A recent AP-NORC poll reveals that most Americans believe civil liberties, such as the right to vote and freedom of speech, are under threat. The survey, conducted April 16-20, found that about 9 in 10 Americans consider the right to vote as extremely or very important to the United States’ identity.

Threats to Freedoms

Additionally, nearly half of Americans say freedom of speech is under major threat, followed by about 3 in 10 who said the same about gun rights and religious freedom. The poll also found that about two-thirds of Americans view the right to vote as under some threat, with about one-third saying voting rights are under major threat.

Black Americans are less likely than white Americans to say the right to vote is extremely or very important to American identity, with about three-quarters agreeing with the sentiment compared to about 9 in 10 white Americans. However, about 4 in 10 Black Americans say that the right to vote is facing a major threat in the country today, higher than any other racial group.

Divided Opinions

Democrats and Republicans are divided on the magnitude of threat to rights, with Democrats seeing a greater threat to freedom of speech, while Republicans are more worried about the right to keep and bear arms. While most Americans believe the right to bear arms is at least very important to the nation’s identity, about 8 in 10 Republicans agree with that sentiment, compared to only about 4 in 10 Democrats.

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.