Don't Know Much About Gun Laws by Joel Benenson and Katie Connolly. The New York Times. April 6, 2013.
A brief, and I am certain not nearly complete, overview of some of the misperceptions about gun laws. The significance of lack of knowledge and misperception is that they provide a tremendous opportunity to shape public policy in ways contrary to facts and rationality. For those who wish to shape policy in accord with facts and rationality, it is important to systematically identify the prevailing illusions in order to develop strategies to counter them.
It is important therefore for political polling to focus on prevailing misperceptions as well as specific patterns of lack of knowledge. For example, how perceptions of spending compares with actual spending is vital for effective fiscal advocacy. How the perception of the Constitution compares with the actual Constitution is important in presenting legal arguments. How prevailing perceptions of inequality compare with actual inequality is vital across a range of issues. How
Would it be unreasonable for media organizations to incorporate in their reporting a systematic effort to identify prevailing factual misunderstandings and illusions to address the information needs of the readership?
Illusion is too important to ignore.
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