In the wake of the failure of the Senate to pass even a modest background check bill, many around the country are still scratching their heads. How could Senators ignore a "90% issue"? Many assume the answer lies in one of two places.

First, the supposed strength of the...

Much has been made of a recent CBS poll showing declining support for "stricter gun control laws." But as argued in a new report for Center for American Progress (written by myself, an all-star bipartisan team of pollsters, and CAP Senior Fellow Arkadi Gerney), a survey...

In the latest "Mommy War" skirmish, two tech titans have awakened that other giant: the Ladyblogs. But like so many previous battles, Sandberg-Mayer vs. the girl gang is just a distraction from the real struggle over workplace equality desperate for reinforcements. (For more on the backlash, and the backlash against...

The post-State of the Union preschool debate and the anniversary of the Feminine Mystique make this a good time to examine views on the "women's issues" Stephanie Coontz so eloquently described as human rights issues. Turns out there is more consensus than division.

Most Americans feel women should...

Close followers of my blog posts (hi Mom!) know I've written extensively about how support for stronger gun laws is actually less controversial than the press reports might lead you to believe. And crosstabs suggest something driving the dissension that does exist: a gender gap that transcends party...

At the NRA website you can learn about how "the media continually misfires." Get it? Well, America is no longer chuckling at its tone-deafness. Both Gallup and PPP have shown the NRA's favorability declining post-Newtown. And even gun owners are distancing themselves from the group. By refusing to...

Post-Newtown, Gallup has been releasing a steady stream of polling and analysis on guns. But their results leave me with more questions than answers.

In this poll released today, Gallup tests six different measures, asking respondents how effective each would be in "preventing mass shootings at schools,...

In the wake of the horror at Sandy Hook Elementary School, commentators are wondering if there is public support for stronger gun laws. But polling shows voters are ready. Several patterns emerge from our ongoing bipartisan work for Mayors Against Illegal Guns, along with other public...

Candidates feeling cowed by NRA influence should fear no more. NRA spending this cycle was ineffective -- or at least insufficient. In six of seven U.S. Senate races where NRA spending exceeded $100,000, their favored candidate lost (see this Media Matters report). And according to campaign finance watchdog...

Without a doubt a big story from last week is Republicans' "demography problem" with minority voters. Others say race (and not gender) is really the main story of the election.

But actually Republicans continue to have a gender problem that transcends race. While Romney did indeed...

As I thought might happen, Obama won Tuesday by winning women and losing men, which hasn't occurred since 1996. Obama had a 10-point gender gap in the exit polls, and Gallup's own data show the largest gender gap they've ever seen. And in many...

Think this year's political focus on women's issues is just some overblown hype fueled by a few rogue Akins and Mourdocks? Think again. I sorted through binders full of Republican candidates, and found a real pattern. To be sure, Democrats have their own transgressions, and not all Republican...

The presidential horserace has been bouncing around since Labor Day. A stronger Democratic convention, Romney's 47 percent calamity, Obama's lackluster debate, and Biden's strong performance have all contributed to a fluid race. But contrary to some coverage and Democratic handwringing, one thing that hasn't moved as much is the gender...

With Mitt Romney's latest double-talk on abortion and Obama's post-debate slump, women are again in the news. Some conflate a discussion about women voters with a discussion about abortion. And the right often argues that women will vote based on the economy, not abortion. Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway

As you may have heard, it's been a bad week for Mitt Romney. And while he's taken a tumble in the polls, nationally it's still a fairly close race. But both nationwide and in some key swing states, Obama's lead among women has widened considerably. Women are behind the Obama...

The Presidential campaign is now careening from convention to gaffe to speech to debate, and Congressional and Senate races are up on the air in earnest. The parties are drawing contrasts on many fronts: Medicare, Social Security, health care, the right to choose, and a stable foreign policy.

But another...

Once again, as I wrote a few weeks ago, polling shows more support for stricter gun laws than press coverage would suggest. A few new polls show continued broad support for a variety of stronger gun laws, and for the presidential candidates to devote more time to this...

In the wake of the Aurora, CO shooting tragedy there has been somber coverage, and somber political coverage. Multiple outlets have pronounced "gun control" doomed. Even Huffington Post's senior polling editor Mark Blumenthal (with whom I rarely disagree), declares "gun control polls show long-term decline." But polling reveals...

Debate over Paycheck Fairness heats up in the Senate today. But as with many other women's issues, it's far more controversial with Washington politicians than with voters.

Gender pay equity continues to be a problem, both in perception and reality. Full-time working women continue to make less...

New Gallup polling suggests the joys of motherhood can bring added challenges. Employed women without kids at home experience less worry, sadness, stress, and anger than moms of kids at home, be they currently employed or not. Moms, by contrast, report more struggles.

But the most striking finding...