JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A poll by the University of North Florida suggests that most Florida voters don’t want to see changes to the state's gun laws that will be considered during the 2017 legislative session that begins next week.
The poll by UNF's Public Opinion Research Lab, released days before lawmakers head to Tallahassee, asked registered voters their options on several pending bills, including open carry of guns in Florida, concealed carry of guns on college campuses and whether the state should ban the sale of assault rifles or large-capacity magazines.
The poll found that only 35 percent of over 900 voters questioned supported a law that would allow people with concealed carry permits keep their weapons on them on the campus of colleges and universities. More than two-third of voters oppose campus carry -- nearly half of voters strongly oppose the idea.
Every student News4Jax spoke with on the campus of UNF agreed with the poll's results.
"People have the right to feel safe, but on a college campus, I'm not sure if that's the most appropriate setting," Mallory Civil said.
"I just feel it would be safer on campus for all of the students if they didn't have to worry about having other students have weapons," said Holly Lentner.
On the proposal to allow licensed gun owners to openly carry a handgun anywhere in Florida except police stations, prisons, courthouses, schools, sporting events and establishments serving alcohol, the UNF survey found that 53 percent of voters were opposed -- either strongly or somewhat. The poll found 44 percent supported open carry in the state.
Dr. Michael Binder, who runs the Public Opinion Research Lab, said the poll was conducted by UNF students as part of a class project. It was not paid for by any group.
"That is a pretty clear will of people on that issue," Binder said. "I'm curious to see how that will impact the legislative session going forward."
A third gun question in the poll asked about a proposal that would prohibit sales of assault weapons and large-capacity clips. Exactly half of voters polled opposed the ban, while 46 percent supported it.
Eric Friday, lead attorney for the group Florida Carry, questioned the poll results, said the researchers should focus on likely voters rather than registered voters.
"Polls can be wrong. Polls are not always right," Friday said. "We’ve seen that recently in November, and I think we might be seeing it here again."