Stay Informed!

Josephs looks for poll results on guns and violence

HARRISBURG, April 10 – State Rep. Babette Josephs, D-Phila., hailed a new poll commissioned by state Rep. Dwight Evans, D-Phila., as the information the state needs to bring about sensible gun control measures.

The statewide poll, conducted by Lake Research Partners of Washington, D.C., shows Pennsylvania voters, across party lines, overwhelmingly support tougher laws to control the availability of guns and to reduce crime related to illegal handguns.

Among the findings were:

Almost eight out of 10 (77 percent) voters support a statewide ban on assault weapons. Of that number, 89 percent of women and 64 percent of men favor an assault weapons ban. Almost two-thirds of gun owners (62 percent) favor this ban.
More than two-thirds (71percent) of voters support a statewide limit on handgun purchases to one gun a month. Even 61 percent of gun owners support this limit.
Arguments that cracking down on illegal guns would take away the rights of gun owners do not hold water with voters. More than two-thirds (70 percent) of these voters agree with the statement that "Cracking down on illegal guns, gun runners, and violent criminals who use stolen guns in their crimes is good for everyone in the state, including law-abiding gun owners."

"Representative Dwight Evans and the Democrats from Philadelphia have busted the myth that the gun culture, promoted by the National Rifle Association and those in Harrisburg, cannot be beaten," said Josephs about the poll results. "I confidently predict that we will tackle sensible gun control measures on the floor of the House during the 2007-08 session – perhaps as soon as the fall of 2007. And when we do that we will knock the National Rifle Association and gun manufacturers out of their socks. I am very optimistic that the House will pass one gun a month, safeguards against guns used by juveniles, and the ban of anti-personnel military style weapons."

The poll was conducted from Feb. 26 – March 4, 2007, surveying 600 Pennsylvania voters.