Republicans or Independents.
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