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Support for gun laws dropping

An interesting post on polling data over the years. Support for gun laws took a significant hit right after 9/11.

Here's the polling data. Gallup notes that the spread between "we need stricter gun laws" and "we don't, or need less strict ones" was once around 60 points, fell to 14 points a year ago, and now stands at 4 points. On whether handguns should be banned, the "no" vote was 50% two decades ago, 68% today. The conclusion:

"Gun control has not surfaced as a major -- or even a minor -- issue thus far in the 2008 presidential campaign. The most that's been said is that the issue is hardly even being debated. The Gallup trends reviewed help to explain why. With public support for stricter gun laws waning after 9/11, the political climate for championing gun control is indeed different from when the Brady Bill was passed in 1993. Although half of Americans do say they favor stricter gun laws today, this is well below the 70% found in 1993. And when public attitudes about banning guns and enforcement are probed, there appears to be even less public demand for gun control."