Leading Up to July 9 VA General Assembly Special Session, New Poll Finds “Virginians Want Action on Gun Reform”

Leading up to the July 9 Virginia General Assembly special session on gun violence prevention, a new poll by Public Policy Polling for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has some very telling findings. First, though, it’s important to note that the sample in this poll is, for whatever weird reason(s), heavily biased towards Trump supporters. For instance, the poll’s toplines indicate a sample in which Virginians who say they voted for Donald Trump in 2016 outnumber those who say they voted for Hillary Clinton by 8 points (49%-41%), when in fact Hillary Clinton actually won Virginia by over 5 points. So basically, this sample appears to be wildly skewed (by around 13 points!) towards Trump supporters, Republicans, right wingers, etc. Which, in turn, means that the following support for gun violence prevention measures is almost certainly understated, quite possibly by a significant amount. I’m really not sure how a legitimate pollster could let this slip by, as it’s a massive error…amazing, really.

Anyway, with that huge caveat, here are the main findings from the PPP poll:

• “Would you support or oppose banning the sale of military style semi-automatic assault weapons like the ones used in the mass shootings at the schools at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, the high school in Parkland, Florida, and the recent attack in New Zealand?” — 62% say yes, only 34% say no, in this Trumpster-skewed sample. Note that among Trump voters, it’s 39% yes-54% no, while among Clinton voters it’s 89%-9%.
• “61 percent of respondents in Sen. Norment’s district – support banning the sale of military style semi-automatic assault weapons”
• ” 63 percent of respondents in Speaker Cox’s district – support allowing local jurisdictions to ban guns from public buildings and events and enforce that ban by detecting guns and restricting entry.”
• “Would you support or oppose a law that would allow family members or law enforcement to ask a judge to temporarily suspend a person’s access to guns if they have evidence that the person poses a significant threat to themselves or others?” — A huge 83% say yes, with only 14% saying no.  Note that even among Trump voters, it’s 73% yes-22% no, while among Clinton voters it’s 97% yes-2% no.
• “Would you support or oppose a ban on high-capacity magazines that hold over 10 bullets?” — 63% say yes, 34% say no. Among Trump voters, this one has 43% support, while among Clinton voters, it has 87% support.
• “Would you support or oppose allowing local jurisdictions to ban guns from public buildings and events and enforce that ban by detecting guns and restricting entry?” — 67% say yes, 27% say no. This one has a plurality (47%-45%) support among Trump voters, with 90%-4% support among Clinton voters.
• Also of interest: in SD7, Trump’s approval rating is just 34%, while his disapproval rating is 55%. And again, remember that this poll is wildly skewed to 2016 Trump voters for some idiotic reason.