I’m generally pretty pleased with the results that Gallup comes up with. They do a fairly good job of asking accurate questions and properly analyzing the results, and as such I try to use their numbers if at all possible. So when Gallup released the above image, they no longer had just my interest — they had my undivided attention. The map comes from a recent survey of Americans asking them if they liked living in their current state, and if they would leave given the opportunity. The results were pretty clear: those states that scored highest on the Brady Campaign’s rankings of gun control fealty also scored the worst in terms of driving the people who live there to leave . . .
One of the questions asked was whether, given the chance, the survey takers would want to leave the state in which they currently reside. If they had the financial ability, would they pull up stakes and move to greener pastures? According to the poll, 50% of residents in the gun control capitol of the world (Illinois) want to skedaddle. And the civilian disarmament havens of Connecticut and Maryland don’t fare much better.
Even more interesting is the percentage of residents who have already decided to make the move. These aren’t just people who would like to move, but those who have already made the conscious decision to GTFO. Nevada tops the list, but Illinois is right behind it.
To be fair, there are many other reasons why people choose to leave the places they live. Factors range from economic reasons to being closer to friends and family, but when looking at the map you can’t help but subconsciously superimpose the Brady Campaign’s map over top.
In general states with the most gun control legislation also have the most people running for the border to anywhere else. And yet Texas doesn’t even register. Because it’s awesome, and who would want to leave?