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AssaultWeapons.jpg
A large majority of Washington voters support an assault weapons ban, according to a new poll. Gun rights advocates say a poll of attitudes is of little value. (AP file photo)

Survey: Washington residents support assault weapons ban

January 22, 2013 @ 4:43 pm (Updated: 5:43 am - 1/23/13 )

Most Washington residents support stronger background checks for gun purchasers and banning assault weapons, according to a new statewide poll.

Washington Ceasefire, a grass-roots organization working to end gun violence, commissioned the poll which was conducted by a consulting group that represents both Republicans and Democrats.

Overall, the poll found 76 percent of state residents support tighter gun laws.

About 87 percent of Washington residents want better background checks of gun buyers. That means requiring background checks for all firearm purchases, even from private dealers at gun shows.

When it comes to assault weapons, 66 percent support a ban on semi-automatic weapons.

Washington Ceasefire's Ralph Fascitelli says the poll suggests voters are "far ahead of state elected officials who have passed only one gun reform so far in this century, and seems to be struggling to reach a consensus in the current session, even in the wake of Sandy Hook and other recent mass shooting incidents such as Cafe Racer."

Gun rights activists say there is little value in a poll of attitudes.

"Remember, these are the guys who had the poll back in 1997 that said they were going to win Initiative 676, and they lost nearly 3 to 1," says Dave Workman, communications director for the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and a former member of the NRA Board of Directors.

Initiative 676, would have required that trigger locks to be sold with handguns, along with requiring handgun owners to take an eight-hour safety training course.

"The firearms community isn't opposed to background checks," Workman tells me, "but they must be immediate, and they can't involve the creation of a de facto gun owner registry."

The poll consisted of 600 phone interviews, and has an error margin of plus or minus 4.1 percent.

It also found "widespread confusion" about what gun laws we have in place at present.

For example, over 40 percent of voters and gun owners alike believe Washington already bans assault weapons and high-capacity magazine clips. More than 70 percent believe every gun purchase requires a background check.

By LINDA THOMAS

More from Linda Thomas

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Comments (130)


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  • adiru wrote...
    Linda, think about this poll
    January 23, 2013 7:14 am
    Just with this article you have a majority laughing at the WCF poll, and it's more than 67%. If you wait for 600 posts from different people and it's more than 67% against gun control, would you write an article with the heading "Survey - Washington residents don't support assault weapons ban"? By the way, this isn't the only article on it so let's start counting these votes.
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  • adiru wrote...
    Typo
    January 23, 2013 7:15 am
    76% not 67%
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  • SeattleNative wrote...
    And yet a recent Gallup Poll taken AFTER Sandy Hook...
    January 23, 2013 7:28 am
    ...shows that America looks more favorably on the NRA than it does Obama.

    Washington Ceasefire paid for this poll. 'Nuff said.

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  • hnuh wrote...
    Sheesh...
    January 23, 2013 7:49 am
    The social utility of all firearms is the ABILITY TO KILL AT A DISTANCE. All firearms are assault weapons, after all you don't drive a pellet at two thousand feet per second into something you aren't assaulting. The whole "assault weapon" lie is the current spearpoint of the leftist goal of disarming the public, a smelly reprise of the Clinton era ambition. The leftists say otherwise, but the leftists lie, as usual. An old saying..." God created man, but it took Samuel Colt to make us equal." It is time to buy a protest weapon or several,(good protest weapons are the 5.56 NATO or .223 Remington chamber, examples would be the AR-15 or the Ruger Mini 14, also available in .308, another NATO round, and any 9 mm chambered pistol). These are current US military small arms calibers. Buy the largest magazines available, buy ammunition, learn to reload cartridges and buy that equipment and related supplies. The leftists are on the prod again and they think they've got us this time. (magazine clips?...oy... magazine clips?... Here's a racy one for ya... stripper clips...wooo... look it up). People who would give up their liberty for the promise of security deserve neither and will soon lose both.
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  • DQuaale wrote...
    Im going to take a crazy guess here....
    January 23, 2013 7:51 am
    And assume that those Polled where residents of King County. Which does not speak for most of Washington State....They just have population behind them.
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  • Roark wrote...
    Washington is full of uninformed liberals
    January 23, 2013 8:05 am
    This state's liberal majority, just like any liberal majority, act on "feelings" not "facts". It's widely accepted that none of the new bans being passed, none of the new background checks, none of the information sharing, or anything currently being proposed would have prevented any of the recent high profile shootings. But liberals are just an angry mob with torches looking for a scapegoat. Hence we have all the unwarranted criticism of the NRA, a group devoted to gun SAFETY. We have certain guns singled out because they "look scary". We have people who know nothing about guns or what happens in a home invasion or burglary telling gun owners "you don't need more than 7 rounds to protect yourself". In a real self-defense situation, your accuracy is HALF what it is in practice. If you are an 80% shooter, your accuracy will be 40%. That's a 60% chance on every shot that you'll miss your attacker. So you fire 7 rounds. 4.2 of them will miss. You may get lucky and hit a single attacker eventually, but what if there are two? How many bullets do I need now? Restricting ammo and guns is a STUPID IDEA. You liberals are attacking the wrong people and you're going to get innocent people killed.
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  • UncleLou wrote...
    I wouldn't vote for a ban.
    January 23, 2013 8:09 am
    I am not a gun owner or enthusiast, but I wouldn’t vote for a ban. I don’t believe it would solve a thing. The arguments for a ban are utterly un-compelling. When the crazies are unable to get their hands on a suitable weapon, then they’ll likely just build a homemade incendiary device to wreak havoc. I would rather address the psychotic person issue before dividing the country by threatening to revoke their constitutional rights.
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  • It's me! Ha ha! wrote...
    sportsguru
    January 23, 2013 8:15 am
    How would YOU define an Assault Weapon?
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  • sportsguru wrote...
    It's me! Ha ha!
    January 23, 2013 8:43 am

