January 14, 2011 - Few U.S. Voters Blame Guns, Rhetoric For Ariz. Shooting, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Most See Racial Progress Since Dr. King Was Killed Word format Saturday's shooting of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, in which six people were killed, could not have been prevented, 40 percent of American voters say in a Quinnipiac University national poll released today. Another 23 percent blame the mental health system, while 15 percent say it was due to heated political rhetoric and 9 percent attribute the tragedy to lax gun control. American voters say 52 - 41 percent that "heated political rhetoric drives unstable people to commit violence," the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. Liberals rather than conservatives are more responsible for such rhetoric, voters say 36 - 32 percent. Voters surveyed just before the Martin Luther King Day holiday say 31 - 21 percent that the United States is a safer place for political figures today than during Dr. King's era, with 45 percent saying things are about the same. There has been "significant progress" toward Dr. King's dream of racial equality, voters say 78 - 17 percent, including 71 - 26 percent among black voters. Race relations in the U.S. are "generally good," voters say 64 - 27 percent, including 58 - 30 percent among black voters. "Americans seem to be rejecting the blame game for the Arizona shooting. By far, the largest number thinks this tragedy could not have been prevented," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Although a bare majority of voters say political rhetoric might drive unstable people to violence, less than one in seven blame it for the Arizona incident. "As they mark the Martin Luther King holiday, voters of all races think race relations in the U.S. are good and that the nation has made progress in achieving racial equality." American voters approve 57 - 23 percent of the way President Barack Obama is handling race relations, his best approval rating on any issue. White voters approve 53 - 27 percent, while black voters approve 81 - 5 percent and Hispanic voters approve 70 - 16 percent. The Arizona shooting captured the public's attention, with 59 percent saying they are paying a lot of attention to the story and 26 percent saying they are paying some attention to the story. "Those are unusually high numbers," said Brown. "Clearly it has struck a chord with the American people." Questions about the Arizona shooting were asked January 10-11 as part of a larger Quinnipiac University national survey that stretched from January 4-11. A total of 581 voters were questioned about the shooting with a margin of error of +/- 4.1 percent. The entire survey, including the questions about race relations, includes 1,647 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 2.4 percent. Quinnipiac University surveys are conducted by live interviewers calling land lines and cell phones. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio and the nation as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter. 13. Do you approve or disapprove of the way President Obama is handling race relations? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Approve 57 34 78 56 53 61 53 81 70 Disapprove 23 43 5 24 26 20 27 5 16 DK/NA 20 24 17 20 21 19 21 14 14 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Approve 62 55 58 60 55 57 79 66 35 Disapprove 15 26 25 22 24 22 10 15 40 DK/NA 23 19 17 18 21 21 11 18 25 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Approve 56 60 41 45 59 Disapprove 24 20 39 34 22 DK/NA 20 20 20 21 19 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way President Obama is handling race relations? Jan 14 Aug 06 2011 2009 Approve 57 55 Disapprove 23 35 DK/NA 20 10 38. Do you think race relations in the United States today are generally good or generally bad? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Good 64 63 67 67 67 62 66 58 59 Bad 27 30 24 24 26 28 26 30 33 DK/NA 8 7 9 9 7 10 8 12 8 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Good 66 66 64 61 71 71 66 67 63 Bad 27 28 26 32 24 21 25 24 30 DK/NA 7 7 10 8 5 8 8 9 7 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Good 63 68 62 64 65 Bad 28 23 31 26 30 DK/NA 8 9 7 10 5 TREND: Do you think race relations in the United States today are generally good or generally bad? Jan 14 Nov 11 2011 2008 Good 64 64 Bad 27 22 DK/NA 8 14 39. Martin Luther King Day is January 17. Do you think there has been significant progress toward Martin Luther King's dream of racial equality, or don't you think so? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk His Yes/ significant progress 78 80 81 78 79 77 80 71 76 No/ no progress 17 16 15 16 15 18 15 26 17 DK/NA 5 4 4 6 5 5 5 3 7 AGE IN YRS....... INCOME............. POL PHIL......... 18-34 35-54 55+ <50 50-100 >100K Lib Mod Con Yes/ significant progress 80 80 75 75 83 84 81 79 78 No/ no progress 14 16 19 19 13 11 15 16 18 DK/NA 6 3 6 6 3 4 3 5 4 WHITE............. NoColl Coll BrnAgn Degree Degree Evngl Prot Cath Yes/ significant progress 75 86 81 79 80 No/ no progress 19 12 15 16 16 DK/NA 6 3 4 5 4 42. Next we have some questions about the recent shooting in Tucson, Arizona, where six people were killed and 13 others wounded including U.S. Representative Gabrielle Gifford. How much have you heard or read about the shootings in Arizona? Tot Lib Mod Con A lot 59 68 54 60 Some 26 19 30 26 Not much 11 6 11 11 Nothing at all 4 7 4 2 DK/NA - - - - 43. What do you think is the main reason for the Arizona shooting; failure of the mental health system, lax gun control laws, overheated political rhetoric, or do you think this is a situation that could not have been prevented? Tot Lib Mod Con Mental health system 23 13 20 31 Gun control laws 9 13 11 6 Political rhetoric 15 21 14 11 Cld'nt have been prevented? 40 32 42 42 DK/NA 14 20 14 10 44. Do you think heated political rhetoric drives unstable people to commit violence or don't you think so? Tot Lib Mod Con Yes, think so 52 73 51 43 No, don't think so 41 15 44 50 DK/NA 7 11 5 7 45. Who do you think is more responsible for using heated political rhetoric, liberals or conservatives? Tot Lib Mod Con Liberals 36 8 31 57 Conservatives 32 71 36 9 DK/NA 32 21 33 34 46. Compared to the days of Martin Luther King Jr., do you think the United States is a safer place for public figures today, less safe, or about as safe? Tot Lib Mod Con Safer 31 23 38 28 Less safe 21 29 22 17 About as safe 45 48 36 52 DK/NA 3 1 4 3
