Poll: Americans Willing To Sacrifice Rights To Battle Terrorist Groups

Polls taken since the Oklahoma bombing find broad support for some intrusive government security measures, although four in 10 Americans believe federal power already threatens people’s rights and freedoms.

In a CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll released Tuesday, 72 percent of the respondents said the federal government should actively investigate and infiltrate armed resistance groups “even if doing so may infringe on their constitutional rights.”

Asked whether “the federal government has become so large and powerful that it poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens,” 39 percent said yes and 58 percent said no.

But 78 percent said citizens should not be allowed to organize and arm themselves to resist federal power, CNN reported. And 71 percent thought Americans have no constitutional right to buy and store large quantitites of weapons.

A poll by KRC Research & Consulting found majority support for the government doing more to find potential terrorists “even if that means more intervention in the privacy of all Americans.”

The breakdown was 54 percent in favor, 36 percent against, 10 percent not sure.

KRC’s poll of 1,008 U.S. adults Friday through Monday has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Gallup polled 496 adults Sunday and Monday, with a 5-point margin of error.