From: [n--bo--y] at [replay.com] (Name withheld by request)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.guns
Subject: Support wanes for NRA positions - TIME/CNN poll
Date: 23 May 1995 06:47:25 +0200
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	 NEW YORK (Reuter) - Support among American gun owners for
National Rifle Association positions has dropped significantly,
with 47 percent expressing overall agreement, according to a
nationwide poll released Saturday.
	 The results of the TIME Magazine/CNN poll of 600 gun owners
represents a 20 percent drop from a December 1989 poll, which
showed 67 percent overall support for positions espoused by the
gun-lobbying group.
	 Half the gun owners polled described themselves as
''supporters'' of the NRA, which has weathered heavy criticism
for a recent fund-raising newsletter that called federal
agents ``jackbooted thugs.'' Only 17 percent are dues-paying
members of the group -- the same as the 1989 poll.
	 The attack, a reference to agents of the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms (BATF), drew strong criticism from
President Clinton and led former President George Bush to resign
his NRA membership in protest. The NRA later apologized for some
statements made in the fund-raising letter.
	 Only one out of five gun-owners think the BATF or other
federal agents ``are using storm trooper tactics to take
people's guns away,'' the poll found. Two thirds, 68 percent,
said they disapproved of the NRA's ``jackbooted thugs'' letter.
	 The poll showed nearly half, 49 percent, of America's
gun-owners favor stricter gun control laws, although 48 percent
would be less likely to vote for a candidate who favors stricter
laws.
	 Only 24 percent of the gun owners interviewed said they
thought Congress should repeal the ban on assault rifles which
was passed last year, with 69 percent favoring keeping the ban
in place.
	Eighty-four percent of gun owners polled said they believed
the people's right to own a gun is protected by the
Constitution; 44 percent feel the government is trying to take
away their right to own a gun; 48 percent do not feel that way.
	 Only 22 percent said they thought it was important for
citizens to own guns to keep the government from becoming too
powerful and intrusive.
	 The telephone poll, conducted May 17-18, has a margin of
error of plus or minus 4 percent.