March 28, 2013 - Keep Gun Permit Info Private, Virginia Voters Tell Quinnipiac University Poll; Voters Divided By Gender, Race On Expanding Medicaid Word format PDF format Virginia voters say 60 - 35 percent that the names of people with permits to carry concealed weapons should not be made public, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Support for keeping concealed gun permit information concealed is strong among all groups except Democrats, who want to open the books 55 - 40 percent, and black voters, who say 50 - 42 percent the names should be public, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. Old Dominium voters are sharply divided along gender, political and racial lines on the idea of expanding the state's Medicaid program with 45 percent backing the idea and 43 percent opposed. Democrats want to expand Medicaid 73 - 18 percent, while opposition is 67 - 22 percent among Republicans and 47 - 40 percent among independent voters. Women back expansion 48 - 39 percent, with men opposed 48 - 42 percent. Black voters support Medicaid expansion 68 - 20 percent, with white voters opposed 50 - 38 percent. The state's recently-enacted transportation funding plan is a "good thing," voters say 33 - 11 percent, but 55 percent don't know enough about the plan to form an opinion. For the first time since his re-election, President Barack Obama slips below the 50 percent mark on his job approval, with a negative 45 - 49 percent score, down from 51 - 46 percent February 21. "Although the fight in the legislature over the governor's transportation package was bitter and divisive, the voting public isn't nearly as split over the plan," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "While more than half the voters don't have a view on the plan, support among those who know about the issue is 3-1." "It will be interesting to see if Republican gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli's criticism of the package, presented by fellow Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell, plays a role in the race for governor," said Brown. "On the question of keeping secret the names of those with concealed weapons permits, almost everyone has an opinion and it strongly supports keeping those names out of public view," said Brown. "We'll watch to see if President Barack Obama's job approval drop is a temporary blip or the beginning of something larger. "One thing that may be hurting the president's approval rating is the implementation of automatic cuts in the federal budget from the sequester. Virginia voters are very unhappy about it taking effect. And some of that unhappiness may be rubbing off on the president." The cuts are a "bad thing for the country," voters say 50 - 24 percent, including 47 - 31 percent among men and 52 - 17 percent among women. The level of pain seems to shift along partisan lines as Democrats say the cuts are bad 62 - 10 percent, compared to 46 - 27 percent among independent voters and 46 - 33 percent among Republicans. The sequester-driven budget cuts are bad for them personally, Virginia voters say 40 - 18 percent. From March 20 - 25, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,098 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points. Live interviewers call 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, Virginia and the nation as a public service and for research. For more information or RSS feed, visit http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling, or call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter. 9. