Opinion

Use census to find public's view on guns

Posted June 27, 2016 1:00 am

Your thoughtful article on guns June 20 presented an opinion that the success of the NRA on gun issues was based on winning over public opinion before winning in the courts. Yet, you later report on Pew poll data that reports 57-85 percent of people are supportive of various bans and restrictions on guns that I believe the NRA would oppose or has opposed. Poll results are never definitive. Putting issues to a vote only attracts the impassioned. The way to find out and let the public know what true public opinion is would be to add appropriate questions to the national census, which requires responses from everyone. Surely lives, public safety and preventing mass shootings are important enough for us to find out what real public opinion is on gun issues.

Chris Forbes

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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