Strongly support Somewhat support Somewhat oppose Strongly oppose Don't Know Support Oppose
Full Sample 61% 17% 9% 8% 4% 78% 17%
Democrats 83 11 2 1 2 94 3
Republicans 43 24 14 14 4 67 28
Independents 58 11 16 10 4 69 26
Tea Party Republicans 28 25 17 25 5 53 42
Mainline Republicans 60 18 11 8 2 78 19
Men 53 20 11 14 1 73 25
Women 68 15 8 4 5 83 12
Male Democrats 80 14 3 3 0 94 6
Female Democrats 84 9 2 0 4 93 2
Male Republicans 34 27 16 22 1 61 38
Female Republicans 52 22 12 7 7 74 19
Urban 70 15 4 7 4 85 11
Suburban 60 17 12 8 3 77 20
Rural 53 20 12 11 4 73 23
Urban Democrats 80 13 3 1 3 93 4
Suburban Democrats 85 9 3 2 2 94 5
Rural Democrats 80 14 1 1 3 94 2
Urban Republicans 51 22 7 15 6 73 22
Suburban Republicans 41 26 15 14 4 67 29
Rural Republicans 41 24 17 15 2 65 32
Gun
Owners		 48 21 12 17 3 69 29
Non-Gun Owners 74 13 6 3 4 87 9

White		 54 20 11 11 4 74 22
African American 78 12 3 3 4 90 6

Hispanic		 76 14 6 2 2 90 8

Mouse-over for notes about the data

Measurement of Party ID for this chart is based on two questions. First, respondents were asked whether they consider themselves to be a Democrats, Republicans, independents, other, or not sure. Those who responded that they are independents or "other" were then asked if they lean toward either the Democrats or Republicans. If they indicated that they lean toward one party or the other, they are considered Democrats or Republicans for the purposes of this figure. Only "pure" independents or members of a third party who indicate that they have no preference for Democrats vis-a-vis Republicans are considered independents . Respondents who answered that they are "not sure" for either of the two aforementioned questions are not incorporated into this chart.

Tea Party identification is based on the following question, also asked in the survey: "Suppose the Tea Party movement organized itself as a political party. When thinking about the next election for Congress, would you vote for the Republican candidate from your district, the Democratic candidate from your district, or the Tea Party candidate from your district?" Those who responded "Republican candidate" are considered Republicans (Mainline Republicans) and those who responded "Tea Party candidate" are considered Tea Party Republicans.

To assess the environment of respondents, we asked, "Would you say that you live in an urban, suburban, or rural community?"

Finally, to assess gun ownership, respondents were asked, "Do you or does any other member of your household own a handgun, rifle, shot-gun, or any other kind of firearm?" Respondents who indicated that they owned a gun or that they and another family member own a gun were classified as gun owners.