Columbine shootings had little impact on Coloradans' attitudes on weapons, poll finds

By Carla Crowder
Denver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer

Coloradans' opinions about several key firearms issues changed little after the Columbine shootings where 15 people died from gun violence, according to polls taken before and after the April tragedy.

The Colorado News Poll, conducted this month for the Denver Rocky Mountain News and News4, showed 65 percent of people surveyed favored a concealed-carry law that would require sheriffs to issue handgun permits to anyone who passed a background check and took a firearms training course.

In a similar survey in February, 66 percent of those questioned supported such a law. The poll was conducted by Talmey-Drake Research in Boulder.

"People are not against guns. They're against guns in the wrong hands," said Paul Talmey, president of the polling firm. "These numbers scream that."

The poll also found fairly consistent attitudes -- before and after Columbine -- about gun ownership rights.

In February, 70 percent of people surveyed agreed that gun ownership is a "basic right of all Americans."

Only 26 percent disagreed with that statement, according to the poll.

In May, 75 percent said they believed gun ownership was a basic American right, while only 22 percent disagreed.

"I'm a little bit puzzled," said Arnie Grossman, co-founder of Sane Alternatives to the Firearms Epidemic, or SAFE, a new Colorado gun-control group launched partly in response to the Columbine violence.

"What really surprises me is we're at ground zero and I would expect our numbers to be higher. I think it means we have a big job ahead of us," Grossman said.

The head of Colorado's largest gun lobby said the poll shows people have given the killings more than just a knee-jerk reaction.

"There might be some hysteria in the first few days. But once people really use some logic, it's clear they realize firearms, and firearms controls, are not the reason this happened," said Dudley Brown, executive director of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners.

"These kids were cunning enough to fashion timed propane bombs. Trigger locks or one more law isn't going to stop them from getting access to guns," Brown said. His group backs more gun freedom than the National Rifle Association, the nation's largest gun lobby.

An NRA spokesman in Washington, D.C., declined comment on the poll.

Since the Columbine killings, Congress has considered a number of new gun-control laws, many designed to plug the channels that criminals and juveniles use to get their hands on firearms. One proposal that has been discussed would make it illegal to purchase more than one handgun a month -- a way to keep unlicensed gun dealers from stockpiling weapons and reselling them.

Support for such a law rose only slightly in Colorado after the mass killings, according to the poll.

In February, 60 percent of people surveyed said they'd support such a measure. In May, that number rose to 67 percent.

Brown calls the one-handgun-a- month law "gun rationing." It wouldn't have made a dent in stopping Columbine, he said.

"These kids were planning for this attack for a year. That means if they could have only acquired one gun a month, they could have acquired 12 firearms," he said.

In another recent development, firearms opponents have begun to attack the gun industry in court, just as anti-smoking advocates took on the tobacco manufacturers. They claim manufacturers flood the market with firearms they know will fall into criminals' hands and be wrongly used.

Few Coloradans said they believe gun makers should be required to compensate victims of gun violence and their families for pain and suffering caused by the misuse of guns.

In February, 19 percent of people surveyed either strongly agreed or somewhat agreed that gun makers should be held liable, whereas 78 percent disagreed that manufacturers should have to pay when criminals use their product.

Little changed after the Columbine killings. In May, 20 percent of people surveyed said they believed gun makers should be held liable for gun misuse. But 76 percent disagreed, according to the poll.

Some gun-control advocates suggested the poll results don't reflect the outrage over the shootings because the questions were so specific.

John Head, co-founder of SAFE, said the group has had 400 to 500 calls since it formed about a week ago. Most are supporters.

"They say, 'We're Republicans. We're conservative Republicans. We're gun owners. We're NRA members, but something has to be done,"' said Head.

Most callers believe this country needs to find better ways to combat gun violence and keep guns out of the hands of criminals, he said. But opinions vary greatly on exactly how to do that. Some say federal laws are needed. Some say state or municipal laws are.

Joe Sudbay, director of state legislation for Handgun Control Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based gun-control group, said Columbine lit a fire under once-quiet gun opponents and made them more vocal. But polls don't reflect that, he said.

Gun-control advocates "have always been a silent majority," Sudbay said. "Events like this may not change people's minds one way or the other but it changes the intensity of their feelings."

Talmey, the pollster, agreed that events like Columbine solidify people's opinions.

"These are fairly hardened attitudes," Talmey said.

Something like President Clinton's approval rating will fluctuate a lot, but "guns or abortions are discussed so much people tend to harden."