Rasmussen: Voters Blame Mental Health, Not Guns for Mass Shootings
U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- At the same time Congressional anti-gunners are pushing what Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) calls a “hodgepodge of bills” dubbed the “Protecting Our Kids Act,” a new poll is saying more American voters think mental health is more to blame for mass shootings than access to firearms.
The House Judiciary Committee scheduled an emergency meeting this week to discuss the 41-page bill, which includes increasing the age “for purchasing semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21, banning new high-capacity magazines, tightening regulations on ghost guns and more,” as noted by Fox News. Jordan, a ranking member on the committee, told Fox News Digital, “I’m going to do everything I can encourage my colleagues to oppose this… hodgepodge of bills that I don’t think would have made one difference in tragedies that we’ve seen recently.”
Rasmussen’s new survey might have some bearing on that meeting, and the debate that will certainly unfold in the days ahead. According to the veteran polling firm, “40% of Likely U.S. voters believe mental health is more to blame for mass shootings by young men in America, while 30% blame access to firearms.
“Ten percent (10%) think family problems are more to blame for mass shootings,” Rasmussen added, “while another 10% blame social media. Only four percent (4%) think school problems are more to blame.”
The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms says it has “very serious misgivings” about the proposed legislation. CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb is wary of “the bum’s rush certain members of Congress are using.”
“Congress needs a cooling-off period,” he cautioned. “We’ve seen in the past how hasty action has resulted in bad legislation, and we shouldn’t be in a hurry to pass something so we can see what’s in it,” an off-hand reference to Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s remark some years ago when she was urging passage of Barack Obama’s “Affordable Health Care Act.” “There is much in this bill that smacks of a registration scheme,” Gottlieb said. “There are only two reasons to register guns, to tax them, and ultimately to take them, by confiscation, or by passing more legislation at a future date which will outlaw what people can legally own today.”
While the package aims to ratchet down on so-called “ghost guns”—firearms manufactured by home gunsmiths—and ban “bump stocks,” Gottlieb noted that neither of the attacks in Buffalo or Uvalde involved such guns or accessory stocks.
“In both cases,” he said, “the murder suspects bought their guns at retail and passed background checks. They willingly violated several existing laws in order to carry out their heinous crimes. Both perpetrators left warning signs on social media, yet it is the law-abiding gun owners, including honest young adults, who are being penalized.”
Gottlieb said if the legislation cannot be stopped in the House, it might be stopped in the Senate.
A popular T-Shirt created by a Washington State gun rights group could easily be a message to Congress and the media. (Dave Workman)
“If it gets past the Senate,” he predicted, “we will likely challenge it in federal court.”
Fox News described the “Protecting Our Kids Act” as “a series of eight bills aimed at suppressing gun ownership.” If that is an accurate assessment, this isn’t about protecting children at all, but just one more gun control scheme disguised as a school safety measure.
One significant revelation from the Rasmussen poll is that, “President Joe Biden’s strongest supporters are most likely to blame firearm access for mass shootings.”
“Among voters who Strongly Approve of Biden’s job performance as president,” Rasmussen reported, “59% say access to firearms is more to blame for such shootings. By contrast, among those who Strongly Disapprove of Biden’s performance, only six percent (6%) blame firearms access and 63% think mental health is more to blame.”
In the midst of all of this, Biden once again displayed an ignorance of firearms when he suggested to reporters outside of the White House that 9mm handguns are “high-caliber” firearms. According to Fox News, he was recalling a visit to a trauma hospital in New York where he was shown X-rays of gunshot wounds. “They said a .22-caliber bullet will lodge in the lung, and we can probably get it out — may be able to get it and save the life. A 9mm bullet blows the lung out of the body,” Biden said.
The remark brought a round of criticism on social media from gun owners who know 9mm pistols are not “high-caliber” at all, not is a bullet from such a gun capable of the kind of massive trauma asserted by Biden.
During the same exchange with reporters, Biden also resurrected his discredited claim that when the Second Amendment was ratified “You couldn’t buy a cannon.” It is not clear why the president continues to perpetuate this myth.
Meanwhile, in neighboring Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced legislation to stop handgun ownership in his country.
“What this means is that it will no longer be possible to buy, sell, transfer or import handguns anywhere in Canada,” Trudeau said at a press conference, according to Fox News. “We recognize that the vast majority of gun owners use them safely and in accordance with the law, but other than using firearms for sport shooting and hunting, there is no reason anyone in Canada should need guns in their everyday lives.”
Canada does not have a Second Amendment or an equivalent in its constitution. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told a press briefing Tuesday that Biden does not a ban on the sale of all handguns. However, he has publicly stated that he would like to stop the sale of 9mm pistols, and both CCRKBA and the Second Amendment Foundation have used a video clip of him saying so during a 2021 CNN Townhall appearance to prove it.
