The Star Tribune interviewed 800 Minnesota registered voters between Oct. 14 and Oct. 16. Highlights from questions about several gun proposals are below. Scroll down the page to see details about how the poll was conducted and the demographics of the 800 respondents.
Do you support or oppose a universal background check on all gun sales, including those sold privately or at gun shows?
Support Oppose Undecided 84% 12% 4% Support Oppose Undecided Men 81% 14% 5% Women 87 10 3 DFL / Democrat 97 1 2 Republican 75 18 7 Independent / other 77 19 4 18-34 82 14 4 35-49 87 10 3 50-64 82 15 3 65+ 83 10 7 Under $50,000 86 9 5 $50,000 and over 84 13 3 Hennepin / Ramsey 88 9 3 Metro Suburbs 82 11 7 Southern Minn. 83 14 3 Northern Minn. 81 16 3 Do you support or oppose banning military-styled rifles with detachable magazines, such as the AR-15?
Support Oppose Undecided 58% 36% 6% Support Oppose Undecided Men 52% 41% 7% Women 63 31 6 DFL / Democrat 82 13 5 Republican 35 57 8 Independent / other 52 42 6 18-34 68 25 7 35-49 57 36 7 50-64 51 43 6 65+ 59 35 6 Under $50,000 62 33 5 $50,000 and over 56 38 6 Hennepin / Ramsey 65 28 7 Metro Suburbs 53 40 7 Southern Minn. 59 35 6 Northern Minn. 52 42 6 Do you support or oppose creating a national database, accessible to local law enforcement that would track all gun sales in the United States?
Support Oppose Undecided 69% 24% 7% Support Oppose Undecided Men 65% 26% 9% Women 73 22 5 DFL / Democrat 90 4 6 Republican 49 42 9 Independent / other 65 28 7 18-34 68 22 10 35-49 71 23 6 50-64 65 29 6 65+ 73 18 9 Under $50,000 72 21 7 $50,000 and over 69 24 7 Hennepin / Ramsey 78 16 6 Metro Suburbs 66 28 6 Southern Minn. 71 21 8 Northern Minn. 57 33 10 Support Oppose Undecided 62% 33% 5% Support Oppose Undecided Men 51% 44% 5% Women 73 21 6 DFL / Democrat 90 7 3 Republican 49 45 6 Independent 45 48 7 None 53 42 5 18-34 64 31 5 35-49 61 38 1 50-64 57 35 8 65+ 69 22 9 Under $50,000 67 28 5 $50,000 and over 59 36 5 Hennepin / Ramsey 73 24 3 Metro Suburbs 55 40 5 Rest of state 60 33 7 About the poll
This Star Tribune Minnesota Poll findings are based on interviews conducted Oct. 14-16 with 800 Minnesota registered voters. The interviews were conducted via land line (47 percent) and cellphone (53 percent). The poll was conducted for the Star Tribune by Mason-Dixon Polling and Strategy, Inc.Results of a poll based on 800 interviews will vary by no more than 3.5 percentage points, plus or minus, from the overall population 95 times out of 100. Margins are larger for groups within the sample, such as Democrats and Republicans, and age groups.The self-identified party affiliation of the respondents is 38 percent Democrats, 32 percent Republicans and 30 percent independents or other.Sampling error does not take into account other sources of variation inherent in public opinion surveys, such as nonresponse, question wording or context effects. In addition, news events may have affected opinions during the period the poll was taken.Readers can e-mail questions to matt.delong@startribune.com.Demographic breakdown of this polling sample
PARTY DFL / Democrat 303 (38%) Republican 257 (32%) Independent/Other 240 (30%) AGE 18-34 142 (18%) 35-49 209 (26%) 50-64 241 (30%) 65+ 202 (25%) Refused 6 (1%) GENDER Male 382 (48%) Female 418 (52%) INCOME < $25,000 91 (11%) $25,000-$49,999 130 (16%) $50,000-$74,999 134 (17%) $75,000-$99,999 127 (16%) $100,000+ 151 (19%) Refused 167 (21%) REGION Hennepin/Ramsey 256 (32%) Metro Suburbs 231 (29%) Southern Minnesota 159 (20%) Northern Minnesota 154 (19%) INTERVIEW Land-line 377 (47%) Cell Phone 423 (53%)
