About one in five Central Floridians view Muslims more negatively in the wake of the Pulse shootings, even as support for the LGBT and Hispanic communities has grown, a new poll has found.
The Mason-Dixon poll conducted last week for the Orlando Sentinel also shows that Central Floridians support individual gun rights even as a majority back banning assault rifles. Residents also gave their thoughts on the cause of the massacre, its effect on tourism and public safety, and how well elected officials and law enforcement responded.
Pollster Brad Coker noted that the survey found “the strongest backlash is against the Muslim community.”
Twenty-one percent said their views on Muslims were more negative than before the shootings, the poll said. Just 2 percent had more positive views.
“That’s a significant amount of people,” Coker said. “These are people who [a few] weeks ago, thought, ‘I don’t have any problems with the Muslim community,’ and now they’re saying, ‘I don’t really trust them the same way.’”
Views of the LGBT and Hispanic communities have grown slightly more positive in the aftermath of the shootings, the poll found. Thirteen percent said they viewed gay people more positively, while 11 percent said the same of Latinos.
The biggest increase in positive views of the LGBT community was among 18- to 24-year-olds (19 percent) and Hispanics (23 percent).
The June 12 shootings that left 49 slain and more than 50 wounded occurred at a gay club south of downtown Orlando on a Latin night. The gunman, who professed allegiance to the Islamic State, died in a shootout with police.
Wilfredo Ruiz, communications director for the Council on American Islamic Relations in Florida, said the Muslim community of Florida has waited with victims’ families at hospitals, led blood drives and organized fundraisers that have raised more than $100,000.
“We’re making ourselves present in the broader society and sharing the pain,” Ruiz said. “That’s our priority, to be in the field helping people. That’s how you change the narrative of Muslims – not by making beautiful speeches, but by providing practical help to victims.”
He also stressed that education about the Muslim community is key, especially when the immediate reaction “has been fueled by Islamophobic rhetoric during an election year.”
As for the primary motivation for the shootings, 50 percent of Central Floridians said it was as a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic extremism, while 19 percent said it was primarily an attack on the LGBT community. And although it wasn’t a choice offered in the poll, Coker said 12 percent gave both reasons as an answer.
On gun issues, 41 percent have become more supportive of individual gun rights, a reaction seen across all groups except for 18- to 34-year-olds and African Americans.
But at the same time, 55 percent were in favor of banning assault weapons such as the one used at Pulse, a view shared almost across the board.
Fifty percent or more of almost every group agreed a ban was needed, including almost two-thirds of women and people ages 18 to 34 and almost three-quarters of African Americans.
Aubrey Jewett, a political science professor at UCF, said the issue of gun control is complex.
“People are even more supportive of gun rights, [while] at the same time, there is a growing consensus that assault rifles that kill many, many people quickly don’t really have legitimate civilian use,” he noted. “The fact is, assault weapons have been used in a number of mass shootings in this country, and nothing else is as symbolic of mass shootings.”
Twenty-six percent feel less safe after the shootings, including almost half of those 18 to 34 and a third of gay people.
But they aren’t too worried about effects on tourism, with 56 percent not too concerned or not at all concerned.
“Residents realize that as horrific as the attack was, it took place within the downtown corridor, which is really not one of the main tourism corridors,” said Sean Snaith, an economist at UCF. “If this event had been on I-Drive, the result would have been completely different.”
Among other findings:
- Views on how elected leaders responded was mixed, though slightly more positive, bolstered largely by a more positive view by 45 percent of the LGBT community.
- Views on the law enforcement response were more favorable. The biggest margin again was among the LGBT community with 57 percent more positive.
- Thirty-six percent of Central Floridians have gone to vigils or given money in remembrance of the victims.
The poll was conducted of 625 adults in Orange, Seminole, Osceola and Lake counties from June 27 to 29. Its margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.