From Forbes, a view of the gun control battle. We would hope that not only could we and the NRA win the battle, but eventually win the war. A short term victory can soon be overshadowed by a big loss.
When there is (and there assuredly will be) another major gun killing by some drunken, crazy, maladjusted, bottom feeder who either buys his guns or steals them (it will not matter which one) the gun war will be over and it will NOT be with us winning the debate. So before you cheer this article (and the news is good), we would somberly advise you to keep your emotions in check.
Be prepared for the worst for anything that you can dream, will not come close to the reality. It will be much worse.
Your opinion?
Conservative Tom
When there is (and there assuredly will be) another major gun killing by some drunken, crazy, maladjusted, bottom feeder who either buys his guns or steals them (it will not matter which one) the gun war will be over and it will NOT be with us winning the debate. So before you cheer this article (and the news is good), we would somberly advise you to keep your emotions in check.
Be prepared for the worst for anything that you can dream, will not come close to the reality. It will be much worse.
Your opinion?
Conservative Tom
Bruce Rogers, Forbes Staff
I'm Forbes' Chief Insights Officer & write about thought leadership.
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2/01/2013 @ 5:08PM |83,479 views
NRA Winning the Influence Battle Over Gun Control
The gun control debate is clearly one of the most contentious and controversial issues in America today. And the battle over gun control is now being waged through intensive media campaigns from both sides of the political spectrum to influence public opinion and to assert pressure on policy makers. So who’s winning? To find out, we turned to objective data provided exclusively to Forbes Insights by Appinions, the influence marketing platform. Keep in mind Forbes Insights has no agenda other than to shed research light on the process of measuring influence and what we can learn from it. The facts are objective, whatever your perspective on the issue may be. We certainly don’t aim to promote either side and are just stating the facts of influence and who is leading or gaining ground through the lens of influence.
Forbes Insights and Appinions looked at the data for the week prior to the Sandy Hook tragedy and trended the data over the subsequent 5 weeks to determine the ebb and flow over the gun control debate. We found that the NRA and the pro-gun rights voices are winning the influence battle and will continue to be strong and more influential if the pro gun control voice remains fragmented. On the flip side, the pro gun control voice could certainly gain influence if they establish a more united voice. Here are some other interesting observations from the data:
Republican politicians are missing from the debate. The debate is an influence battle between President Barack Obama’s Democrats and Wayne LaPierre’s NRA. Of the top 25 stakeholders in the debate, there is only 1 prominent Republican politician (Chris Christie – who is pro-gun control). Barack Obama leads the pro-gun control voice with a net influence score of 268. LaPierre leads the anti-gun control side with a net influence score of 240.
It’s a Marathon, not a sprint. It seems the NRA has the stamina to out-run the pro-gun control movement. They are persistent, un-yielding and gaining influence. It will be interesting to see how the pro-gun control voice responds and how the influence between the two groups changes as the debate persists.
The pro-gun rights voice is rapidly gaining influence while the pro-gun control voice has tapered in recent weeks. Momentum is shifting and the gun control debate is becoming a platform benefiting gun rights advocates.
The pro–gun control group is fragmented whereas the pro-gun rights voice is united and strong. Of the top influencers on the pro-gun rights side, the majority of the most prominent voices are from the NRA. The pro-gun control voice is split between Obama and several gun control advocacy groups which dilutes the message.
Below is an infographic meant to bring this data to life.
Gun Control Influence Infographic
Fact-checking….
ReplyDeleteIn public opinion poll late December, 55% of Americans support the assault weapons ban.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/general_politics/december_2012/55_favor_assault_weapons_ban_but_62_oppose_complete_gun_ban
Public opinion is totally irrelevant, though. Politicians vote according to the wishes of those who will finance their next reelection campaign, not what the public wants legislated.
--David
Go to the following link: http://www.pollingreport.com/guns.htm
ReplyDeleteYou will see one poll that I thought was very interesting. It is the January 14-15, 2013 poll by CNN. In it 55% of the respondents said that they favored more controls on guns. However, the very interesting part was the next question which was, do you think it will reduce violence. A vast majority said no! That number was 61%
So why do something if it will not help?
Yes, but if you narrow the question to assault weapons ban, which, after all, is the only legislation under consideration, check the results from the same survey…
ReplyDelete"Next, do you think each of the following would be very effective, somewhat effective, not very effective or not effective at all in preventing mass shootings at schools, like the one that occurred in Newtown, Connecticut? How about . . . ?"
"Stricter gun control legislation"
Very effective = 35%
Somewhat effective =25%
To summarize, 55% of public supports assault weapons ban, and 60% believe it would be either very/somewhat effective. But, as I said, politicians don't care what the public wants legislated. The vote according to the wishes of those who will finance their next reelection campaign. That is one of the things you and I agree on.
--David