Poll shows most Americans back Beto's plan to buy back assault weapons
The pollster who conservatives love to cite just shocked them with a poll disproving Trump’s argument against action on gun violence.
The right wing thought it had received a gift when former congressman and 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke confidently announced at last week’s debate, “Hell yes, we’re going to take away your AR-15!”
The National Rifle Association launched a campaign to build up its membership lists pointing to it. Some Democrats denounced it. Donald Trump even used it as an excuse to not do anything about gun violence.
But on Thursday, a pollster best known for his many Fox News appearances released a poll showing that the majority of Americans actually do support his proposal for a mandatory buyback of semi-automatic assault-style rifles.
Scott Rasmussen wrote: “Fifty-one percent (51%) of voters at least somewhat favor a mandatory buyback of all semi-automatic weapons. A ScottRasmussen.com nation survey found that 36% are opposed and 13% not sure.”
He noted that “just 24% of all voters think it is even somewhat likely that most owners of those weapons would actually turn their weapons over” if such a law were enacted — suggesting that few Americans believe assault weapons owners are actually “law-abiding citizens” (as the NRA so often claims).
Rasmussen, a conservative-leaning pollster and pundit, has previously written for the far-right conspiracy site WorldNetDaily. The Washington Post noted in 2010 that Rasmussen is “an articulate and frequent guest on Fox News and other outlets, where his nominally nonpartisan data is often cited to support Republican talking points.”
The conservative Washington Examiner reported Rasmussen’s latest findings with astonishment. “Gun shock: Majority support ‘mandatory buybacks’ of AR-15s,” its headline blared.
O’Rourke makes his home in El Paso, Texas, where a man with an anti-immigrant view similar to that of Donald Trump shot and killed 22 people last month, injuring dozens more, using an assault-style rifle.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.
Recommended
Florida abortion ban puts GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna’s anti-choice views in spotlight
Luna supports abortions bans with no exceptions for rape
By Jesse Valentine - May 07, 2024Republican Caroleene Dobson wants Alabama abortion ban to go nationwide
Dobson is the Republican candidate in what will be one of the most-watched House races of 2024.
By Jesse Valentine - April 30, 2024Direct mailers distort California Democrat Will Rollins’ record
Rollins, a former federal prosecutor, is challenging incumbent GOP Rep. Ken Calvert.
By Jesse Valentine - April 25, 2024