GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- Eleven American students have died in school-related homicides or suicides this school year, and statistics from the National School Safety Center show American students are 99 times more likely to be shot and killed on the street or at home than at school.
However, as the country marks the first anniversary Thursday of the massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, a new CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll finds three out of ten Americans say it is very likely that a similar school shooting spree could happen in their community -- a finding identical to that of a similar poll conducted the day after the Columbine shootings. Another 36% say it is "somewhat likely" that a Columbine-type attack could occur in their community, while 31% believe such an attack in their community is unlikely. Among parents of school-aged children, there is slightly greater optimism -- 36% of parents believe such an attack is unlikely in their community.
Despite that, the Columbine shootings appear to have awakened parents to the possibility of violence in their children's schools. Among parents of school-aged children, 40% are "much more concerned" about their child's safety at school "as a result of the shooting at Columbine," while 30% are "somewhat more concerned." Another 28% say their level of concern is about the same as it was before the shootings.
However, when the "Columbine factor" is taken out of the equation, concern among parents appears to have dropped slightly in the year since the shootings. When asked, "thinking about your oldest child, when he or she is at school, do you fear for his or her physical safety," 43% said yes, compared to 55% in the previously mentioned post-Columbine poll. This appears to indicate that parents may associate the Columbine attack with a general feeling about the potential for violence at their child's school when specifically reminded about last year's incident, but express slightly greater confidence in their child's safety when asked about it without reference to Columbine.
Parents Taking Limited Action to Ensure School
Safety
Gallup interviewers asked parents of school-aged children about
steps they may have taken as a result of the Columbine shootings.
Eight out of ten (80%) have spoken with their children about making
fun of unpopular students or groups -- reportedly a key factor in
the Columbine massacre. A majority of Americans (57%) have taken
steps to check on security measures in place at the schools their
children attend, and 44% say they now supervise their children's
activities more closely than before. However, just 38% say the
shootings have led them to become more active in their child's
school in the past year.
Seventy-two percent of parents say their children's schools have increased security measures since the Columbine shootings, and the majority -- 68% -- say they are satisfied with those steps to prevent future acts of school violence. On the other hand, 28% say their schools have not gone far enough, while 4% say their schools have gone too far.
While schools nationwide have taken steps to tighten security on campus, such as ID badges for students and staff and the installation of metal detectors, Americans appear to be split on whether anything that can be done will prevent violent acts such as the Columbine shootings from happening again. Forty-eight percent of parents say that "government and society can take action that will be effective in preventing shootings like the one in Colorado from happening again," while 49% of parents, as well as of the public at large, say shootings such as the Columbine case will happen again "regardless of what action is taken by government and society."
Slight Drop in Support for Stricter Gun Laws
Gallup polls conducted over the last decade consistently show
strong support for stricter laws covering the sale of firearms.
However, it does not appear that the Columbine shootings have had a
major impact on the American public's attitudes toward gun control.
While there was a minor spike in support for stricter gun laws
immediately after the shootings -- 66% of Americans expressed
support for this position in a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll --
the latest poll shows a slight drop in support to 61%, while 30%
say current firearms laws should be kept as they are now.
There is also strong support for so-called "parental responsibility" laws, which would hold a parent legally responsible for crimes committed by a child with that parent's firearms. Sixty-nine percent of Americans -- both parents of school-aged students and non-parents -- would favor such a law, while 24% would oppose it.
Survey Methods
The results below are based on telephone interviews with a randomly
selected national sample of 1,007 adults, 18 years and older,
conducted April 7-9, 2000. For results based on this sample, 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 subsample 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.
As you may know, it has been nearly one year since the shooting at Columbine High School, the Littleton, Colorado school where 2 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?
| Very likely |
Somewhat likely |
Somewhat unlikely |
Very unlikely |
No opinion |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Apr 7-9 | |||||
| National adults | 30% | 36 | 18 | 13 | 3 |
| K-12 parents | 30% | 33 | 24 | 12 | 1 |
| 1999 Apr 21 | 30% | 38 | 14 | 15 | 3 |
| 1998 Apr 18-20** | 37% | 34 | 15 | 12 | 2 |
| ** NBC/Wall Street Journalquestion wording: "As you may know, two young boys recently shot and killed several people at a school in Jonesboro, Arkansas. 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]?
| Government and society can prevent |
Shootings will happen regardless of actions taken |
No opinion |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Apr 7-9 | |||
| National adults | 47% | 49 | 4 |
| K-12 parents | 48% | 49 | 3 |
| 1999 Apr 21 | 53% | 43 | 4 |
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
| Much more con- cerned |
Somewhat more con- cerned |
About the same |
Somewhat less con- cerned |
Much less con- cerned |
No opinion |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Apr 7-9 | 40% | 30 | 28 | 1 | 1 | * |
Here are some things which 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
| Yes | No | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Have you become more involved in your children's school or schools in the past year than you were before | |||
| 2000 Apr 7-9 | 38% | 61 | 1 |
| B. Have you supervised your own children's activities more closely than you had before | |||
| 2000 Apr 7-9 | 44% | 56 | * |
| C. Have you taken steps to find out about the security measures in place at your children's school or schools | |||
| 2000 Apr 7-9 | 57% | 42 | 1 |
| D. Have you spoken to your children about not making fun of unpopular students or groups | |||
| 2000 Apr 7-9 | 80% | 19 | 1 |
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
| Gone too far | Not gone far enough | Right amount | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Apr 7-9 | 4% | 28 | 68 | * |
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
| Yes | No | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 Apr 7-9 | 72% | 17 | 11 |
Would you generally favor or oppose a law that would hold parents legally responsible if their children commit crimes with the parents' guns?
| Favor | 69% |
| Oppose | 24 |
| No opinion | 7 |
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?
| More strict | Less strict | Kept as now | No opinion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | % | % | % | |
| 2000 Apr 7-9 | 61 | 7 | 30 | 2 |
| 1999 Dec 9-12 | 60 | 10 | 29 | 1 |
| 1999 Aug 3-4 | 66 | 6 | 27 | 1 |
| 1999 Jun 25-27 | 62 | 6 | 31 | 1 |
| 1999 May 23-24 | 65 | 5 | 28 | 2 |
| 1999 Apr 26-27 | 66 | 7 | 25 | 2 |
| 1999 Feb 8-9 | 60 | 9 | 29 | 2 |
| 1995 Apr 23-24^ | 62 | 12 | 24 | 2 |
| 1993 Dec 17-19 | 67 | 7 | 25 | 1 |
| 1993 Mar | 70 | 4 | 24 | 2 |
| 1991 | 68 | 5 | 25 | 2 |
| 1990 | 78 | 2 | 17 | 3 |
^Asked of half sample
* Less than 0.5%
