AMERICANS WANT LESS GUN CONTROL - AT 2:53 P.M. ET:  From the Houston Chronicle:

Amid a wave of publicity about school shootings and drug-related gun violence along the Mexican border, more Americans than ever oppose government efforts to regulate guns, Gallup's top pollster said today.

Frank Newport, the editor-in-chief of the Gallup Poll, told a breakfast meeting of reporters hosted by the Christian Science Monitor that "every bit of data is showing us that Americans are getting more conservative about gun control."

Newport cited polling conducted by Gallup, the Pew Research Center and CNN to back up his contention that "attitudes toward gun control have become more conservative -- not wanting more gun control."

The veteran pollster said the growing opposition to gun control is "counterintuitive" because of the heavy media focus on the use of assault weapons to kill police officers and school students, as well as the coverage of drug-cartel lawlessness in Mexico.

COMMENT:  This is fascinating, and consistent with reports of dramatically increased sales of guns and ammunition.  I suspect Americans fear some move against the Second Amendment by the administration, or fear an outbreak of crime that a liberal government may do little to curtail.

I'd love to see the Gallup survey broken down by region and age. 

May 5, 2009