“Nearly two-thirds of California voters support a gun-control initiative on the November ballot, about the same percentage of people who say they don’t have a firearm in their home, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll conducted by SurveyMonkey,” latimes.com reports. Well that seems pretty straightforward. And incredibly depressing. But . . .
SurveyMonkey is an opt-in email program. Which means it’s totally unscientific, especially when you consider that LA Times is an irredeemably anti-gun rights publication, appealing to readers who largely hold the same views.
In the interests of “balance,” the Times presents comments both pro- and anti-Prop 63. Most important: the revelation that the anti side is outspending the NRA by factor of 10 – 1.
Newsom, the former mayor of San Francisco, is running for governor in 2018, and political pundits say his gun-control initiative will help pave the way for the candidacy by raising his image. He and former Facebook President Sean Parker are among the top contributors to the initiative campaign, which has so far raised more than $4 million.
Opponents, including the National Rifle Assn., have launched multiple campaigns against the measure that have so far raised about $425,000.
The anti-gun side of this equation is hampered by the “enthusiasm gap”; pro-gun rights voters vote. Unfortunately, you’ve got to believe that the Trump/Clinton contest will bring out a record number of voters.
Why does this remind me of the pre-Civil War era?