Poll: Gun Permit-Holder Names Should Remain Private

Voters in Virginia believe concealed gun permit-holders have a right to privacy and their names should not be released publicly, according to a Quinnipiac University poll.

The survey of 1,098 registered state voters taken March 20-25 found that 60 percent of respondents said the names of permit holders should be kept private, while 35 percent said they should be made public.

The poll also revealed sharp political, gender, and racial divisions when it came to the idea of expanding Virginia's Medicaid program. Voters overall were divided by a 45 percent to 43 percent margin on expanding Medicaid. However, 73 percent of Democrats said they favor expansion, while 67 percent of Republican respondents oppose it. Another 47 percent of independent voters oppose expansion as well, while 40 percent of their number favor it.

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The survey found that women also back expansion by a 48 percent to 39 percent margin, while men generally opposed it by 48 percent to 42 percent. Black respondents, meanwhile, said they support Medicaid expansion by a 68 percent to 20 percent margin, while whites are generally opposed to it by a margin of 50 percent to 38 percent.

Voters in Virginia also displayed a growing dissatisfaction with President Barack Obama's job performance. The president received a negative 45 percent to 49 percent score, which was down from his 51 percent to 46 percent approval rating in a Quinnipiac poll released Feb. 21.

“One thing that may be hurting the president's approval rating is the implementation of automatic cuts in the federal budget from the sequester,” said Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

Virginia voters also weighed in on the budget cuts, calling them bad for the country by a 50 percent to 24 percent margin.