After a year of mass shootings, more Americans view the NRA unfavorably than favorably

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https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/3/21/1750928/-After-a-year-of-mass-shootings-more-Americans-view-the-NRA-unfavorably-than-favorably

After a year of mass shootings, more Americans view the NRA unfavorably than favorably
By Hunter
Wednesday Mar 21, 2018 · 6:00 PM EDT


You might be wondering how the National Rifle Association has been faring in the public eye, what with their current position as the nation's core lobbying group for aspiring domestic terrorists. The answer is not very well.

Here’s another striking finding from our most recent NBC/WSJ poll: The NRA’s fav/unfav rating is underwater, with 37 percent viewing the organization positively and with 40 percent seeing it in a negative light (-3). That’s a noticeable shift from April 2017, when it was 45 percent positive, 33 percent negative (+12).

In fact, it’s the first time since before 2000 when the NRA has been viewed more negatively than positively in the NBC/WSJ poll.

It turns out that the NRA's shrieking warnings of civil decay if every American isn't allowed to carry every possible gun in every possible location isn't as successful as it once was; not only have positive views of the organization dropped, but they've dropped between 12 and 15 points among a wide variety of demographic groups—including among self-described "soft/moderate Republicans."

What's changed? Primarily, a string of mass murders that have Americans solidly behind the need for additional gun laws. Civiqs polling shows large jumps in public approval for new gun control laws after the Orlando, the Las Vegas, and the Parkland, Florida shootings; Parkland, especially, seems to have turned public stomachs enough to turn public minds.

Republican politicians may still jump reflexively to do the NRA's bidding, but they don't seem to have caught on to the polls that show the public doesn't like that. Or perhaps they do realize that, but are more afraid of the NRA's ability to mobilize their ragged army of crackpot conspiracy theorists than they are of wider public discontent.