Survey Says: NRA Members Oppose Bans and Confiscation, Support Keeping Firearms Away From The Mentally Ill

A Press Release from the National Rifle Association

The National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action conducted a national scientific poll of its members and found near unanimity among NRA members on a wide range of issues involving mental health reform and firearm rights.

Gun control advocates including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, as well as various media outlets, have released data claiming to represent the views of NRA members, despite the fact that none of those surveys had access to the NRA’s membership list. The NRA survey of 1,000 randomly-selected NRA members across the country is the only legitimate survey of NRA members in existence.

The data from this survey indicates that NRA members are united in their desire for Washington to focus on keeping firearms from the mentally ill and to reject unconstitutional gun control measures that infringe on Second Amendment rights.

“Mayor Bloomberg’s claims that gun owners are divided are totally false. It is nothing more than an attempt by anti-gun activists to further their long-standing political agenda,” said NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris Cox. “American gun owners and Second Amendment supporters are ready for Washington to put politics aside and come together to fix our broken mental health system.”

Key Findings:

• 91% of NRA members support laws keeping firearms away from the mentally ill.
• 92% of NRA members oppose gun confiscation via mandatory buy-back laws.
• 89% oppose banning semi-automatic firearms, often mistakenly called “assault rifles”.
• 93% oppose a law requiring gun owners to register with the federal government.
• 92% oppose a new federal law banning the sale of firearms between private citizens.

Methodology – The national survey was conducted by OnMessage Inc.  Telephone interviews were conducted January 13-14, 2013.  This survey consists of 1,000 NRA members and was stratified by state to reflect voter distribution in the 2012 presidential election. The margin of error for this survey is +/- 3.09%.