A poll conducted by Zogby Analytics during the last week of February showed how the combination of hypocrisy and real-world facts are negating Hollywood’s anti-gun message. When 869 likely voters were asked by Zogby, “When Hollywood actors and actresses speak out about gun control, does that make you want to support or oppose our constitutional right to bear arms (the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution?”, the response across every class, age group, and political party affiliation indicated that Hollywood’s anti-gun message is being increasingly rejected. Taken altogether, 56 percent of those polled said Hollywood’s anti-gun rants make them want either to “somewhat” support or “strongly support” the Second Amendment. Just 28 percent are reflecting the bias pitched by Hollywood, with 16 percent “strongly opposed” to the right guaranteed by the Second Amendment in the Constitution’s Bill of Rights, and 12 percent “somewhat opposed.”
But support for the Second Amendment was strongest among Millennials:
Among all age groups surveyed, supporting the Second Amendment was strongest among Millennials age 18-29 (65% support). A majority of all other age groups were also more likely to support the Second Amendment rather than oppose it when Hollywood talks about gun control.
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When it came to political party, equal percentages of Democrats and Independents (47 percent) support the Second Amendment, while Republicans were nearly off the charts at 86 percent support.
As Zogby noted, this is not the response anti-gun types in Hollywood and the mainstream media were hoping for. And this is going to be especially dicey for Democrats in November:
As we approach the November midterms, gun control will be a hot button issue but, according to [our] data, Hollywood interjecting itself into the debate makes even the Democratic base want to bear arms.
Rejection of the anti-gun message might have something to do with Hollywood’s hypocrisy:
There could also be an element of hypocrisy driving the numbers, since many actors and actresses have body guards who carry guns. [In addition] Hollywood churns out movies depicting guns and violence.
The numbers among young voters, African Americans, Hispanics and even Democrats prove the gun debate could be a tricky strategy for Democrat [candidates] looking to take back power in both houses of Congress in the 2018 midterm elections.
In addition to that hypocrisy are irrefutable facts that negate Hollywood’s primary argument that the presence of guns in the hands of private citizens increases the risk of gun violence. Exactly the opposite is true as Heritage Foundation researchers John Malcolm and Amy Swearer discovered:
• “Violent crime is down and has been on the decline for decades.”
• “Higher rates of gun ownership are not associated with higher rates of violent crime.”
• “There is no clear relationship between strict gun control legislation and homicide or violent crime rates.”
• “Legally owned firearms are used for lawful purposes much more often than they are used to commit crimes or suicide.”
• “Concealed carry permit holders are not the problem, but they may be part of the solution.”
The anti-gun propaganda pouring out of Hollywood any time there is a mass shooting almost seems coordinated, according to the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action NRA-ILA):
The anti-gun themes emanating from the West Coast entertainment establishment [are] so pervasive that they seemed almost scripted and coordinated by some unseen hand.
Perhaps some of this was due to the work of the Everytown Creative Council [which calls itself “a grassroots movement” of “actors, writers, musicians and artists”] that pledges to use their “communication skills and the power of culture to galvanize many more Americans” in support of gun control.
But so far those efforts appear to be backfiring: the more they push their anti-gun, anti-Second Amendment meme, the more Americans are waking up to the fact that they are being played for fools. As the NRA’s ILA expressed it: “According to the Zogby poll … all these efforts have actually done a great service to the Second Amendment…. Hooray for Hollywood lecturing the rest of the country on the evils of firearms!”
Photo: Alphotographic/iStock Unreleased/Getty Images Plus
An Ivy League graduate and former investment advisor, Bob is a regular contributor to The New American magazine and blogs frequently at LightFromTheRight.com, primarily on economics and politics. He can be reached at [email protected].
