The first sentence of the report reads: "For the first time in more than two decades of Pew Research Center surveys, there is more support for gun rights than gun control." This can't make the Brady Bunch or Moms Against Everything very happy. Quick infographic:
The survey, conducted December 3 through 7, shows a shift in attitudes about whether gun ownership does more to protect people or to put people’s safety at risk. Nearly six in ten Americans say gun ownership does more to protect people from becoming victims of crime, while 38% say it does more to endanger personal safety.
A notable change has occurred in the opinions of African Americans in the two years since Newtown. The new report shows that 54% of African Americans say gun ownership does more to protect people compared to 29% in December 2012.
Expected is that the only political demographic that shows a decrease in the opinion that gun ownership does more to protect people from becoming victims of crime than it does to endanger personal safety was...wait for it...liberal democrats: down to 20% from 23%. The percentage of self-identified moderate democrats increased from 39% to 47%. Conservative republicans? They went from 70% to 86%.
That said, there are some disturbing numbers in there, too. For example, Hispanics who said it is more important to protect the right to own guns than it is to control gun ownership decreased from 27% in 2012 to 25% in this new survey. The only other segment in the 25 demographic groups identified in which that opinion decreased was, you guessed it, self-identified liberal democrats, who dropped one percent to 14%.
Here's a link to the 10-page report summary.
