HappySqurriel said:
Public opinion polls do not want to measure the opinion of people, they're used by people in an attempt to create public opinion; either through push polls or to be spread through the media. If they wanted an honest view of public opinion they would have phrased the question in as specific and neutral of a way as possible; and you would have had a question like "Legislation has been proposed to ban assault rifles and high capacity magazines, where high capacity magazine is defined to be a magazine that holds more than 10 rounds, do you support these initiatives?" ... By directly referencing a particular very-high profile and popular politician while including the phrased "laws designed to reduce gun violence" without including any specifics on what they were attempting to do the question they asked was specifically designed to get a positive response. |
http://www.gallup.com/poll/159569/americans-stricter-gun-laws-oppose-bans.aspx
Gallup has been asking neutral questions about gun control for years (if you scroll down, they actually ask the questions with similar wording to what you used). They are just trying to measure public opinion towards Obama's plan, which is much more than just a ban on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines. Now, could it be more specific? Maybe, but its a bit difficult to include 23 points in the question. People would just tune out, and you wouldn't get enough responses. Truthfully, if you look at the results across different questions, they are quite comparable.
Edit: I also wouldn't call Obama popular.....polarizing, yes.