    How would YOU define an Assault Weapon?

    That's a legitimate question, for me an assault weapon is a military rifle that utilizes an intermediate-power cartridge, and that generally is capable of full-automatic fire, where multiple rounds are fired continuously when the trigger is pulled one time and/or burst capable, where a burst of several rounds is fired when the trigger is pulled one time.

    They are DESIGNED for HIGH casualties, for example, I carried a M60 in the military, 1100 rounds per minute, 7.63 rounds with a range of 800-1000 meters, I can hold down the trigger and spit out a 200 round link within 10-12 SECONDS AMASSING a high casualty rate in a crowded mall, were as if I had my 9mm where I had to pull the trigger every time I wanted to move a round downrange, I would have to actually find a target, aim at that target and hopefully hit the target that I am aiming at, if I miss, I have to continue pulling the trigger and If I don't hit it in the first 15 try's, I have to stop and reload.

    Now with the 60, I don't even have to aim it, I just have to point it in your direction and walk it straight to you, which one do you think will do the most damage and which one would you feel you have a better chance of surviving an attack from?

    I look forward to your reply.

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  • Rick W7PSK wrote...
    You do know Sports
    January 23, 2013 9:54 am
    Your correct on what a Assault weapon is. And Full auto and Burst autos are pretty much band save very special licenses. However the recent bannings are including weapons that are only Semi's and Look like military weapons. I have been looking at M1As and M1 Garands. Both I used in the Military and are SEMI Only. Soon to be an assault weapon banned. Same with the Civilian AR-15 Style (Id prefer a M4 but I'm not allowed to buy one), Semi only and fires a .223. (BTW the Cabelas in CONN is banned from selling this weapon).

    New york has not only banned all these scary weapons, but have included Shotguns and a lot of Handguns.

    Diane Feinstien and others are pushing for a complete weapons ban of any type.

    What point do we throw the 2nd out. there are 10s of thousands of Gun Laws out there

    That being said, I agree that the Loop holes for selling should be closed and everyone that owns a weapon be required a safety course.

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  • Qballrail wrote...
    Editorial Commentary or Actual Story?
    January 23, 2013 8:18 am
    Needs to be clarified. MNW.com is losing credibility. THis is a very VERY one-sided, biased story. Get ALL the facts, Linda, not just the one's you want! The attributes of a good reporter is the BALANCE of information, not what you want to talk about. This is completely unscientific and certainly not news worthy. I thought you were better than this, Linda.
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  • Stevebo wrote...
    I'm curious...
    January 23, 2013 8:27 am
    Another person mentioned this too (but I don't see anyone else asking this question)... which is to wonder where the survey was done?

    Was it a state-wide survey - where a representative pool of persons representing Eastern or Southern Washington were included? Or was it just in King/Snohomish County area?

    Depending on the sample pool, you could end up with significantly different results.

    If the survey was primarily of residents of King County, then yeah, I would expect 2/3 would be accurate... but NOT representative of viewpoints of the entire state.

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  • It's me! Ha ha! wrote...
    sportsguru I appreciate the effort you put into that. Did you know this or look it up?
    January 23, 2013 8:50 am
    Naw! Don't worry about that.

    I will ask this, is it legal for a US Citizen to own an Assault weapon? My definition of an assault rifle is squeeze the trigger. It fires constantly until the trigger is released for it runs out of ammo!

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