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Gallup: Immigration, Guns Not Major Concerns

Posted: Sun Apr 21, 2013 8:51 am
by Rod Martin
Immigration and gun control are two hot topics in Washington these days, but Americans aren’t especially concerned about either issue, a new Gallup poll reveals.

In the survey of more than 1,000 adults, respondents were asked: “What do you think is the most important problem facing this country today?”

Only 4 percent cited “immigration/illegal aliens,” and 4 percent said “guns/gun control,” down from 6 percent in February.

Healthcare, another hot topic today, was cited by only 6 percent.

The most-cited problem was “economy in general,” chosen by 24 percent, followed by “unemployment/jobs” (18 percent), “dissatisfaction with government” (16 percent), and “federal budget deficit/federal debt” (11 percent).

Legislation on gun control and immigration reform are both stirring debate in Washington, but “few Americans mention guns or immigration as the most important problems facing the nation today, despite the current attention lawmakers in Washington are giving to these issues,” Gallup observed.

“Instead, Americans focus on economic issues and problems with the government as their top concerns.”

Other problems mentioned by poll respondents include “ethical/moral/family decline” (5 percent), “education” (4 percent), “situation with North Korea” (4 percent), “welfare” (2 percent), “taxes” (2 percent), and “poverty/hunger/homelessness” (2 percent).

Gallup concludes: “All in all, to the degree that Americans would want their elected representatives to focus on the problems they perceive to be the most important of the day, they would prioritize the economy and jobs, efforts to fix problems with the way government functions today, and the deficit.”