Today, Everytown for Gun Safety released results of a statewide survey, which show that legislators are “out-of-step with what Pennsylvanians support”, according to the group.
Conducted by Douglas E. Schoen, LLC from September 2 – 6, 2014, 600 likely voters were asked about their familiarity with, and opinion of, HB 2011, a bill that would limit the regulation of firearms and ammunition.
According to the results of the survey, a majority oppose HB 2011 when it is explained to them. Only 25% of likely voters are familiar with the current firearms preemption law, and 50% are unfamiliar with it. When explicitly asked about HB 2011, only 21% of likely voters were familiar with the bill, compared to 65% who were unfamiliar with HB 2011.
The survey explained HB 2011 to its respondents as follows:
HB 2011 is firearms preemption legislation, which, if passed, would expand
Pennsylvania’s existing firearms preemption law. HB 2011 would allow groups and
individuals to sue cities and towns to repeal any existing gun violence prevention
laws on the books, if the local regulations differ from statewide law. The local
taxpayers would be required to pay for all costs, fees, and expenses generated by the
lawsuits brought against municipalities’ local gun violence prevention laws by
individuals or outside organizations — even if the local gun rules were never
enforced and local officials did not intend to enforce them.
The groups wording of HB 2011 could cause confusion for some of the respondent to the survey. For instance, it references the “existing firearms preemption law”, yet only 25% of likely voters were familiar with the current law to begin with.
After explaining HB 2011 in their own words, 60% of likely voters had an unfavorable impression, while 28% had a favorable impression of HB 2011. Further, 55% of voters oppose the measure, compared to the 29% of voters who support it.
The survey continued, asking likely voters about support for universal background checks. 93% of likely voters favored the measure, compared to the 5% who oppose it.
Due to the differences in HB 2011 and the current feeling of Pennsylvanians, Everytown for Gun Safety says this shows the state legislature is “out-of-step” with public opinion.
While the results of the survey are of interest, it should be noted that Everytown for Gun Safety is an advocacy group wanting common sense gun rights in the United States and Douglas E. Schoen, LLC is an influential Democratic campaign consultant.
Loading ...
10 Responses
““don’t you dare try to make your community safer by passing a gun law” – can you show with facts any such law exists?
Some references:
Simple Explanation of Gun Control
http://tavernkeepers.com/a-simple-explanation-of-gun-control/
Select your crime rate
http://extranosalley.com/?p=58942
http://www.naturalnews.com/038895_gun_ownership_Georgia_safety.html#
In 1982, Kennesaw, Georgia passed a law requiring heads of households to keep at least one firearm in the house. The residential burglary rate subsequently dropped 89% in Kennesaw, compared to just 10.4% drop in Georgia as a whole.
Today, the violent crime rate in Kennesaw is still 85% lower than Georgia’s or the national average.
(http://americangunfacts.com/)
” existing gun violence prevention
laws on the books” – the laws in question have nothing to do with violence prevention, only removal of civil rights from ordinary citizens. Such descriptions of the laws in question make this survey absolutely useless.
There are no background check loopholes, the reason for private sales being exempted is to prevent a gun registry and to not burden normal legal common activities. The federal law that applies to all states was designed that way.
Most families in Pennsylvania do not want to pay for unlimited lawsuits against their local government, no matter what any extremist zealot writes. And, of course, it very much is common sense for rural towns with long traditions of hunting to have different gun laws than big cities where gun crimes imperil daily life for Pennsylvania families. I get it when hunters worry that, in the aftermath of some horrific shooting, where the murderer has some military weapon most people don’t want them to have, there might be legislation somewhere that prevents their practicing their sport. But this law just says, “don’t you dare try to make your community safer by passing a gun law” or you’ll have to pay for every zealots’ lawsuit against. Most people don’t want that. Only zealots want that. And readers here should be grateful when a writer argues that families don’t want or don’t care about background checks…because that writer is identifying himself or herself as an extremist who is out of touch with most families in Pennsylvania. And I’m not a shill for anyone, by the way.
Oh… and for those who think ‘local control’ is a good thing here, and preemption is ‘bad’… think on this.
Imagine if there was ‘local control’ for cars and driving.
You could find that the town next to you decided that a 5MPH speed limit was appropriate.
The mayor and his cronies could mandate that everyone had to drive on the wrong side of the road.
The car you just bought could be banned from driving in certain towns, and be confiscated.
Your neighbors might decide that anything that isn’t a hybrid polluted too much, and apply a 1000% tax to any other kind of car registered in your town.
In some cases local control makes sense, for example schools.
However no one spends all their time in one city or town, so laws on most things have to be consistent state-wide.
That’s common sense, plain and simple.
Sorry, but even the Dept. of Justice will tell you that there is no such thing as a ‘gun show loophole’.
Their 2013 study showed private sales accounted for less than 4% of all illegal firearms, and sales at gun shows for less than 1%
Let me make that plain for some folks… CRIMINALS DON’T GET GUNS THROUGH PRIVATE TRANSFERS!
These’ background check’ laws will simply make felons out of anyone who:
… gives their kid a 22 at Christmas.
… Loans a hunting rifle to a friend.
… Leaves a house-sitter with guns, even in a locked safe.
Does this sound like the kind of thing you want to make a felony crime?
It’s what Bloomberg and his shills are proposing in HB 2011.
“The NRA is for background checks for purchasing firearms, and even background checks connected to mental health databases. When did any sane person barge into a school and open fire killing children? NONE. They are all mentally deranged. And, white male between the ages of 16 and 24. Now, what’s up wit dat????” then when does the NRA oppose PA HB 1010, a bill the would close the private sale of long gun loophole?
The NRA is for background checks for purchasing firearms, and even background checks connected to mental health databases. When did any sane person barge into a school and open fire killing children? NONE. They are all mentally deranged. And, white male between the ages of 16 and 24. Now, what’s up wit dat????
Anyone who disagrees with background checks for gun buyers has had the wool pulled over their eyes by the NRA. They can’t argue against background checks so they pretend that the “real” goal is to kick in your door and take away your guns. Much easier to argue against.
HB 2011 is a ridiculous piece of legislation designed to let the gun lobby sue little towns and make taxpayers pay for it. The legislature bans gun in the Capitol, but borough or township officials aren’t allowed to keep them out of their council meetings. If this passes they could be sued at their own expense just for trying.
The legislature *is* out of step with communities. Pennsylvania citizens want their communities to be safer and appreciate the fact that their local officials have taken action when the state legislature has repeatedly failed them. HB 2011 is a blatant, repulsive attempt to bully municipalities into submission by essentially threatening them with bankruptcy through unlimited lawsuits from across the state. (This is without even addressing the fact that HB 2011 eradicates the definition what constitutes legal standing that’s been part of Pennsylvania common law since this Commonwealth was founded.) Therefore, HB 2011 is, without a doubt, bad law and should be defeated soundly.
If the legislature wants to be “in step” with more than 90% of its citizens, it should pass HB 1010. HB 1010 would repeal the “long gun” exception in our background checks law and that will prevent a parking lot sale of an AR-15 in a parking lot without so much as an exchange of names or a handshake, let alone a background check alerting the seller as to whether the buyer had a violent criminal record, domestic abuse, or an extensive history of violence-prone mental illness.
Nice try Bloomberg shills… your ‘explanations’ are simply gun control industry propaganda.