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?