Americans prefer living in neighborhoods where they have the option of owning a gun than to live where people are prohibited from owning firearms, a new poll has found.
According to a Rasmussen Reports survey of 977 likely voters conducted June 8-9, 68 percent said they would feel safer in a neighborhood where guns were legal, compared to 22 percent who say they would feel safer living in a place where guns are not allowed. Ten percent are unsure.
Rasmussen said that the findings are consistent with similar surveys over the past two years.
At the same time, more than half of voters support a ban on semi-automatic and assault weapons, but just 14 percent favor a complete handgun ban.
And just 25 percent of people think it would be good for the country if only law enforcement officials and military personnel were permitted to own guns.
The survey also looked at results from a number of demographics. Voters under 40 are less likely than older voters to say they’d feel safer in a neighborhood where they could own a gun.
The results also vary by race. Blacks are less likely than whites and other minority groups to feel safer in a neighborhood where guns are permitted.
Meanwhile, Democrats are more than twice as likely as Republicans and independents to say they would feel safer in a neighborhood in which no one was permitted to carry a firearm. And voters in urban and suburban areas are more likely to feel safer in a gun-free neighborhood than those who live in rural areas.
The poll also found that 40 percent of voters believe stricter gun control laws would decrease violent crime, while 18 percent say they would increase violent crime. Thirty-four percent say they would have no impact.
