Americans lovin' their guns more than ever

Following the slaughter of twenty children in Newtown, Connecticut two years ago this month, many Americans hoped their countrymen and women would finally turn against the gun nuts and demand greater control. And they did ... briefly. The support for gun rights that has been creeping up for decades dipped momentarily and then returned to its upward trend. A recent survey by the Pew Research Center reported that for the first time in at least 20 years, more Americans support gun rights than support gun control.

In response to the survey, 52 per cent said it's more important to protect the right to own guns while only 46 per cent said it's more important to control gun ownership. Furthermore, 57 per cent say gun ownership does more to protect people from crime while only 38 per cent say it does more to endanger them.

Views differ sharply by race. Over 60 per cent of whites prioritize gun rights over gun control while only a third of blacks and quarter of Hispanics do. Gender, too, is important with a solid majority of men preferring rights over control and a majority of women preferring the opposite. Urban Americans put control first however suburbanites and rural people favour rights, the latter overwhelmingly so. Whatever it is that enamours Americans to their guns ain't going away.