A new Pew Research poll has reaffirmed what Second Amendment advocates have known all along: “By overwhelming margins, Joe Biden’s supporters prioritize gun control over gun rights.”

According to Pew, an overwhelming 80 percent of Biden supporters prefer controlling gun ownership over protecting the right of Americans to own guns. Only 19 percent favor gun rights.

On the other hand, 85 percent of Trump supporters want to protect gun rights and only 14 percent think gun ownership should be controlled.

In a separate survey from last month, 68 percent of Democrats and “Democrat-leaning independents” think gun-related violent crime is a big problem in the country today, while only 27 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents think so.

Seventy-six percent of Biden voters think gun ownership does more to reduce public safety “by giving too many people access to firearms.”

Coincidentally, The Hill reported recently on a YouGov survey which says Americans are “evenly divided on whether the average American can be trusted with a gun.” The tally was 43 percent who said “yes,” and 42 percent who said “no.” Only 24 percent of Democrats think average citizens can be trusted, while 74 percent of Republicans and 34 percent of Independents say so.

Among all voters, Pew reports 52 percent say it is more important to protect Second Amendment rights, while 47 percent favor more gun control.

By no small coincidence, the Associated Press is reporting that the Biden campaign “says gun control could be a motivating issue for suburban college-educated women who may be decisive in several key battlegrounds this fall.”

It is clear the Biden camp will make gun control a campaign issue, and they will be using reports like the one which ran in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune—part of the USA Today network—declaring Florida has had the most mass shootings so far this year, 16 in all. The story quotes data from the Gun Violence Archive declaring there have been 178 mass shootings nationwide as of May 28.

But wait a minute. According to the Associated Press story, there have been only 15 mass killings so far in 2024, according to data tracked by the AP. This data is “a collaboration between The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University, and it tracks mass killings in the United States going back to 2006.”

While people debate whose mass shooting/killing data is the more reliable, Pew Research is reporting, “Women voters who back Trump are somewhat less likely than his male supporters to support gun rights and say gun ownership increases safety. Still, more than eight-in-ten women and men who support Trump hold these views.” This seems to reinforce the Biden campaign’s strategy to target women with college educations, probably reminding them in the process that Donald Trump is now a convicted felon who has lost his gun rights.

As reported earlier by AmmoLand News, the Second Amendment Foundation has announced it will jump to defend Trump’s gun rights, if asked to do so.

Trump’s supporters are not wilting away from the Second Amendment. According to Pew, “Relatively few Trump supporters (21%) view the growing number of guns negatively; more say it is a good thing for society (40%) or neither bad nor good (38%).”

The Biden administration is continuing to target guns, but a report from Ammo.com says gun ownership is on the rise. Last year, polling revealed some 32 percent of Americans own at least one firearm and that gun ownership increased by 6.7 percent during the years 2017 to 2023. During that period, gun ownership among women went up an estimated 13.6 percent, and among Hispanics, 33.3 percent.

What do all of these numbers really mean?

Gun rights versus gun control definitely will be a factor in the November elections, not just for the White House but also in Congressional races. Also, in states such as Washington and Oregon, where gun owners have had more than enough gun control from “woke” liberals in Seattle, Portland and along the I-5 corridor in both states, while crime in those states has gone up, turnout could be strong in November.

Gun owners clearly have a role to play in the elections, and thanks to Pew Research and other polling firms, it is easy to determine which political parties and which candidates have their interests at heart.

About Dave Workman