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USConstitution.net 1999 Survey Results

This site has conducted an unscientific survey on various issues since July of 1998. The results, while interesting in most cases, are to be taken with a grain of salt - the results can easily be skewed by an individual or group of individuals; the sample is, by nature, not representative (because it consists only of Web users who visit my site and bother to view the survey page and submit an opinion).

This page includes results from 1999. For results from other years, please go to the Main Results Page.

Question 18, December 1999 - For the first time in several years, the Supreme Court will hear a case concerning school prayer. What is your opinion on school prayer?

Response	Count	Percentage
Schools should be required to have prayer as part of the everyday routine.	56	14.74
Schools should be required to have a moment of silence as part of the everyday routine	48	12.63
Schools should be allowed to have a prayer or a moment of silence as part of the everyday routine, if the local community approves of it	100	26.32
No structured time should be set aside for prayer or a moment of silence, but schools should specifically allow students to pray as they wish	62	16.32
No structured time should be set aside for prayer or a moment of silence, but schools should specifically allow students to pray in silence	21	5.53
Schools should not sanction prayer of any kind, but students are free to pray on their free time	72	18.95
Prayer of any kind should be forbidden on school grounds	21	5.53
Total	380	100.00

Question 17, November 1999 - The Supreme Court has ruled repeatedly over the last 20 years that the death penalty is constitutional ... but it is now about to rule about whether the electric chair is too cruel to be used under the terms of the 8th Amendment. Is the electric chair as a means of execution too cruel? (Please note that the results of the first ten days of this survey were lost to a hacker attack.)

Response	Count	Percentage
The electric chair is not cruel, period	99	36.53
The electric chair is cruel, but having it is a deterrent to crime, and it should remain for that reason	96	35.42
The electric chair is a cruel throw-back - is should be banned	35	12.92
The death penalty is unconstitutional, despite earlier rulings, and the electric chair, like all methods of execution, needs to be banned	41	15.13
Total	271	100.00

Question 16, October 1999 - For the first time, the Supreme Court has agreed to review a case concerning the rights of grandparents to visitation with their grandchildren, over the objections of the parents. Many states have grandparents' visitation rights statutes, allowing court-ordered visitation, but some of those states have had their laws struck by local courts. Do grandparents have a right to see their grandchildren?

Response	Count	Percentage
Grandparents should have an absolute right to see their grandchildren	116	23.67
There are too many variables for absolutism - the courts should decide on a case-by-case basis	209	42.65
The decision of the parent should be absolute	165	33.67
Total	490	100.00

Question 15, September 1999 - The Department of Justice is asking Congress to write law that would allow it to enter a private home, install software and/or hardware that could record your computer activities and preempt any encryption software you are using. Do you think that law enforcement has a legitimate concern and that it should get the legislation it is looking for?

Response	Count	Percentage
Law enforcement needs laws like this to protect us from the criminal element	20	4.77
Though this proposal is going too far, law enforcement should have some new powers for computer crime	117	27.92
There is no justification for this proposal, and we must fight against such measures to protect our rights	282	67.30
Total	419	100.00

Question 14, August 1999 - Many proposals for changing the Constitution involve the redrawing of state lines. Should the current state boundaries be redrawn?

Response	Count	Percentage
Leave all state boundaries alone	125	61.27
I think they are fine, but it could be worth looking into	37	18.14
I think they're fine, but some large states, maybe even cities, could be split off	23	11.27
States are practically irrelevant now - we definitely need to look at redrawing borders, creating larger regions	12	5.88
We should do away with states and simply have national and local government	7	3.43
Total	205	100.00

Question 13, July 1999 - How did you come to this site?

Response	Count	Percentage
AboutPolitics (Political Site of the Day)	3	.54
Ask Jeeves	3	.54
AltaVista	24	4.34
Booklist Magazine	1	.18
C\|Net	9	1.63
CNN	1	.18
DogPile	5	.90
Email, link in	40	7.23
ETour	2	.36
Excite	50	9.04
InfoSeek	7	1.27
Long-timer (bookmark)	9	1.63
Lycos	6	1.08
Magazine, other	7	1.27
MSN	3	.54
NetFind	15	2.71
Netscape Directory	14	2.53
Newspaper article	4	.72
Other media source	33	5.97
Other search engine	39	7.05
Personal web page	6	1.08
Political web page	12	2.17
The Rush Limbaugh Show	125	22.60
Any Rush Limbaugh web page	27	4.88
Syllabus, college or university	1	.18
ThirdAge	63	11.39
Usenet article	7	1.27
WebBound Magazine	3	.54
WebCrawler	2	.36
Yahoo	32	5.79
Total	553	100.00

Question 12, June 1999 - What is your opinion of the 2nd Amendment?

Response	Count	Percentage
The 2nd protects individual rights, and there must be no restriction on gun ownership, period	329	56.43
The 2nd protects individual rights, but some governmental restriction is alright	152	26.07
The 2nd protects states' rights, and the federal government has no place regulating guns	41	7.03
The 2nd protects states' rights, but the federal government has a role in the regulation of guns	41	7.03
I have no idea who the 2nd protects; regardless, the federal government has no right to regulate guns	2	0.34
I have no idea who the 2nd protects and the federal government has a right to regulate guns	15	2.57
I'm sick of the whole issue, and have no opinion either way	3	0.51
Total	583	100.00
Subdivided Percentages - Restriction
There must be no restriction on gun ownership	372	63.81
Some restriction is alright	209	35.85
No opinion	2	0.34
Subdivided Percentages - State v Individual
Individual protection	481	82.50
State protection	82	14.07
No opinion	20	3.43

Question 11, May 1999 - The ongoing conflict in Kosovo is of great concern to a great many people. What is your opinion of the actions of the President?

Response	Count	Percentage
The President should continue on this course, regardless of what Congress says	21	1.97
The President has the authority to start conflicts like this, but the support of Congress is essential	318	29.89
The President has no authority in this area, and his acts are probably unconstitutional	725	68.14
Total	1064	100.00

Question 10, April 1999 - The First Lady, Hillary Clinton, clearly has the right to run for a U.S. Senate seat in New York, despite the fact that she does not currently live there. The question is, should she?

Response	Count	Percentage
No, she should not run	218	67.28
Yes, it is her right, and she should if she wishes	106	32.72
Total	324	100.00

Question 9, March 1999 - What do you think will happen on January 1, 2000?

Response	Count	Percentage
The doom and gloom are all media hype - we'll be fine	63	21.50
Everything will be OK, but something is bound to break	120	40.96
Lots of computers and machines are going to fail	63	21.50
We're all toast - the system is going down	47	16.04
Total	293	100.00

Question 8, February 1999 - Should the Constitution be amended to abolish the Electoral College and have direct election of the President and Vice-President?

Response	Count	Percentage
Yes, we should have direct elections	188	67.87
No, the layer the College provides is still important	50	18.05
No, the system works, leave it alone	39	14.08
Total	277	100.00

Question 7, January 1999 - Does the impeachment of President Clinton rise to the level of a Constitutional Crisis?

Response	Count	Percentage
No	444	59.76
Yes	299	40.24
Total	743	100.00

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