Poll: Losing sway

AMERICA HAS spoken: Students, yes. Shotguns, no.

Voters across the country think more highly of students who have led anti-gun protests across the country than they do of lobbying groups like the National Rifle Association, according to a new poll.

A majority of people who responded to the poll, 56%, had high regard for the Florida high school students who organized Saturday’s “March for Our Lives” in honor of 17 classmates and educators who died in a massacre at their school in February.

Only 34% of those polled said they had an unfavorable view of the students. By comparison, only 39% of voters polled had a favorable opinion of the NRA, the powerful gun rights lobbying group that opposed the protests and any efforts to pass gun-control legislation.

Meanwhile, 44% of respondents had a negative view of the NRA.

“The contrast is pretty clear,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “Americans don’t like the NRA. They do like the young people standing up to fight to try to get stronger gun laws passed.”

The poll also found that 87% of all voters support background checks for anyone looking to buy a firearm, and only 8% oppose such measures.

The policy is also heavily favored across party lines with the backing of 89% of Democrats and 85% of Republicans and Independents.