That loud thud you’re hearing is the collective jaws of gun control activists hitting the floor. They’re exasperated and can’t believe that years of their anti-gun propaganda hasn’t worked. They’re beside themselves that Americans still choose to exercise their constitutional rights to keep and bear arms over backing more gun control restrictions and being lenient and soft on repeat criminals.
The polling also backs up recent reporting from national media outlets revealing that anti-gun organizations and politicians have “conceded” that “gun control is no longer their top issue.”
“We know the political realities,” U.S. Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) recently told NOTUS. That “political reality” is…Americans don’t want more gun control.
That’s exactly what the firearm industry has seen over the past few years. And polling is now catching up.
The ‘New’ News
So, what’s all the “new” news? Recent survey data conducted in partnership between the Crime Prevention Research Center and the well-respected polling firm The McLaughlin Group revealed Americans are significantly more likely to support and exercise their Second Amendment rights now than they were just 18 months ago. They are less likely to support increased gun control restrictions pushed by anti-gun activists.
The three main takeaways from the polling are simple and straightforward.
First, “Independent voters are more aligned with enforcement-focused crime policies than additional gun-control legislation,” the polling summary states. The data showed that more than 63 percent of survey respondents agreed that enforcing existing laws and arresting and prosecuting criminals would do the most to reduce crime, compared with less than 30 percent who thought passing additional gun control laws would help.
This new reality tracks with what NSSF and its membership has seen, especially over the past few years. Since 2020, there have been more than 26.2 million new first-time gun owners, those who previously may have opposed gun rights but were driven to lawful gun ownership due to surges in crime in cities where “defund the police” budget cuts were implemented and soft-on-criminal George Soros-funded prosecutors came into office.
Those two policies largely backfired as innocent law-abiding Americans turned instead to exercising their Second Amendment rights — many of whom were politically Independent, or even Democrats.
Changing Face of Firearms
The second main takeaway from the new polling data is that gun control groups often ignore that women are much more persuadable on gun rights, or even open to gun ownership, than these activist groups tend to believe.
“Only 18% of women view additional gun-control laws as the primary solution to public safety concerns,” the polling report says. “At the same time, women continue to represent one of the fastest-growing segments of new firearm owners and concealed carry permit holders nationwide. Increasing numbers of women view firearm ownership as a practical means of personal protection rather than a political statement.”
That’s exactly what NSSF data has revealed in the past few years as well, as women of all races and backgrounds voted with their wallets and purses at the gun retail counter, crowded into firearm retailer concealed carry classes and went to the ranges in large groups to train.
The Cut even proclaimed, “Black women are the new face of American gun ownership,” largely due to their overwhelming concerns for safety and protecting their children in neighborhoods with increased crime and reduced police presence.
NBC News highlighted the growing number of women gun owners as well, even spotlighting that many were choosing to purchase modern sporting rifles , or AR-15-style semiautomatic rifles, as their preferred firearm to bring home.
The third major takeaway from the new CPRC/McGlaughlin Group survey is that minority Americans are overwhelmingly choosing to exercise their Second Amendment rights, creating the most diverse gun owning community in history. No more can media outlets and gun control groups claim gun owners are just “pale, stale and male,” old white men. The fact is that the faces of firearms owners is changing. It has been and is picking up pace.
“Many minority communities experience disproportionately high rates of violent crime and appear increasingly skeptical that additional restrictions on responsible firearm owners will meaningfully improve public safety,” the report states.
What’s the data show? Among African-American and Hispanic-American respondents, 62 percent opposed to creating and implementing new gun control laws.
NSSF data has revealed significant increases in the percentages of minority community members purchasing firearms in recent years. According to NSSF retailer survey data, law-abiding Hispanic Americans purchased firearms in 2020 at a 49 percent higher rate than they did in 2019. African Americans purchased firearms at a rate that was 58 percent higher than the previous year and for Asian Americans it was close to 43 percent. Those rates have cooled since but have created “new normals” of gun ownership among nearly every demographic.
The polling memo concluded with a succinct message for both Second Amendment supporters and gun control activist counterparts: “The most persuasive message across all communication platforms is not simply one that defends gun rights — it is demonstrating how lawful firearm ownership, effective law enforcement, and accountability for violent criminals work together to create safer communities.”
Losing Strategy
Gun control groups looking for funding donations and anti-gun politicians seeing voter approval should take note. Pushing for more and more restrictions on law-abiding Americans’ ability to exercise Second Amendment rights is not a winning strategy. But they may already be realizing that reality.
A recent news report from the national media outlet NOTUS puts it plainly: “Democrats concede gun control is no longer their top issue.”
Pro-Second Amendment groups cannot rest on their laurels or take anything for granted and need to remain engaged to keep voters educated and activated on these critical issues. But with historically low crime and historically high and diverse gun ownership, Americans might be seriously reconsidering their beliefs around firearms, gun ownership and community safety.
The hard work for the firearm industry and Second Amendment supporters continues.
Larry Keane is SVP for Government and Public Affairs, Assistant Secretary and General Counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation.