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The Introduction
The Paper
Bibliography
Footnotes
Table A
Table B
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Class Survey for the
Anti-Gun Propaganda Paper
The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere
restrains evil interference -- they deserve a place of honor with all
that's good. --George Washington
One of the requirements for the paper was making up and taking a
survey of the class on your chosen subject. I've included it here,
since I found it rather interesting.
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I'm also quite interested in anyone else's reactions to the
survey, so if you want to take it please feel free to send me your results or
comments -- I'll be happy to include them on my site also! ;-)
Some notes: there were only 17 people in the class, so I
alphabetized them from A to Q, to preserve anonymity. The questions had
possible answers ranging from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (basically
indifferent or unsure) to 10 (strongly disagree). I also encouraged
folks to write in any comments they wished to make, and included all of
the comments on this page.
Finally, one should keep in mind that this was a class of
(basically) freshpersons who were various mixes of apathy,
misinformation, active dislike, and/or interest in the subject... in
short, pretty much like the populace at large.
No wonder I'm so scared... ;-J
List of Questions
- Do you feel gun buy-back programs help to prevent violent crime?
- Do you feel safer with strict gun-control laws in place?
- Do you feel gun-control laws are unconstitutional?
- Who do you feel should protect society against law-breakers?
- Do you feel citizens should be able to protect themselves with their choice of weapon?
- Would you feel safer if you owned a gun? Why?
| Scale for answers: |
| 1 | Strongly agree |
| 5 | Unsure or indifferent |
| 10 | Strongly disagree |
| Does buy-back help prevent violent crime? |
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | | # | % |
| 1 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 | 0% |
| 2 | | | | | | | X | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 5.9% |
| 3 | | | | | | | | | | X | | | | | | | X | | 2 | 11.8% |
| 4 | | | | | | | | | X | | | | | | X | | | | 2 | 11.8% |
| 5 | | | X | | | X | | X | | | X | X | X | | | X | | | 7 | 41.2% |
| 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 | 0% |
| 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 | 0% |
| 8 | | | | | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 5.9% |
| 9 | X | X | | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 | 17.6% |
| 10 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | X | | | | | 1 | 5.9% |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 17 | 100.0% |
| Do you feel safer with strict gun control? |
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | | # | % |
| 1 | | | | | | | | | X | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 5.9% |
| 2 | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 5.9% |
| 3 | | | | | | | | | | X | | | X | | | | | | 2 | 11.8% |
| 4 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | X | | | 1 | 5.9% |
| 5 | | | X | | X | X | | | | | X | X | | | X | | | | 6 | 35.3% |
| 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 | 0% |
| 7 | | | | | | | X | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 5.9% |
| 8 | | X | | | | | | X | | | | | | | | | X | | 3 | 17.6% |
| 9 | | | | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 | 5.9% |
| 10 | | | | | | | | | | | | | X | | | | | | 1 | 5.9% |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 17 | 100.0% |
| Is gun control unconstitutional? |
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | | # | % |
| 1 | | | | | | | | | | X | | | | X | | X | | | 3 | 17.6% |
| 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 | 0% |
| 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | X | | | | 1 | 5.9% |
| 4 | | X | | | | X | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | 11.8% |
| 5 | X | | X | | X | | | | X | | X | X | | | | | | X | 7 | 41.2% |
| 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 | 0% |
| 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 | 0% |
| 8 | | | | | | | | X | | | | | X | | | | | | 2 | 11.8% |
| 9 | | | | X | | | X | | | | | | | | | | | | 2 | 11.8% |
| 10 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 | 0% |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 17 | 100.0% |
| Who should protect society? |
| # | % |
| The police | 6 | 35.3% |
| The police and the citizenry | 5 | 29.4% |
| The citizenry | 4 | 23.5% |
| No-one ("Does society need protection?") | 1 | 5.9% |
| Undecided | 1 | 9% |
| 17 | 100.0% |
| Should citizens be able to protect themselves with their choice of weapon? |
| # | % |
| Yes | 6 | 37.5% |
| No | 4 | 25% |
| Yes ("but cops should have more firepower") | 1 | 6.3% |
| Yes ("but no automatics") | 5 | 31.3% |
| one person did not answer | 16 | 100% |
| What type of weapon would you chose? |
| # | % |
| None | 3 | 18.8% |
| Various types of gun | 5 | 31.3% |
| "whatever's to hand" | 1 | 6.3% |
| "a truck" | 1 | 6.3% |
| No reply* | 4 | 25% |
| A "harmless" paint-pellet gun | 1 | 6.3% |
| None | 1 | 6.3% |
| * all of these had answered previously that weaponry was fine, but no automatics | 16 | 100% |
| Would you feel safer if you owned a gun? |
| Yes | 6 | 35.3% |
| No | 11 | 64.7% |
| 17 | 100.0% |
Why?
| Con |
| Would worry about children getting their hands on the gun | 1 | 9.1% |
| Negative feelings towards guns ("I hate guns," "only the untrained would have them," "only a psychotic would want one") | 3 | 27.3% |
| Other reasons ("I might die," "it won't help any," "the gangs have guns too") | 4 | 36.4% |
| Personal feelings of safety don't rely on guns | 1 | 9.1% |
| Guns are acceptable, but they personally don't want them ("I'd need training," "alarms are preferable") | 2 | 18.2% |
| Totals for 'con' | 11 | 100% |
| Pro |
| Can defend family and/or self | 6 | 100% |
| Totals for 'pro' | 6 | 100% |
Click on the mailbox to let
me know what you think about what I've written -- I'm always
interested in communicating! ;-)
Last Updated: Mon, March 30, 1998