Public Attitudes Toward Gun Control - Is Gun Control An Important Issue?

A ten-year overview of the public's attitudes about the issues government ought to be addressing is presented by the U.S. Department of Justice in its publication Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics. The most recent data available is for 2002.

In 1993 fewer than 0.5% of adults polled mentioned gun control spontaneously as an issue the government ought to be addressing. In 1995, 2% of respondents mentioned gun control spontaneously. In each year thereafter between 1% and 2% of respondents mentioned gun control as an important issue. (Terrorism made a sudden appearance at the top of the list of concerns in 2002 following the events of September 11, 2001.)

Gun control was not cited as a major public concern, according to a Harris poll conducted on the eve of the 2004 presidential election. ("War and Terror Continue to Dominate Election Issues," September 23, 2004). Instead, topics like the economy, the Iraq war, terrorism, and health care proved to be the top priorities for the American public. In a similar Gallup poll, published in September 2004, respondents were asked to rank the most important problems facing the United States. Once again, the war in Iraq, the state of the economy, terrorism, and health care were deemed to be the most pressing issues; gun control did not garner enough votes to make the list.