美国国家公共电台 NPR Poll: Majorities Of Both Parties Favor Increased Gun Restrictions

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

The recent shooting in Las Vegas has sparked some soul searching, certainly more debate about guns in this country. And we have a new poll out this morning from NPR and Ipsos. And it reveals overwhelming support for various gun control measures across the political spectrum¹. NPR political reporter Danielle Kurtzleben is here to talk this through with us. Hi, Danielle.

DANIELLE KURTZLEBEN, BYLINE²: Hey, David.

GREENE: So what stood out to you here when it comes to American attitudes about gun control right now?

KURTZLEBEN: Well, there are a couple big things. One is that we found that some gun control ideas really do get a lot of support. We found that 8 in 10 people are in favor of a variety of bans - for example, a ban on assault-style weapons, a ban on high-capacity magazines and a ban on bump stocks. Now, that we've heard about since Las Vegas. It increases the rate at which a semi-automatic gun fires.

GREENE: Right.

KURTZLEBEN: But perhaps surprisingly, this includes strong majorities of both Democrats³ and Republicans. Around 7 in 10 Republicans supported those bans, as well. But there is a bit of an enthusiasm gap here. While Dems tended to strongly favor those sorts of bans we talked about, Republicans - they're more somewhat in favor of them.

GREENE: Well, are there still larger disagreements, though, when it comes to gun control, I mean, if - even if there's some agreement forming around specific ideas like those?

KURTZLEBEN: Yes, absolutely. What we found is that both parties - they tend to look at guns through pretty different lenses. This is a pretty obvious question. But, you know, 7 in 10 Republicans told us that they believe that the benefits of guns outweigh⁴ the risks, compared to 3 in 10 Democrats. Once again, it's what you would expect to hear. But perhaps relatedly, Republicans were more likely to underestimate the levels of fatalities⁵ from crime, accidents and suicides that gun-owning homes face. What we seem to draw from this is that, you know, Democrats look at a gun - they're more likely to see risk. We're painting with a broad brush here, but they're more likely to see that, whereas Republicans are more likely to look at a gun and see protection and safety.

GREENE: Oh, interesting. So it really is different lenses.

KURTZLEBEN: Absolutely.

GREENE: So is public opinion turning in some significant way, if there a way to measure this broadly? I mean, I remember the mass shooting of children at Sandy Hook Elementary School - a lot of people thought, this is going to change the game, result in stricter gun measures, bring a lot of the country together. We didn't see a lot of new, stricter gun measures.

KURTZLEBEN: True.

GREENE: So are things changing?

KURTZLEBEN: I mean, you know, we shouldn't necessarily see this as a turning point in people's attitudes on guns. You know, it is not unusual to see a small spike⁶ or a moderate spike in gun control support after a high-profile mass shooting. We saw something like this after Sandy Hook, like you said. We saw it after Columbine. You know, one of the pollsters we worked with told me that he thinks that this poll represents a 15 to 20-point bump in support for some gun control legislation post-Las Vegas. I mean, really, the thing to think about is that, overall, the trend, when you take out the spikes⁷, has been away from more gun control support. The share saying that they think laws should be stronger has really declined since the '90s.

GREENE: So these fundamental divisions are - I mean, are helpful in explaining why the debate over gun controls has remained so static.

KURTZLEBEN: Right. Absolutely. And I mean - you know, I think one great way to look at this is through the lens of identity. Yes, it's about policy. Yes, it's about, you know, specifically owning a firearm in your household. But people identify as gun owners. And some people identify as people who are opposed to gun control. Those identities are very hard to dislodge. You know, we likewise see a pretty strong urban-rural divide in gun ownership. We saw that in the election, as well. These sorts of identities - urban, rural, gun owner and not - they're hard to change. And, therefore, people really stay very mired⁸ in the positions they're in.

GREENE: All right? Talking through a new NPR/Ipsos poll on guns in America with NPR political reporter Danielle Kurtzleben. Danielle, thanks.

KURTZLEBEN: Yeah. Thank you.

1 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 outweigh   

vt.比...更重，...更重要

参考例句：

• The merits of your plan outweigh the defects.你制定的计划其优点胜过缺点。
• One's merits outweigh one's short-comings.功大于过。

5 fatalities   

n.恶性事故( fatality的名词复数 )；死亡；致命性；命运

参考例句：

• Several people were injured, but there were no fatalities. 有几个人受伤，但没有人死亡。
• The accident resulted in fatalities. 那宗意外道致多人死亡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

7 spikes   

n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁
• There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉，以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 mired   

abbr.microreciprocal degree 迈尔德（色温单位）v.深陷( mire的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country was mired in recession. 这个国家陷入了经济衰退的困境。
• The most brilliant leadership can be mired in detail. 最有才干的领导也会陷于拘泥琐事的困境中。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》