Majority of Parents Think a School Shooting Could Occur in Their Community

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- A shooting by a student gunman yesterday at a Southern California high school killed two students, injured many more, and has tragically thrust the issue of school violence back into the news. Last year, Gallup polling showed that over six out of 10 Americans said it was at least somewhat likely that a school shooting could occur in their community. Although the majority of American parents said that they did not fear for their child's safety at the beginning of school last fall, about half were pessimistic that laws or society could do anything to prevent these types of shootings in the future.

The fact that a high school student is a suspect in yesterday's California shooting makes the event similar to the tragic events that occurred at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, in 1999. On the anniversary of the Columbine shooting last year, seventy percent of K-12 parents said they were either much more concerned or somewhat more concerned about school violence specifically as a result of the Columbine shootings. In the April 7-9, 2000 survey, 63% of Americans with children in grades K-12 also said that it was either very likely or somewhat likely that a shooting similar to that at Columbine could happen in their community

In August of 2000, roughly a quarter of parents of children in grades K-12 said they feared for their child's physical safety while he or she is at school, and 8% of parents reported that their children expressed worry or concern about safety when they returned to school this fall.

In the April survey, 72% of parents said that schools in their areas have taken actions to prevent acts of violence. Additionally, 68% of parents said that the action taken by their local schools was the right amount. Only 28% said they thought the action taken was not enough, and 4% said the actions of their local schools had gone too far. Still, almost half of the public (49%) believed school shootings will occur regardless of any actions government or society take to prevent them.

Americans Support Stricter Gun Control Measures
Inevitably, this latest school shooting will re-ignite the national debates over gun control and sources of youth violence in this country. For over 10 years, Gallup polls have shown that the American public supports stricter gun control laws -- both broadly and specifically. In a Gallup poll conducted April 5-7, 2000, 61% of Americans favored stricter gun legislation, 30% favored no change and just 7% wanted laws that were less strict. The strongest support for stricter gun control came in 1990, when almost eight in 10 Americans (78%) favored it and the lowest support (60%) was measured in February, 1999. Since 1995, around six in 10 Americans have favored stricter gun control legislation. There was a slight increase in support immediately following the Columbine shootings in the spring of 1999, but since December of 1999 about 60% of Americans have favored stricter gun control legislation.

In addition to supporting stricter gun control laws in the abstract, most Americans also support specific types of gun control. According to an April 28-30, 2000 poll,

• 93% favor a five-day waiting period for the purchase of handguns, in order to conduct background checks
• 79% of Americans favor a law that would require guns to be sold with trigger-locks

• 76% of Americans favor the registration of all handguns
• 69% of Americans favor licensing of gun owners
• 58% of the public favors a limit on the number of handguns one can purchase in a single month

Although Democrats are more likely than Republicans to support these measures, a majority of both groups favor these ideas. Public consensus on all of these measures is broad, as a majority of virtually every demographic group favors them.

Americans Hold Parents Responsible
In the wake of these tragedies on school campuses, Americans wonder what causes them and what can be done to prevent them in the future. In a April 5-7, 2000 survey, Gallup asked respondents, "Which of the following do you think is the primary cause of gun violence in America -- the availability of guns, the way parents raise their children, or the influences of popular culture such as movies, television, and the Internet?"The data show that a plurality of Americans -- 45% -- believed that gun violence results from the way parents raise their children. Twenty-six percent of Americans thought that popular culture was to blame and 21% thought the availability of guns was the primary cause.

Although the details of the school shooting in California are not yet clear, we do know that the suspect is a minor and would not have been able to purchase a gun legally. Some of the past perpetrators of school shootings have used their parent's legally held guns to commit the crimes. The majority of the public (69%) favored holding parents legally responsible if their children commit crimes with the parent's guns. This issue is one of the least partisan aspects of gun control that Gallup has measured: 72% of Republicans and 68% of Democrats favored the idea.

Survey Methods

The results below are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,007, 1,003 and 1,019 adults, 18 years and older, conducted April 7-9, April 28-30 and August 24-27, 2000 respectively. For results based on these samples, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus 3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls. For results based on the sub-sample of 291 parents with children in grades K-12, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus 6 percentage points.

Thinking about your oldest child, when he or she is at school, do you fear for his or her physical safety?

BASED ON -- 282 -- K-12 PARENTS; ± 6 PCT PTS

Have any of your school-aged children expressed any worry or concern about feeling unsafe at their school when they go back to school this fall?

BASED ON -- 282 -- K-12 PARENTS; ± 6 PCT PTS

As you may know, it has been nearly one year since the shooting at Columbine High School, the Littleton, Colorado school where two students killed 12 of their classmates and one teacher. In your opinion, how likely is it that these kinds of shootings could happen in your community, is it -- very likely, somewhat likely, somewhat unlikely, or very unlikely?

Which of the following statements comes closer to your overall view -- [ROTATED: government and society can take action that will be effective in preventing shootings like the one in Colorado from happening again (or) shootings like the one in Colorado will happen again regardless of what action is taken by government and society]?

Specifically as a result of the shooting at Columbine, would you say you feel [ROTATED: much more concerned about your child's safety today than you did before (or) somewhat more concerned (or) about the same (or) somewhat less concerned (or) much less concerned about your child's safety today than you did before]?

BASED ON -- 291-- PARENTS OF CHILDREN IN GRADES K-12; +/- 6 PCT PTS

Here are some things that some parents may have done and others have not as a result of the Columbine High School shooting. Specifically as a result of the Columbine shooting [RANDOM ORDER] … ? Next, …?

BASED ON -- 291 -- PARENTS OF CHILDREN IN GRADES K-12; +/- 6 PCT PTS

Thinking about the school or schools your children attend, would you say your schools have gone too far, have not gone far enough or are doing the right amount to prevent acts of school violence from occurring?

BASED ON -- 291 -- PARENTS OF CHILDREN IN GRADES K-12; +/- 6 PCT PTS

As far as you know, have your local schools taken steps in the past year to prevent acts of violence similar to Columbine?

BASED ON -- 291 -- PARENTS OF CHILDREN IN GRADES K-12; +/- 6 PCT PTS

Would you generally favor or oppose a law that would hold parents legally responsible if their children commit crimes with the parents' guns?

In general, do you feel that the laws covering the sale of firearms should be made more strict, less strict, or kept as they are now?

^Asked of half sample
* Less than 0.5%

Would you favor or oppose the registration of all handguns?

(*) Question wording: Do you think all owners of pistols and revolvers should be required to register with the government?

In addition to registering handguns, would you favor or oppose the federal government requiring all handgun owners to obtain a special license in order to own handguns?

Would you favor or oppose a law limiting the number of handguns an individual can purchase to one per month?

(*) Question wording: Would you favor or oppose a law limiting the number of guns an individual can purchase to one per month?

Would you favor or oppose a law requiring that all guns sold in the United States be equipped with built-in trigger locks?

Do you favor or oppose a five-day waiting period for the purchase of handguns, in order to conduct background checks?

^Asked of half sample
* Less than 0.5%