This survey is anonymous. Please answer as honestly as you can. Your opinions matter.
View results here
Describe your community:
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Rural
Suburban
Urban
No Response
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Gender:
Male
Female
No Response
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Age:
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I. PREVENTING TERRORISM
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Profiling of Persons of Arab or Middle Eastern Descent
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1. It has been reported that some police officers stop motorists of certain racial or ethnic groups because the
officers believe that these groups are more likely than others to commit certain types of crime. This practice if known as racial profiling. Do you approve or disapprove of the use of racial profiling by police?
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Approve
Disapprove
Don't know
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2. Since September 11th, some law enforcement agencies have stopped and searched people who are Arab or of Middle Eastern descent to see if they may be involved in potential terrorist activities. Do you approve or disapprove of this kind of profiling?
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Approve
Disapprove
Don't know
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3. In order to reduce the threat of terrorism in the U.S., which of the following measures would you support or oppose giving the law enforcement broader authority to do when it comes to Arabs and others of Middle Eastern descent:
a. Detain suspects of Arab or Middle Eastern descent for a week without charging them
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Support
Oppose
Don't know
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b. Detain terrorist suspects of Arab or Middle Eastern descent indefinitely without charging them
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Support
Oppose
Don't know
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c. Examine students' education records
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Support
Oppose
Don't know
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d. Examine telephone records
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Support
Oppose
Don't know
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e. Examine bank records
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Support
Oppose
Don't know
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II. INTERVENING AGAINST TERRORISM
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Government Censorship of the Media
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1. Now that the president has declared war on international terrorism, should the government be able to review and censor the news stories that feature the following information?
a. Discuss troop deployments or military plans |
Should be able to censor
Should not be able to censor
Don't know
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b. Criticize how the President is conducting military actions |
Should be able to censor
Should not be able to censor
Don't know
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c. Report on anti-war protests |
Should be able to censor
Should not be able to censor
Don't know
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d. Report the names of people arrested for terrorist actions
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Should be able to censor
Should not be able to censor
Don't know
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2. Should the government stop the U.S. media from broadcasting interviews or statements by Osama Bin Laden or his lieutenants, or shouldn't the government be able to stop these broadcasts? |
Should be able to stop them
Should not be able to stop them
Don't know
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III. PUNISHING THOSE SUSPECTED OF TERRORISM
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Military Tribunals
President Bush signed an executive order to allow the military to conduct the trials of non-U.S. citizens accused of terrorism against the United States. These military tribunals may be held in secret, and military judges, not juries, will decide the cases. (Those who favor military tribunals say they allow suspected terrorists to be tried quickly, and that secret trials will keep national security information from falling into the hands of an enemy -- Those who oppose military tribunals say they are more likely to convict innocent people, that in secret trials there is no way to protect against abuses, and that secret evidence gives suspects no real way to defend themselves.)
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1. Do you favor or oppose military tribunals for non-citizens suspected of terrorism who are captured OUTSIDE the United States?
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Favor
Oppose
Don't know
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2. Do you favor or oppose military tribunals for non-citizens suspected of terrorism who are arrested INSIDE the United States?
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Favor
Oppose
Don't know
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3. If military tribunals are used to try non-citizens, do you think people convicted of terrorism by military tribunals should be allowed to appeal their cases to civilian courts, or not?
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Should be allowed to appeal cases to civilian courts
Should not be allowed to appeal cases in civilian courts
Don't know
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4. If military tribunals are used to try non-citizens, do you think that the panel of judges on a military tribunal should be able to sentence someone to death for committing terrorism against the United States, or not?
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Should be able to sentence someone to death
Should not be able to sentence someone to death
Don't know
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5. Do you think that a military tribunal should have been used to try Timothy McVeigh for bombing the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, or was a civilian court the proper place for his trial? |
Military tribunal should have been used
Civilian court was the proper place
Don't know
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*Questions originally appeared in a national NPR/Kaiser/Kennedy School survey conducted in November 2001.
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