A survey on gun control in Florida, taken about two months before the Oct. 1 massacre in Las Vegas, shows a noticeable divide on gun restrictions in the Sunshine State.
The 2017 University of South Florida Nielsen Sunshine State Survey found 49 percent of those questioned believed gun restrictiveness in Florida is “about right,” while another 40 percent took the position that they're not restrictive enough.
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About 8 percent said current laws were too restrictive.
The results were from a telephone survey between July 24 and Aug. 14 involving 1,215 Floridians ages 18 and older. It has a margin of error rate of 2.8 percent.
Interestingly, the question about gun restrictions being “about right” rose to 49 percent from 42 percent — the last time the question was asked was in 2015.
The survey, which also included questions about funding for those with mental illness in Florida, also tended to support the notion that those suffering mental illness should be restricted in having access to weapons, said Susan MacManus, a distinguished university professor at the UF and director of the survey.
"If you just go out on the street and you ask people what is one of the reasons people are killing others, mental illness is at the top of the list."
"If you just go out on the street and you ask people what is one of the reasons people are killing others, mental illness is at the top of the list," MacManus said.
The survey was taken a little more than a year after the Pulse nightclub shootings in Orlando.
On June 12, 2016, Omar Mateen killed 49 people and wounded 58 others inside Pulse, a gay nightclub. Orlando Police Department officers shot and killed Mateen after a three-hour standoff.
The Pulse tragedy was surpassed Oct. 1 when 64-year-old Stephen Paddock of Mesquite, Nevada, fired hundreds of rifle rounds from his suite on the 32nd floor of the nearby Mandalay Bay hotel killing 58 people dead and injuring 489.
Paddock later took his own life in his hotel room. No motive has yet been discovered for Paddock's actions, though some people have speculated on mental instability involving a gambling addiction.
The USF Nielsen survey also shows that views vary significantly by gender, age, race/ethnicity, employment status, and region when it comes to gun restrictions.
Of those content with current gun measures More men are more content with current gun laws than women — 54 percent vs. 44 percent.
More whites and Hispanics favor current measures than African Americans — 53 percent vs. 31 percent.
Regionally, support is highest in the Orlando area —57 percent and North Florida 56 percent.
MacManus said "While it might seem counter-intuitive that the Orlando region supports the status quo considering the Pulse Nightclub shootings, it is important to note that the region contains a number of more conservative counties."
On the “not restrictive enough” side are women, 47 percent, seniors (48 percent of those ages 80 and older), African Americans (57 percent), and those out of the work force (50 percent.)
MacManus said the research shows women are more attentive than men to gun violence especially via the media and seniors believe they are more vulnerable to crime than younger persons. Also, African Americans are more likely to worry about gun violence in their own neighborhoods, as are the less-educated and out of work.
The two regions with the highest share of “not restrictive enough” opinions are Palm Beach 56 percent and Miami/Fort Lauderdale 52 percent.
Contact Price at 321-242-3658 or wprice@floridatoday.com. You can also reach him at 321-242-3658 or wprice@floridatoday.com.