‘PUBLIC VIEWS LITTLETON TRAGEDY AS SIGN OF DEEPER PROBLEMS IN COUNTRY’
Apr 26th, 1999 • Posted in: Research ReportFrom the Gallup News Service:
“In the aftermath of the tragic events in Littleton, Colorado, this week, a Gallup poll taken Wednesday evening found that most Americans believe the shooting rampage at Columbine High School by two students is evidence of deeper problems in the United States. Seventy-nine percent of those surveyed said the attack, which left a teacher and 14 students — including the two gunmen — dead, is an indication of serious problems, compared to only 17 percent who see the event as an isolated incident. At the same time only a bare majority of the public, 53 percent, expresses confidence that government and society can do anything to prevent similar acts of violence in the future. Two-thirds consider it likely that a similar incident could happen in their own community.
“Americans’ skepticism about acts of teen violence similar to the one that occurred in Littleton may not be surprising given that the attack at Columbine High School is, according to Associated Press reports, the seventh fatal shooting at a U.S. high school in less than two years. However, when presented with several specific proposals, Americans appear somewhat more optimistic that there are effective ways to curtail the problem of violence in schools.
“In particular, Americans indicate significant confidence in the potential impact of stricter gun control laws and teen counseling, with roughly three in five Americans (62 percent and 60 percent respectively) saying each of these measures would be a ‘very effective’ way to stop violence in high schools and middle schools. About half of those interviewed also believe that metal detectors at schools, stricter regulation of violence on TV and in movies, and restricting teenagers’ access to certain material on the Internet would be very effective measures. Student dress codes and random body searches, two remedies that sometimes raise civil libertarian objections, are considered very effective by only a third of the public. . . .
“Americans’ confidence in the effectiveness of various measures largely mirrors their judgement about the factors that are to blame for the attack in Littleton, Colorado. Out of seven factors measured in the survey, the one to which the largest percentage of Americans ascribe heavy blame is the availability of guns, with 60 percent saying it deserves ‘a great deal’ of blame for shootings like this. A majority, 51 percent, also places a high degree of blame on parents, while 49 percent say that popular entertainment in the form of TV, movies, and music bear a great deal of blame. Social pressures on youth, media coverage of similar incidents, the Internet, and schools are significantly less likely to be blamed. . . .”
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