Luntz says the public is looking for a 'common sense approach.' Luntz: NRA not listening to public

Pollster Frank Luntz, who has studied attitudes about gun control, said on Wednesday that he doesn’t “think the NRA is listening” to the American public in the wake of the massacre of 20 children at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school.

“The public wants guns out of the schools, not in the schools,” Luntz said on CBS’s “This Morning.” “And they are not asking for a security official or someone else. I don’t think the NRA is listening. I don’t think they understand most Americans would protect the Second Amendment rights and yet agree with the idea that not every human being should own a gun, not every gun should be available at anytime, anywhere, for anyone. At gun shows, you should not be able to buy something there without any kind of check whatsoever.”


He added, “What they are looking for is a common sense approach saying those who law-abiding should continue to have the right to own a weapon, but don’t believe the right should be extended to everyone at every time for every type of weapon.”

In May, Luntz conducted a poll for Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group backed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg that pushes for stricter gun control measures. The poll found both NRA members and gun owners strongly supported mandatory criminal background checks for anyone purchasing a gun and support requiring gun owners to report lost or stolen guns to the police.