High Voter Concern Over Pakistan and Its Nukes

May 18, 2009 3:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Eighty-two percent of voters are very or somewhat concerned about the current situation in Pakistan and 56 percent believe there is a chance the Taliban will get control of the nation's nuclear weapons, according to a Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll conducted May 12-13.

The poll results were released on the heels of a report in the New York Times saying that Pakistan is "rapidly adding" to its nuclear arsenal even while struggling to contain the Taliban insurgency.

The survey included a grab-bag of other issues:

Voters opposed transferring prisoners at Guantanamo to prison facilities in the U.S. by 55 percent to 37 percent. Forty-three percent believe the transfers would make the U.S. less safe while 45 percent say it would not make much of a difference.
Fifty-eight percent said, based on the handling of the swine flu outbreak, they believed the government was very or somewhat prepared to respond to handle a terrorist attack using biological or chemical weapons, while 38 percent disagreed. However, only 15 percent of those who responded positively said the chose "very prepared."
Forty-seven percent said the best way to control gun violence was better enforcement of existing laws while 34 percent said more laws and restrictions were needed.
On the abortion issue, 49 percent of voters described themselves as "pro-life" while 43 percent said they were "pro-choice."
On same-sex marriage, a third of voters said gays and lesbians should be allowed to be legally married, another third said they should be accorded status of a legal partnership but not called marriage, and 29 percent said there should be no legal recognition.