Strictness of Gun Control Laws (November 2015)

Strictness of Gun Control Laws (November 2015)

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    Respondents were asked, "In general, do you think gun control laws should be made more strict, less strict, or left as they are now?"

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categorycolumn-1
More strict41%
Less strict18%
Left as they are now36%
Don't know / No opinion6%
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    Respondents were asked, "In general, do you think gun control laws should be made more strict, less strict, or left as they are now?"
    Measurement of Party ID for this figure 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 figure.
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categoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
More strict71%47%15%
Less strict6%19%26%
Left as they are now16%29%55%
Don't know / No opinion6%4%5%
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    Respondents were asked, "In general, do you think gun control laws should be made more strict, less strict, or left as they are now?"
    Party identification is calculated according to the PID7 variable, a seven point scale of party identification.
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categoryLean RepublicanNot very strong RepublicanStrong Republican
More strict9%25%13%
Less strict33%18%25%
Left as they are now56%51%56%
Don't know / No opinion3%5%5%
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    Respondents were asked, "In general, do you think gun control laws should be made more strict, less strict, or left as they are now?"
    Party identification is calculated according to the PID7 variable, a seven point scale of party identification.
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categoryLean DemocratNot very strong DemocratStrong Democrat
More strict76%55%80%
Less strict1%13%5%
Left as they are now21%20%10%
Don't know / No opinion2%12%5%
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    Respondents were asked, "In general, do you think gun control laws should be made more strict, less strict, or left as they are now?"
    Ideology is measured on a scale of 1-7, with 1 corresponding to "extremely liberal", 7 corresponding to "extremely conservative, and 4 corresponding to "in the middle." For the purposes of this table, respondents who placed themselves at or between points 1 and 3 on the scale are considered "liberal," respondents who placed themselves at point 4 on the scale are considered "moderate," and respondents who placed themselves at or between points 5 and 7 on the scale are considered conservative.
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categoryLiberalsModeratesConservatives
More strict78%51%17%
Less strict5%10%29%
Left as they are now13%28%51%
Don't know / No opinion5%11%3%
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    Respondents were asked, "In general, do you think gun control laws should be made more strict, less strict, or left as they are now?"
    The ideology measure is based on respondent self-placement in response to the following question: "On a scale from 1 to 7, where 1 is extremely liberal, 7 is extremely conservative, and 4 is exactly in the middle, where would you place yourself?" The placements are further classified such that 1 is extremely liberal, 2 is very liberal, 3 is somewhat liberal, 4 is moderate, 5 is somewhat conservative, 6 is very conservative, and 7 is extremely conservative.
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categoryLeaning conservativeSomewhat conservativeExtremely conservative
More strict22%15%17%
Less strict21%25%39%
Left as they are now50%58%42%
Don't know / No opinion6%3%2%
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    Respondents were asked, "In general, do you think gun control laws should be made more strict, less strict, or left as they are now?"
    The ideology measure is based on respondent self-placement in response to the following question: "On a scale from 1 to 7, where 1 is extremely liberal, 7 is extremely conservative, and 4 is exactly in the middle, where would you place yourself?" The placements are further classified such that 1 is extremely liberal, 2 is very liberal, 3 is somewhat liberal, 4 is moderate, 5 is somewhat conservative, 6 is very conservative, and 7 is extremely conservative.
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categoryLeaning liberalSomewhat liberalExtremely liberal
More strict68%78%87%
Less strict6%7%0%
Left as they are now22%10%8%
Don't know / No opinion4%5%5%
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    Respondents were asked, "In general, do you think gun control laws should be made more strict, less strict, or left as they are now?"
    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 (non-Tea Party movement) and those who responded "Tea Party candidate" are considered Tea Party Republicans.
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categoryDemocratRepublicanTea Party
More strict72%26%5%
Less strict7%17%46%
Left as they are now14%52%48%
Don't know / No opinion6%4%0%
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    Respondents were asked, "In general, do you think gun control laws should be made more strict, less strict, or left as they are now?"
    Race is calculated according to the race variable.
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categoryWhiteBlackHispanic
More strict31%60%55%
Less strict21%9%13%
Left as they are now42%22%28%
Don't know / No opinion6%10%4%
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    Respondents were asked, "In general, do you think gun control laws should be made more strict, less strict, or left as they are now?"
    Gender is calculated according to the GENDER variable.
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categoryMaleFemale
More strict36%45%
Less strict26%11%
Left as they are now35%36%
Don't know / No opinion3%8%
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    Respondents were asked, "In general, do you think gun control laws should be made more strict, less strict, or left as they are now?"
    Community is based on the following question, "Would you say that you live in an urban, suburban, or rural community?"
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categoryUrbanSuburbanRural
More strict51%41%26%
Less strict15%17%24%
Left as they are now26%37%45%
Don't know / No opinion8%5%5%
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    Respondents were asked, "In general, do you think gun control laws should be made more strict, less strict, or left as they are now?"
    Age is calculated according to the AGEG variable.
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category18-2930-4445-6465+
More strict43%43%41%36%
Less strict16%20%19%15%
Left as they are now32%30%35%46%
Don't know / No opinion8%7%6%3%
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    Respondents were asked, "In general, do you think gun control laws should be made more strict, less strict, or left as they are now?"
    Education is calculated according to the EDUC variable.
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categoryNo high schoolHigh school graduateSome college2-year4-yearPost-grad
More strict40%41%35%47%41%49%
Less strict22%13%22%19%19%11%
Left as they are now21%38%39%32%38%34%
Don't know / No opinion16%7%5%2%3%6%

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