Any rapid change is very unsettling, and when the change endangers people’s financial security, we are likely to see anxiety and anger. It seems that is exactly what is happening right now.

In a nation of liberals and conservatives who seem to oftentimes perceive the world and facts in alien ways, economic hardships are bound to bring more conflict. This may be one reason why the health care reform debate has turned nasty. Congressional town hall meetings have become shouting matches. People with guns have displayed their weaponry outside the meeting halls. Most recently, liberals are drawing a line in the sand over the public option and threaten to vote down any bill that doesn’t include it.

Read all of John Zogby’s column on how people are coping with economic change at Forbes.com.

Paul Uncategorized guns, health, John Zogby, recession, zogby

Gun control has always been a controversial issue in American public and political debates. Recently Zogby International conducted an interactive survey of more than 4,000 likely voters on the right to bear arms. Almost 85% of the respondents agree that they have an individual right to own and use firearms for lawful purposes, and about 71% of the sample agree that the right of self-defense with a firearm is a fundamental right. While 17% of the respondents agree that the government created the right to self-defense, 73% think that they were born with this right and that the U.S. constitution protects it.

Groups that are more likely to think that they were born with this right to bear arms are males (79%), conservatives (93%), Republicans (91%), NASCAR fans (85%), respondents who have or had a gun (84%), respondents with a child under 17 years old (81%), those who attend religious services more than once a week (81%), and those with annual household income over $50,000 (76%).

What is your view on gun control? Do you think that stronger control on gun ownership and availability would lead to less crime or, as some suggest, more crime?

Grace Uncategorized crime, guns, international, politics, zogby

They had more in common than unleashing carnage — nearly every gunman in this monthlong series of mass killings was legally entitled to fire his weapons.

So what does that say about the state of gun control laws in this country? One thing appears certain: the regulations aren’t getting stricter. Many recent efforts to change weapons laws have been about easing them.

So begins an AP article by Deborah Hastings written in the aftermath of a seven shootings in the last month.  It seems very clear that the gun control movement is on the ropes, and public opinion bears that out.

In Gallup polling conducted prior to last week’s gun massacre at an immigrant center in Binghamton, N.Y., only 29% of Americans said the possession of handguns by private citizens should be banned in the United States. While similar to the 30% recorded in 2007, the latest reading is the smallest percentage favoring a handgun ban since Gallup first polled on this nearly 50 years ago.

In Texas, students may be able to carry guns to class if legislators pass proposed bills to allow licensed concealed weapons on college campuses.

In Tennessee,  the House passed a bill allowing handgun carry permit owners to bring their weapons into restaurants that serve alcohol.

Has the NRA won the battle over gun control?  Will these recent shootings make people look again at more stringent laws on gun ownership?

Paul crime, death, politics crime, guns, media, politics