PERCENTAGE OF U.S. HOUSEHOLDS WITH A GUN TIME/CNN Poll
movement is because it has so many members. There are groups that donate a lot more money to the Republican Party and conservative causes. The NRA has deep pockets—it generates $200-250 million dollars in revenue each year—but what distinguishes it from other conservative organizations is that it has 4-5 million members, many of whom are singleissue voters. If a politician votes for any form of gun control, some of these NRA members are going to vote against him or her no matter what else that person may stand for. Why are the gun control advocacy organizations so much less effective in their efforts than the NRA? If guns are symbols of freedom for those on the political right, then for the political left they are symbols of death. If we look at public polling data, there is widespread support for many of the latest gun control proposals, but that support has never been deep. The best known gun control organization today is the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. However, the Brady organization pales in comparison to the NRA in terms of financial resources, membership numbers, and political power. Lots of people support gun control, but as sympathetic as they are to the victims of gun violence, it doesn’t connect to a deeper ideology. On the gun rights side, this is their core belief—some NRA members walk around with copies of the Constitution in their wallets or purses—it’s a kind of bible for them. There isn’t anything comparable to that on the gun control side. Gun control supporters do not go to the polls to oppose politicians based on their position on guns. The passion for the cause comes primarily from those who have been victims of gun violence or have had family members who have been victims, and that’s a much smaller contingent than the gun owners. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s campaign, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, has been putting some money into recent political races, but the dollars aren’t enough. My reading is that our elected officials are hearing much more frequently from gun rights supporters than from gun control advocates.
The Brady campaign has enjoyed some membership growth in response to the Obama administration’s gun control proposals, but it’s not even close to what the NRA has experienced. Even the term “gun control” is a problem. Individual rights are a core part of American ideology—individual rights and freedoms are enshrined in the Constitution; they are part of our culture. To propose control, on the other hand, goes against our cultural values, so gun control advocates lose the contest when it comes to framing the issue. The way the debate is framed is inherently advantageous for the NRA. Americans don’t like to be restricted—we like our choices. So the gun control side has tried to move away from that language in the last 15 years to recast it in terms of ending gun violence and promoting gun safety. I think they are smart to adopt new language, but they still don’t have the kind of language that appeals to a broad base of people the way that “gun rights” does. What is the future of gun control legislation? Are there significant differences between the federal and state levels? The Obama administration laid out an explicit set of proposals, highlighted by renewing the assault weapons ban. Another proposal was a limit on high-capacity magazines, and the third piece would close what is called the “gun show loophole” to require background checks
for individual gun sales. The NRA has come out strongly against all of these proposals. At the federal level, it appears that nothing is going to happen related to guns. The bottom line is the dynamic hasn’t changed—politicians in conservative districts know that they are jeopardizing their political futures by voting for any form of gun control, especially anything the NRA opposes. At the state level, Democratic and liberalleaning states are passing gun control policies. However, as legislation banning assault weapons and on expanded background checks gets passed on the state level, you likely will see legal challenges all the way up to the Supreme Court. On the other hand, more conservative states are working on extending gun rights. We have had that discussion in Michigan’s and other states’ legislatures too about guns in schools, churches, and bars. I think we will see a continuation of this debate on the state level. Where is public opinion in general headed on this question of gun rights/gun control? If you look at individual proposals, there seems to be broad support for banning assault weapons and limiting the size of gun magazines. If you look at more generalized questions regarding gun control, there’s less support. Americans don’t want their rights restricted.
States have enacted stricter gun control legislation in 2013
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States have enacted stronger gun rights protection legislation in 2013
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