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Ratings of the Supreme Court Are Now Net Negative After Gun and Abortion Decisions

Thursday, June 30, 2022 By Bryan Bennett
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Welcome to NAVIGATOR – a project designed to better understand the American public’s views on issues of the day and help advocates, elected officials, and other interested parties understand the language, imagery, and messaging needed to make and win key policy arguments.
Key takeaways
  • The Supreme Court’s favorability is now underwater for the first time in Navigator’s tracking after decisions to overturn Roe v. Wade and strike down gun laws.
  • Overwhelming and bipartisan majorities feel the decision to have an abortion should be between a woman and her doctor, not the government.
  • Seven in ten feel the right to an abortion in America is at risk, and three in four say it will become harder to access an abortion in the next 5 years.
  • Despite the Supreme Court’s recent ruling to expand gun rights, majorities of Americans continue to want stronger gun laws and feel Washington has not done enough to prevent gun violence.

After Overturning Roe and Expanding Gun Rights, the Supreme Court Is Underwater for First Time in Navigator’s Tracking

Net favorability for the Supreme Court has fallen by 14 points since last asked in early May and by 26 points since February.

• Since February, there has been a 29-point decline in net favorability among independents (from net +4 to net -25).

Groups That Have Moved Most Against SCOTUS Are Younger, Female, Suburban, Liberal Democrats, Independent Women

College-educated women, 18-34 year-olds, white collar workers, 2020 Biden voters, and liberal Democrats have moved the most.

While Both Parties Are More Viewed as Focused on the Wrong Things, There Has Been a Shift Against GOP Since Last Month

The share of Americans who say the Republican Party is “focused on the right things” has declined by a net of 10 points from late May (+1 net right things) to today (-9), while there has been no change in perceptions of Democrats.

Overwhelming Majorities Continue to Believe the Decision to Have an Abortion Should Be Left to Women and Their Doctors

About three in four independents (77%) and Hispanic Americans (74%) believe the decision should be up to a woman and her doctor, and larger shares of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (86%) and Black Americans (80%) say the same.

On Identifying as “Pro-Choice” and Supporting Legality of Abortion, Evangelicals and Republicans Are Lone Opposition

Across gender, religious, and ethnic groups, majorities continue to identify as “pro-choice” and believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases: only pluralities of Republicans and evangelical Christians identify as “pro-life” and say it should not be legal.

Bipartisan Majorities Feel the Right to an Abortion in the United States Is at Risk

Among independents, the total who say the right to an abortion as at risk has increased by 9 points since late May (from 55% to 64%).

Seven in Ten Americans Say It Will Be Harder to Access an Abortion in the United States in the Future

Groups most likely to believe it will be harder to access an abortion in the next five years are Democrats (80%), AAPI (79%), and white Americans (76%).

Majorities Support a Nationwide Law Protecting the Right of Women to Have an Abortion and Oppose a Ban on Abortion

Nearly as many Republicans support having a nationwide law to protect the right to an abortion (40%) as support a nationwide abortion ban (45%).

Almost Two in Three Americans Support Stronger Gun Laws, But Most Still Don’t Think Washington Has Done Enough

Pluralities of Republicans (43%) and gun owners (47%) think gun laws should be stronger.
• Most gun owners (52%) also think that “our leaders in Washington have not done enough to prevent gun violence.”

Biden and Democrats More Trusted on Strengthening Gun Laws and Reducing Mass Shootings

Biden and the Democratic Party are more trusted on both metrics but hold a 20-point advantage among independents on “strengthening gun laws,” compared to a 2-point advantage on “reducing the number of mass shootings.”

Background Checks, Assault Weapons Ban, and Consequences for Gun Dealers Are Viewed as Most Effective Policies

Policies that are both seen as especially effective and are broadly supported include background checks (79% effective, 87% support), holding gun dealers accountable in a court of law (70% effective, 80% support), and “red flag laws” (71% effective, 79% support).

Four in Five Americans Support the Bipartisan “Safer Communities” Gun Reform Bill

Vast majorities of Republicans (74%) and gun-owning households (78%) also support the legislation.

About The Study

Global Strategy Group conducted public opinion surveys among a sample of 1200 registered voters from June 23-June 27, 2022. 105 additional interviews were conducted among Hispanic voters. 74 additional interviews were conducted among Asian American and Pacific Islander voters. 105 additional interviews were conducted among African American voters. 105 additional interviews were conducted among independent voters.

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About Navigator

In a world where the news cycle is the length of a tweet, our leaders often lack the real-time public-sentiment analysis to shape the best approaches to talking about the issues that matter the most. Navigator is designed to act as a consistent, flexible, responsive tool to inform policy debates by conducting research and reliable guidance to inform allies, elected leaders, and the press. Navigator is a project led by pollsters from Global Strategy Group and GBAO along with an advisory committee, including: Andrea Purse, progressive strategist; Arkadi Gerney, The Hub Project; Joel Payne, The Hub Project; Christina Reynolds, EMILY’s List; Delvone Michael, Working Families; Felicia Wong, Roosevelt Institute; Mike Podhorzer, AFL-CIO; Jesse Ferguson, progressive strategist; Navin Nayak, Center for American Progress Action Fund; Stephanie Valencia, EquisLabs; and Melanie Newman, Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

For press inquiries contact: press@navigatorresearch.org