5/99 “Gun-control Opinions Unchanged” In Colorado

“Gun-control opinions unchanged”
— Denver Rocky Mountain News, May 20, 1999
Gun Owners of America
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408

So read the headlines in today’s paper.

A new poll shows that a full 65-percent of Coloradans FAVOR allowing decent citizens to carry concealed firearms. This is down from the 66 percent figure that was taken in February — a difference well within the margin of error. The poll was conducted by the Denver Rocky Mountain News and a local Denver news station.

“This highlights the dangerous gambit that Republicans are playing in supporting gun control,” said Larry Pratt of the Gun Owners of America. “There has been no so-called public ‘mood shift.’ That’s just a figment of the media’s imagination.”

On Monday, The Washington Times reported that Presidential candidate, Elizabeth Dole, had lost ground in the polls as a result of her recent remarks in favor of gun control:

    An April 29–May 3 poll of Republican voters found Mrs. Dole had lost ground to Mr. Bush. The poll was completed a day after her May 2 endorsement of mandatory trigger locks and the ban on assault-style weapons that many gun-rights advocates want Congress to repeal.

“Even President Clinton reminded the nation a couple of weeks ago how Democratic support for gun control cost his party dearly,” Pratt said.

At an April 27 White House press conference, Clinton stated that,

    There are some [Congressmen] who would be on this platform today who lost their seats in 1994 because they voted for the Brady Bill and they voted for the assault weapons ban.

Indeed, right after the 1994 election, Clinton stated that such gun control “cost 20 members their seats” and the “control” of the Congress.

Time and time again, exit polls show that gun rights are a hot-button issue for pro-gun voters, and not the other side.

As stated by the Roanoke Times & World-News: “Pollsters have found for years that gun control is a dominating motivation for voters who oppose it but rarely works as well to motivate those who favor it.”

–GOA–