Title: Poll: Most Americans Oppose Openly Carried Guns, Want Starbucks to Adopt a "No Guns" Policy

Publication Date: May 2010

What does it say?

A majority of Americans oppose people carrying loaded guns openly in public. More feel unsafe than feel safer - and a third feel much less safe with that knowledge, according to a poll conducted for the Brady Center by the polling firm Lake Research Partners.

Among the findings:

• Fifty-two percent oppose allowing people in general, not just those connected to law enforcement, to carry loaded guns openly in public.
• Fifty-six percent of those polled favor Starbucks and other retail establishments establishing strict “no guns” policies for their businesses. 
• Far more gun owners support a “no guns” policy for Starbucks than believe Starbucks and other businesses should allow firearms on their premises.
• Women across all groups oppose open carry broadly - 76 percent of women of color, 68 percent of urban women and older women, 59 percent of suburban women, 55 percent of younger women and a majority of rural women.

How can I use it?

Politicians who are doing the bidding of the gun lobby, and businesses who worry about offending gun rights extremists should look at this data and be aware that there is potentially a large price to pay with voters and customers. Having more guns in public places not only puts more people at risk, it clearly makes people feel less safe.

Citation

Lake Research Partners, Poll: Most Americans Oppose Openly Carried Guns, Want Starbucks to Adopt a "No Guns" Policy, Washington, DC: Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, May 2010

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