Something historic is happening with how Americans see the NRA
- A NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that for the first time since at least 2000, Americans hold a net unfavorable view of the NRA.
- The turn came in the aftermath the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida.
- Other polls released since Parkland show a similar decline in the NRA's favorability.
For the first time in nearly two decades, Americans have turned against the National Rifle Association, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll.
The poll found that 40% of people surveyed had a negative view of the NRA, while 37% had a positive view. That represented a significant drop from April 2017, when the same poll found a 45% positive to 33% negative divide.
It is the first time since at least 2000 that the poll registered a negative favorability rating for the gun-owners group.
According to survey, the biggest declines in support came from married white women, urban residents, white women in general, and moderate Republicans.
The NBC/WSJ poll also matches other recent polling showing that the NRA's favorability is starting to turn negative in the wake of its response to the high-school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
- An Economist/YouGov poll released in February found that for the first time in the poll's tracking, "significantly more Americans express a negative opinion of the National Rifle Association than a positive one."
- Overall, 45% of people surveyed held an unfavorable view of the NRA, while 36% had a favorable view. That was a decline from October, when the NRA held a 40% favorable to a 36% unfavorable edge.
- A Quinnipiac poll released on February 20 found that 38% of respondents thought the NRA supports policies that are good for the US, while 51% said the group supports policies that are bad for the US.
- And a CNN poll released on February 25 found that 46% of people held a favorable view of the NRA, and 49% held an unfavorable view.