CIVIL RIGHTS UPDATE: Poll: Support for Handgun Bans at Record Low. “For the first time, Gallup finds greater opposition to than support for a ban on semiautomatic guns or assault rifles, 53% to 43%. In the initial asking of this question in 1996, the numbers were nearly reversed, with 57% for and 42% against an assault rifle ban.” Obviously, the gun-rights community’s message of tolerance has been changing minds and reducing the hate and fear.