New Voter Research Shows Voters in Minnesota Support Stronger Gun Laws by a 5:1 Margin and 74% Consider a Candidate’s Position on Guns “Very Important” to Their Vote in 2020
This Week, Everytown Announced $60 Million Electoral Program for 2020 — Double What it Spent in 2018
NEW YORK — Today, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund announced a $250,000 digital campaign to put Minnesota state Senators “on notice” and pressure them to pass legislation to require background checks on all gun sales and strong red flag legislation. The campaign will feature multiple rounds of ads targeting voters statewide over the coming months, with a focus on suburban women and African American women voters.
Everytown is also unveiling new voter research, which found that voters in Minnesota support stronger gun safety laws by a 5:1 margin and 74% of voters, including 81% of voters who support stronger gun laws, consider a candidate’s position on guns “very important” to their vote in 2020.
“It’s never been clearer: Minnesotans overwhelmingly support stronger gun laws and are tired of lawmakers refusing to take action to end gun violence in our communities,” said Molly Leutz, volunteer with Minnesota Moms Demand Action, a part of Everytown for Gun Safety. “So this session we’re putting the Minnesota state Senate on notice: They can either listen to the public and pass meaningful gun safety laws, or we’ll make sure that voters hold them accountable in 2020.”
This spend comes on the heels of growing momentum for common-sense gun safety legislation in Minnesota. In 2018, Minnesotans flipped the Minnesota House of Representatives to a gun sense majority and elected Governor Tim Walz (D), who campaigned strongly on the issue of gun safety. The Minnesota House then passed background check legislation and a strong red flag law during the 2019 legislative session, but the Republican-controlled state Senate refused to hold a vote or even a public hearing on the bills. Everytown, Moms Demand Action, and Students Demand Action volunteers are now calling on the Senate to act by passing background checks and red flag legislation during this legislative session.
The digital campaign announcement is part of Everytown’s first digital ad campaign pressuring state legislators in 2020, the first since Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and Victory Fund spent $2.5 million to flip Virginia’s General Assembly to a gun sense majority in November 2019. Earlier this week, Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and Victory Fund announced it would spend at least $60 million on the 2020 elections.
READ THE SURVEY MEMO RESULTS HERE.
The poll found a majority of respondents – including critical swing groups like independents, suburban women, and undecided voters – support legislation that would require background checks on all gun sales (84% support) and block domestic abusers from owning guns (91% support). The majority of respondents also supported the enactment of red flag laws, which give family or law enforcement a way to remove guns from someone who is exhibiting violent or unstable behavior (79% support).
Additional key findings include:
- Requiring background checks on all gun sales is the TOP issue among suburban women by a five-point margin.
- Voters support stronger gun laws by a 5:1 margin (53% stronger/10% less strong);
- Voters broadly agree that it is possible to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and other dangerous people while also protecting the rights of gun owners (66% possible/34% not possible);
- 52% of voters would never vote for a candidate who doesn’t support background checks, a mark that ranked third behind only healthcare and national security; and
- Nearly 60% of Minnesota voters are less likely to vote for a candidate who opposes a red flag law, while nearly two-thirds of voters are less likely to support someone who stands in the way of background checks for all gun sales.
Global Strategy Group conducted a survey of 744 likely voters, including 344 voters from MN Senate battleground districts.
More than 400 people are killed by gun violence every year in Minnesota, and Minnesota gun deaths are on the rise, increasing by 18 percent between 2008 and 2017.