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Poll Reveals Overwhelming Support for Right to Bear Arms

Tuesday, August 20, 2024

Poll Reveals Overwhelming Support for Right to Bear Arms

Americans are deeply divided on many issues these days. But a recent poll conducted by Marquette University Law School in Milwaukee, WI, revealed at least one area of broad agreement: A supermajority in the U.S. supports a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense. The poll questioned 1,005 adults nationwide from July 24 to Aug. 1, 2024, and has a margin of error of +/- 4 percentage points.

Participants were queried on a range of opinions about U.S. institutions and the Supreme Court in particular. One question asked: “In 2022, the Supreme Court ruled that, subject to some restrictions, the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to carry a handgun for self-defense outside the home. How much do you favor or oppose this decision?”

Forty percent of respondents “strongly favor[ed]” this decision, with another 29% “somewhat favor[ing]” it. In contrast, only 31% opposed the decision, with just 14% “strongly” opposed. These results showed an increase in support for the decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen since the last time Marquette University Law School asked the question during November 2022. At that time, 64% were strongly or somewhat in favor.

In contrast to the overwhelming support for the Second Amendment right to carry, no branch of the government, nor the “national news media,” managed to generate “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence among a majority of respondents. For the presidency, it was 32%. For the Supreme Court, it was 27%. For Congress, it was 13%. And for the media, it was a dismal 12%.

Support for Bruen was the second highest of all the 10 Supreme Court decisions on which the respondents were polled. The highest support, at 77%, went to the case affirming that prohibiting firearm possession by persons subject to a domestic violence restraining order did not offend the Second Amendment. This indicates that while Americans strongly support the rights protected by the Second Amendment, they also view those rights as pertaining to peaceable, law-abiding persons.

With the presidential election season well underway, the two major parties have been sparring over whose candidates represent the mainstream versus those with fringe views. When it comes to the right to bear arms, it is the Republican ticket of Donald Trump and JD Vance who clearly reflect the nation’s prevailing opinion that law-abiding Americans have a right to carry guns for self-protection as they go about their daily business.

The official X (formerly Twitter) account of Kamala HQ, on the other hand, continues to host a video where vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz expresses his opposition to “reciprocal carry among states,” meaning he supports the criminal prosecution of otherwise lawful carriers for crossing state lines. As for presidential aspirant Kamala Harris, we’ve already explained that she is on record for the proposition that the Second Amendment doesn’t even protect any individual right to own guns, much less carry them in public.   

Americans should not make the mistake, however, of thinking that the popularity of the Second Amendment will protect it from those, like Harris and Walz, who are dedicated to its destruction. The Democrat party elites, and those who fund them, have made their intentions clear. If there is safety in numbers, it can only be secured at the ballot box by voting pro-freedom candidates into office.

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North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Tuesday, September 30, 2025

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Last week the North Carolina General Assembly briefly returned from recess and re-referred Senate Bill 50, Freedom to Carry NC, to the House Rules Committee.

Federal Court Strikes Down Biden Administration’s “Engaged in the Business” Rule in NRA Case

Thursday, October 2, 2025

Federal Court Strikes Down Biden Administration’s “Engaged in the Business” Rule in NRA Case

Yesterday, in Butler v. Bondi, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama held that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives exceeded its statutory authority by issuing its 2024 Final Rule expanding ...

First Affirmative Lawsuit in Support of Gun Owners Filed by Trump’s DOJ

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Monday, October 6, 2025

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California officials’ egregious foot-dragging over the issuance of carry permits has finally attracted the ire of the federal Department of Justice (DOJ). 

President Trump’s GOP Leads Polling on Crime and Guns, To No Surprise

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Monday, October 6, 2025

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A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll revealed that Americans know the President Donald Trump-led Republican Party has a better plan than their Democratic Party opponents on crime and gun control.

NRA Files Amicus Brief in Fifth Circuit Case Challenging the Federal Switchblade Act

Friday, October 3, 2025

NRA Files Amicus Brief in Fifth Circuit Case Challenging the Federal Switchblade Act

Yesterday, the National Rifle Association filed an amicus brief in Knife Rights, Inc. v. Bondi, urging the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas’s decision upholding the Federal ...

Trump Administration Repeals Biden Era Firearms Export Crackdown

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Monday, October 6, 2025

Trump Administration Repeals Biden Era Firearms Export Crackdown

Last Monday, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) at the U.S. Department of Commerce published a final rule that reversed a crackdown on the commercial export of firearms from the U.S. to other countries.

Trust in Mass Media Craters to New Lows, in Single Digits With Republicans

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Monday, October 6, 2025

Trust in Mass Media Craters to New Lows, in Single Digits With Republicans

There’s an old saying that rings especially true to Second Amendment supporters: If you don’t read the news, you’re uninformed.

Alphabet Eases the Reins on Censorship; Will Gun Content Eventually Benefit?

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Tuesday, September 30, 2025

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With the free speech debate recently co-opted by one TV host’s use of false and incendiary remarks about his political opponents, it might have been easy to miss another important First Amendment story last week. 

Canada’s Public Safety Minister on Gun Ban & Confiscation: “Don’t Ask Me to Explain the Logic”

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Monday, September 29, 2025

Canada’s Public Safety Minister on Gun Ban & Confiscation: “Don’t Ask Me to Explain the Logic”

There have been multiple developments on the Canadian gun grab and ban in the last few days, but the most astounding has got to be a leaked bombshell recording of the Liberal Public Safety Minister, ...

U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Challenge to Hawaii’s Private Property Default Carry Ban

Friday, October 3, 2025

U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Challenge to Hawaii’s Private Property Default Carry Ban

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the petition for certiorari in Wolford v. Lopez, a challenge to Hawaii’s law forbidding carry on private property open to the public (such as restaurants, gas stations, and grocery stores) ...

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NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.