The Nation - News from July 24, 1988

The American people continue to favor more stringent laws governing the sale of handguns, a Gallup poll found. At the same time, however, opposition to banning their possession by private citizens, which had softened somewhat in recent years, has risen sharply. New attention was focused on gun control last month when Carl T. Rowan, a newspaper columnist and outspoken gun-control advocate, using an unregistered handgun, shot and wounded a teen-age trespasser attempting to swim in his pool. A Gallup poll taken several weeks later found 65% favoring stricter laws on handgun sales, 27% for keeping the present laws and 6% saying those regulations should be relaxed. The survey found that opposition to a ban on private possession outweighs support, 59% to 37%, whereas in a poll last October opponents barely outnumbered those in favor, 50% to 42%.