public opinion has tended to influence legislative action on above with respect to so-called *intensity problem*...
when an issue is emotional and visible, public opinion is often divided, moreover, some folks ostensibly have stronger feelings than others...
re. gun control, an individual legislator may find that 65% of her/his constituents favor stricter licensing and longer waiting periods but their feelings on the matter are not intense (the ole' semantic differential game that pollsters play - agree/strongly agree/leaning towards agreement - didn't aristotle say something more than fifteen years ago about the fruitlessness of trying to quantify qualities)...
on other hand, if the remaining 33% vociferously oppose tighter controls, their opinion might be reflected in orgs that engage in more energetic lobbying efforts and/or agitation for defeat at re-election time...
given above, legislator may lose votes by going along with majority public opinion, in the case of gun legislation, some poli sci research indicates that touger bills do not pass until public opinion reaches 75% support, with some significant percentage in the *strongly agree* category... mh
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