Just an FYI

[larrymeyer]

CEASEFIRE PA ANNOUNCES RELEASE POLL OF SHOWING SUPPORT FOR STRICTER HANDGUN LAWS

11-19-07

By Nate Collins, PLS



Phil Goldsmith, president of CeaseFire PA, hosted a conference call Monday to announce the release of a poll showing strong support for stricter handgun laws.



Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski, York Mayor John Brenner, Reading Mayor Tom McMahon, Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray, Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan and Philadelphia Mayor John Street all participated on the call.



Goldsmith said support exists across the state for changes in the state’s handgun laws. He explained that the survey was of 600 registered Pennsylvania voters in “swing” legislative districts represented by members of the House Judiciary Committee, which will vote on the bills.



Ben Tulchin of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, the firm that conducted the poll, stated 100 voters were surveyed in each of the following districts:

District 5 - Rep. John Evans (R), Erie County

District 41 - Rep. Katie True (R), Lancaster County

District 61 - Rep. Kate Harper (R), Montgomery County

District 127 - Rep. Thomas Caltagirone (D), Berks County

District 138 - Rep. Craig Dally (R), Northampton County

District 187 - Rep. Carl Mantz (R), Berks and Lehigh Counties



He commented that voters perceive that crime and violence has increased significantly and this serves as an impetus for strengthening and expanding handgun safety laws. He said 58% believe gun violence has increased in the past year, which is 15 times greater than the number of people who believe it has decreased (4%). Tulchin added that 86% of those polled believe elected officials in Harrisburg should be doing something to reduce crime and gun violence.



Voters support stricter handgun safety laws by a 65% to 32% margin, he said, adding that 48% strongly favor stricter handgun laws. He explained that 74% of Democrats polled support stricter handgun safety laws, along with 54% of Republicans.



With regard to a bill that would require handgun owners to immediately report lost or stolen firearms to the police, 96% support it and 89% strongly support it, he noted. He offered that 92% of gun owners support the bill. He remarked that 100% of people polled in Rep. Harper’s district support this law, commenting that he has “never seen this before in a poll”.



Tulchin said voters were also asked if they support a bill limiting the purchase of handguns to one per month, and 70% favor the measure.



He concluded by stating that voters prefer candidates who support handgun safety laws and will punish those elected officials who oppose these measures. “Voters clearly want their government to take the lead in providing a course of action against crime and handgun violence and voters want tougher handgun safety laws as part of the solution to protect police officers and the general public,” he stated.



York Mayor John Brenner commented that the results of a poll show that people are way ahead of politicians on this issue. He added that none of these proposals would have any impact on responsible gun owners. The mayor commented that in the city of York, there were 15 homicides in 2005, four and 2006 and ten so far this year. He noted that more than 75% of the homicides are committed by people with guns.



Reading Mayor Tom McMahon remarked that crime is not being spotlighted in the smaller cities. He stated no mayor believes that handgun control is the only answer but access to handguns is contributing to high crime rates. This poll adds substance to this debate, he said.



Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray commented that those who say merely enforcing the existing laws is what is needed to address this issue don’t recognize the reality of the situation. Mayors are the ones who attend funerals of those who die, he stated, and telling that to families does not provide any solace to them. The goal should not just be to punish people after the crimes committed but to get the guns out of the hands of those who intend to use them illegally, he stated. The reputation of our cities is damaged every time a gun is fired on our streets, he concluded.



Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski stated illegal guns are causing problems in cities all across Pennsylvania. He noted that the city of Allentown has had 16 homicides so far this year. He added that every day 30 Americans are murdered by a gun, and police casualties are up 40% nationwide in the past year. The state has to address this issue, he remarked, adding that he is glad the governor is moving this issue forward.



Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan stated getting guns off of the street is a statewide issue, and it is a nonpartisan issue. Mayors have to make sure that city streets are safe and they need the help of the state government to do that, he said. He concluded by expressing support for the “common sense measures” expected to be considered soon in the House Judiciary Committee.



Philadelphia Mayor John Street thanked CeaseFire PA for the poll and the work that they have done, which he believes is helping mayors address gun violence. He stated that representatives in the Legislature are voting based on what they think their district supports but when they see the poll results of the support that exists for the proposals he hopes they will be cooperative and supportive.



How can you get support for these measures outside of urban areas?

Mayor Pawlowski replied that what happens in the urban areas affects everyone in the state. Guns don’t stop at the borders and they are not confined to the urban core, he stated.



Did you time the release of this poll because the governor is speaking before the House Judiciary Committee tomorrow?

Goldsmith said yes, explaining that they sped up the release of the poll because they knew the governor was going before the committee. Tulchin interjected that they had been working on this poll for a long time and this was an opportune time to release the results.



What is the margin of error for each legislative district?

Tulchin responded that the margin of error for the poll in its entirety is +/- 4% and +/-9% for each legislative district.

[XD45]

We should be ok for atleast a little while after all those bills got shot down recently.. thanks for the info though. mayors can think whatever they want, they can't decide gunlaws

[Ramtuff]

CEASEFIRE PA ANNOUNCES RELEASE POLL OF SHOWING SUPPORT FOR STRICTER HANDGUN LAWS

11-19-07

By Nate Collins, PLS




Ben Tulchin of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, the firm that conducted the poll, stated 100 voters were surveyed in each of the following districts:

District 5 - Rep. John Evans (R), Erie County

District 41 - Rep. Katie True (R), Lancaster County

District 61 - Rep. Kate Harper (R), Montgomery County

District 127 - Rep. Thomas Caltagirone (D), Berks County

District 138 - Rep. Craig Dally (R), Northampton County

District 187 - Rep. Carl Mantz (R), Berks and Lehigh Counties

So only 600 voters out of the state population of over 12,000,000 people were polled? That's a joke. How much do you want to bet that most of the voters polled also lived in lower income, urban areas where gun violence is more rampant?

[Shawn.L]

Why am I not suprise that an orginization with a name like CEASFIRE would say something to this effect? You think they may have been biased? Maybe looking for anything to support a pre-decided outcome?

Here's a headline "CEASEFIRE PULLS HEAD OUT OFF ASS! DECIDES TO TAX LAWMAKERS TO SUBSIDIZE GUNS FOR THE POOR!"

[Ramtuff]

Here's the link to the research company who did the polling.

http://www.greenbergresearch.com/index.php?ID=2097

[Sebastian]

I talked about this here a few weeks ago. The questions are so loaded it's not even funny. In short, this poll is pretty much the kind of deal where you pay a polling company to come up with the answers you want.

[dmg1969]

Any time a poll is commissioned by a partisan group or a group with a given agenda, the results are always suspect.

I could commission a poll and have everyone here participate. If I word the questions just so, which the pollsters are good at, I could come up with the result that many here are in favor of stricter gun control. It's all in the wording.

Take the results with a grain of salt. Also, 600 PA residents? That's like polling one grain of sugar out of the 5 pound bag!

[billamj]

The part that I really like is that they cherry picked districts. Hmmmmm, we're not going for a specific result set though, right? Working in IT where the vast majority of the work I do is for marketing let me assure you that I can get whatever result set my client wants. It really isn't that hard to manipulate the data.