Virginia Gun Rights

Cam Edwards at Bearingarms.com shares a new poll that supposedly shows “wide support” for requiring background checks on all gun sales.  It’s part of this article where he asks a simple question related to so-called “universal” background checks.   These polls never seem to dig down beyond the surface and the generic “should all gun purchases require a background check”.  They never ask the question that Cam asked.

Do 84-percent of Americans think a person should go to federal prison if they transfer a firearm to their neighbor who’s afraid of her abusive ex showing up at her door? Do 84-percent of Americans think that it should be crime to sell a gun to your cousin without a background check, but legal for you to sell a gun to your aunt without one?

Most people support in the affirmative the generic question about background checks because they already know that most gun sales require a background check.  But, if these pollsters were to dig down into the issue and ask the question the way Cam does, you would probably get a much different answer. And, we need to remember, unlike the bill that passed the Virginia General Assembly last year that specifically said “sales”, the bills winding their way through congress use the term “transfer” which has a much broader meaning under federal law than the word “sales”.

There is other news in that poll though.

Democrats on Capitol Hill have a narrow advantage over their Republican counterparts on the topic, with 44 percent of voters trusting them over congressional GOP lawmakers on gun policy, while 38 percent trust Republicans more.

It is the narrowest split of trust on a number of issue they polled.  They break it down for us and we learn that the gun issue is way down on the list of priorities for those surveyed:

The move on Capitol Hill — which is not likely to move forward in the Senate as long as the chamber’s legislative filibuster remains intact — comes after Democrats advanced legislation to address the pandemic, a subject 2 in 3 voters believe Congress should prioritize. By comparison, just 28 percent of voters said gun policy should be a “top priority,” roughly the same share who said Congress should elevate the passage of a bill to reduce inequality or provide relief to Americans with student loan debt.

Make sure you are contacting your elected officials and let them know you oppose additional restrictions on your rights.