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Approve 45% 9% 92% 38% 38% 51% 34% 90% Disapprove 49 89 4 53 58 42 61 5 DK/NA 6 2 3 9 4 7 5 5 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Approve 49% 43% 48% 42% 46% 45% 47% 44% Disapprove 47 51 45 54 51 45 50 52 DK/NA 4 6 8 3 3 10 3 4 East/ West/ North SthEst Rchmnd Shndh Approve 51% 46% 48% 30% Disapprove 45 47 46 66 DK/NA 5 6 6 5 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as President? (*High also 52% Nov 2012) APPROVE....... High Low Mar 28 Feb 21 Jan 10 Nov 14 Jul 19 Jan 10 Sep 15 2013 2013 2013 2012 2012 2013* 2011 Approve 45 51 52 52 45 52 40 Disapprove 49 46 44 44 51 44 54 DK/NA 6 4 3 4 4 3 6 18. As you may know Medicaid is a government program that pays for health care for low-income people and others with certain disabilities. Do you think that increasing the number of people eligible for Medicaid coverage in Virginia is a good idea or a bad idea? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Good idea 45% 22% 73% 40% 42% 48% 38% 68% Bad idea 43 67 18 47 48 39 50 20 DK/NA 12 11 9 13 11 13 12 12 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Good idea 41% 47% 51% 40% 38% 48% 44% 44% Bad idea 49 40 37 49 53 44 48 40 DK/NA 10 13 12 11 9 8 8 17 East/ West/ North SthEst Rchmnd Shndh Good idea 48% 47% 46% 36% Bad idea 43 39 43 49 DK/NA 9 14 11 15 19. Do you think the names of people who have concealed handgun permits in Virginia should or should not be open to the public? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Open to public 35% 17% 55% 32% 27% 41% 30% 50% Not open 60 76 40 64 68 53 65 42 DK/NA 5 7 5 4 4 6 5 7 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Open to public 35% 34% 34% 34% 34% 35% 29% 38% Not open 61 60 59 64 62 60 67 54 DK/NA 4 6 7 3 4 5 3 7 East/ West/ Miltry North SthEst Rchmnd Shndh HsHlds Open to public 39% 30% 34% 34% 32% Not open 57 62 61 61 63 DK/NA 5 7 5 5 5 DENSITY............ GUN HSHOLD HvKids Urban Suburb Rural Yes No <18 Open to public 38% 39% 27% 29% 41% 28% Not open 55 57 69 67 52 67 DK/NA 7 4 4 4 7 4 20. As you may know, Virginia's legislature passed a transportation funding plan last month. All in all, do you think this transportation funding plan is a good thing or a bad thing for Virginia, or don't you know enough about it to say? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Good thing 33% 32% 37% 32% 39% 29% 34% 33% Bad thing 11 10 6 13 15 8 11 6 Don't know enough 55 58 57 53 46 63 54 61 REFUSED 1 - - 1 1 - 1 - COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Good thing 39% 30% 30% 34% 40% 24% 39% 35% Bad thing 15 9 7 12 16 8 15 8 Don't know enough 45 61 63 53 44 67 46 55 REFUSED - 1 1 - - - - 1 East/ West/ North SthEst Rchmnd Shndh Good thing 39% 34% 31% 29% Bad thing 13 11 10 9 Don't know enough 47 54 59 61 REFUSED - 1 1 1 21. As you may know, automatic cuts in the federal budget, known as sequestration, went into effect on March 1. All in all, do you think the sequestration is a good thing or a bad thing for the country, or don't you know enough about it to say? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Good thing 24% 33% 10% 27% 31% 17% 27% 9% Bad thing 50 46 62 46 47 52 51 49 Don't know enough 26 19 28 26 20 30 21 41 REFUSED 1 2 - 1 1 1 1 1 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Good thing 29% 20% 17% 28% 30% 18% 25% 27% Bad thing 61 43 39 55 63 40 57 47 Don't know enough 9 36 42 17 6 43 17 24 REFUSED 1 1 1 1 1 - 1 2 East/ West/ Miltry North SthEst Rchmnd Shndh HsHlds Good thing 27% 12% 26% 27% 26% Bad thing 59 59 40 45 53 Don't know enough 12 27 33 28 20 REFUSED 2 1 1 - 1 22. All in all, do you think the sequestration is a good thing or a bad thing for you personally, or don't you know enough about it to say? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Good thing 18% 27% 8% 19% 25% 12% 21% 6% Bad thing 40 37 50 37 39 41 40 39 Don't know enough 35 27 37 38 28 40 31 51 REFUSED 7 8 6 6 8 6 7 5 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HSHOLD INC AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <50K 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Good thing 22% 16% 13% 23% 23% 11% 18% 23% Bad thing 52 33 32 42 52 35 50 34 Don't know enough 19 44 51 27 16 48 25 37 REFUSED 8 6 4 8 8 5 8 6 East/ West/ Miltry North SthEst Rchmnd Shndh HsHlds Good thing 19% 8% 20% 23% 21% Bad thing 51 53 29 32 43 Don't know enough 20 33 44 40 28 REFUSED 10 6 7 5 8 Demographic Summary
