Friendly Reminder That the “90% of Americans Want Tougher Background Checks” Narrative Is a Lie

There are some myths that just won’t die. Like the wage gap myth, or the exciting soccer game, some myths are so pervasive that despite having been debunked multiple times, they thrive like a Kardashian’s relevance. Nobody really knows how…it just survives.

One of those myths is that 90% of Americans agree that we need tougher, and more thorough background checks on guns that we buy. It’s a strong myth that is continuously repeated, ad nauseum, from various leftist websites.

The most recent one was Vox on Tuesday, when they released this fun video about the filibuster for gun control that failed. Within it, they pushed the 90% myth and talked about how the NRA is standing in the way by being big and scary.

90% of Americans want gun reform, but the NRA has found clever ways to block that in Washington. #2016ishhttps://t.co/xzzQiJYFjR

— Vox (@voxdotcom) July 12, 2016

Within the video, Senator Murphy delivers that same line I keep hearing that accompanies the myth. “Nobody ever agrees on 90% of something.” He and everyone who says it are correct. No one does. Not even on this.

The false stat comes from a surveys like these…

“Do you favor or oppose a federal law requiring background checks on all potential gun buyers?” – CBS/NYT Poll

“Do you support or oppose requiring background checks for all gun buyers?” – Quinnipiac University Poll

“Do you favor or oppose making private gun sales and sales at gun shows subject to background checks?” – Pew Research Poll

As you can see, each of those rank very highly in the 90th percentile, with the exception of the Pew poll, which hit 85%.

They even sweetened the pot by releasing stats that say even NRA members agree that we need background checks for all gun sales by a whopping 74%!

Problem is – and I’m sure you’ve already figured it out – that the language used in these polls is so broad that you can use it to blanket almost any point you want about background checks, or in Vox’s case, we can just expand that out to “gun reform” without batting an eye.

Of course 90% of people want background checks…and we have them. Go try to buy a gun from a store, or online, and I guarantee you’re going to get your name run through an NICS check. Yes, everybody wants to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, and you’ll notice we have laws on the books against that.

But still, leftists flaunt the 90% stat like we really – *wink wink* *nudge nudge* – mean we want tougher gun laws, and Republicans and the NRA are standing in the way like the villains they are. Problem is, that’s not even true.

When the gun control bill in 2013 failed, 62% of Americans wanted the issue dropped. Furthermore, only 41% believe that even more background checks will reduce crime, and only 30% want broader background checks according to Rasmussen.

In essence, the 90% stat is approval for laws we already have on the books, but even more laws tend to find their way into the trashcan because we actually don’t want them. Many Americans understand that tougher gun laws will only make it tougher for regular citizens to get them, and would much rather be armed against a bad guy who is going to get his gun someway, somehow, regardless of what law is passed.

Don’t buy the myth these hucksters are selling.

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