| Some details of the just completed election, both here in Colorado and in other swing states, have gotten lost amid the cheers of a progressive mandate, the whines of Republican obstructionists, and the phony cries of crisis over the contrived "fiscal cliff".
Here's the headline in Politico detailing how swing state voters saw the issue of gun control and how a group of mayors against illegal guns have been making progress on the issue:
Poll: Swing states for gun control
Voters in key three swing states preferred President Barack Obama to Mitt Romney on gun control issues, and overwhelmingly support a number of gun control measures, according to a poll released Thursday from an advocacy group.
The survey of voters in Virginia, North Carolina and Colorado found 45 percent of voters trusted Obama on gun issues, compared with only 40 percent who trusted Romney. Obama had the largest advantage in Virginia, where he led Romney 48 percent to 39 percent. In Colorado and North Carolina, his edge was tighter: 44 percent to 40 percent and 42 percent to 41 percent.
The NRA is notoriously vicious in its lies against Democrats regarding gun control. They've been able to skew the argument for years by saying Al Gore, then John Kerry, then Barack Obama was going to burst into everyone's home and take all their guns. Or not.
Even NRA members became tired of the ruse.
More from the poll:
The poll found only 27 percent of Colorado voters recalled seeing, hearing or reading something about the NRA's stance in the election. Twenty-six percent heard from the NRA in Virginia, and a mere 22 percent did in North Carolina. Two NRA groups spent at least $12 million attacking the president and boosting Romney, according to the Sunlight Foundation. I got some of the NRA's mailers just before election day. Of course I ignored them, but to me it was a sign they missed their mark with voters and were desperate to find people who would keep listening to their lies. Repeating the lie usually works; many conservatives know no other way. But in the case of the NRA it has failed miserably in Colorado and elsewhere.
Here's the Mayors Against Illegal Guns survey (.PDF) showing the increasing weakness of the NRA's argument and the fact that voters are rejecting their funding of conservative candidates and lies about the need for effective and sane gun control laws.
Voters in Colorado are slowly changing their views on this important issue. We know firsthand what out-of-control gun laws allow people to do and no one should be satisfied with the results.
But, no one should write off the NRA yet. Mayor Michael Hancock of Denver was afraid to make a statement even after the Aurora shooting. But Mayors Against Illegal Guns are addressing the issue clearly and honestly while the NRA sticks to its usual tactics.
We can see with this recent poll that citizens understand who's telling the truth and who is on their side. And that can only be a good sign for the safety of our communities.
UPDATE: Steven Colbert notes (satirically) how much smarter CU students are than the NRA and Colorado's pro-gun nuts give them credit for. |
