Fill in the blank: I believe the right of Americans to own guns is ____ protecting people from gun violence.

👍 More important than (14%): “If we make guns more difficult to access, they'll increasingly be concentrated amongst criminals (who ignore laws) and the military/police. I think this potential harm ultimately outweighs the thousands of gun deaths every year.”

👎 Less important than (46%): “The world has changed since the framers wrote the Constitution. Guns have changed, and their ability to destroy human life has amplified. A simple solution is banning firearms that do the most damage and enacting stricter laws for other guns (like waiting periods and background checks).”

🟰 Equally as important as (28%): “Americans have an intrinsic right to protect and defend their property. We don’t need to punish law-abiding citizens who could actually protect someone because of criminals who don’t obey laws.

😬 Unsure/Other (12%): “I struggle with this phrasing. I hesitate to say the right to own is LESS important, because to me this implies support of a blanket gun ban, but the right to own guns is certainly not MORE important than safety.”

Breakdown by party:

🔴 Conservative/lean conservative:

• 5% “More important”
• 23% “Less important”
• 67% “Equally important”
• 5% “Unsure/Other”

🔵 Liberal/lean liberal:

• 2% “More important”
• 87% “Less important”
• 9% “Equally important”
• 2% “Unsure/Other”

🤷‍♀️ Independent:

• 10% “More important”
• 56% “Less important”
• 31% “Equally important”
• 3% “Unsure/Other”

+Note on sample size: We received 9,851 responses. 👏🥳 Some may have been lightly edited for grammar or clarity.