Oklahomans are about twice as likely to own guns as their fellow Americans, according to the most recent Oklahoma Poll, and they're not too keen on further regulation of them, either.

"I'm not for much of any restrictions, except on fully automatic weapons, and that's already there," said Sally Kimsey, a rancher near Wardville in southeastern Oklahoma.

Almost 60 percent of the 752 likely voters surveyed by SoonerPoll.com on April 27-30 said they own guns. That compares to the 32 percent nationally, according to an AP/Ipsos National Public Affairs poll conducted one week earlier.

Fifty-four percent of Oklahoma Poll respondents said they do not believe the U.S. needs stricter gun laws in view of the 33 shooting deaths at Virginia Tech University last month.

"That didn't have anything to do with guns," Kimsey said. "That had . . . to do with a breakdown in the mental health system."

The results don't necessarily mean Oklahomans think anybody should be able to own any kind of firearm. World War II veteran Durward Keeter of rural Adair County said people should be able to own "hunting guns" but not "those high-powered guns they fight with."

Phyllis Postoak of Jay favors a ban on assault weapons.

"There's no reason to have one. They're to kill people. And if you need a handgun, why can't you wait three days? What's the hurry?"

Oklahomans outside the state's two major metro areas were more likely to own guns and oppose gun control than their city cousins, especially those in the six-county Tulsa metro area.

Just under half of Tulsans said they own guns, compared to 58 percent in Oklahoma City and 64 percent in the more rural sections of the state.

Small majorities opposed more gun control in the metro areas, but the spread was 17 percentage points among non-metro Oklahomans.

Only 21 percent of rural respondents were worried about becoming victims of gun violence, compared to 26 percent in Oklahoma City and 32 percent in Tulsa.

Poll consultant Al Soltow, vice president of research for the University of Tulsa, said there may be more concern in urban areas because "there is a greater concentration of population, where somebody berserk with a gun is a much greater danger."

"And, in rural areas you could argue there is an attitude, because the proximity of police is much less, there is more of a responsibility to take care of yourself."

Kimsey agreed.

"I've got an hour, maybe an hour and a half for law enforcement to get here," she said. "I have had to call them a time or two, and I don't think it's ever taken less than an hour and a half. I don't even have 911."

Rural Oklahomans also have to ward off animals preying on livestock and tend to hunt more, too.

Most of the controversy about guns, though, involves shooting at humans, usually in more populated areas. Some contend that arming themselves protects individuals against violence, while others argue that more guns lead to more shooting.

The Oklahoma Poll found that those who did not own guns were slightly more fearful of gun violence than gun owners, but gun owners were slightly more likely to know someone who had actually experienced such violence.

But the big difference among those who own guns and those who don't is that those who don't are much more likely to favor more gun laws.

Sixty-three percent of those without guns said they want more laws, while 65 percent of gun owners said they don't.

Democrats and women tended to favor stricter gun laws, while Republicans and men did not.

"I'm anti-gun," said Dallas Saunders, a Democrat. "The less there are around, the less trouble they're going to cause.

"I know it's very controversial," she said, "but I think people get them too easily. When we lived in Missouri, we used to drive by a store that said 'guns, ammo and liquor.' "

Postoak said the Second Amendment, which provides for "a well-regulated militia" and "the right of people to keep and bear arms," is often misapplied.

"There was a reason for them to have guns then," she said. "They were the army, pretty much. And if they didn't hunt, they didn't eat in a lot of cases. Times have changed. Guns are unnecessary in most cases, in my opinion.

"I know that puts me in a minority in Oklahoma."

Randy Krehbiel 581-8365
randy.krehbiel@tulsaworld.com

About the Oklahoma Poll

Soonerpoll.com conducted the scientific telephone survey April 27-30 of 752 likely Oklahoma voters.

Respondents included 310 R epublicans, 416 Democrats and 26 independents selected randomly from voters who have established a frequent voting pattern.

The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percent.

The Oklahoma Poll is sponsored by the Tulsa World and KOTV, channel 6.