A recent Elon Poll, published on Oct. 14, found that North Carolinians are concerned with public safety following the fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska on Aug. 22 in Charlotte, N.C. and a mass shooting on Sept. 27 in Southport, N.C.
With a sample of 800 North Carolina adults, the Elon Poll found that 61% of respondents were very or someone concerned about their own safety from crime in outdoor areas with large crowds. 59% of respondents were very or somewhat concerned about their safety while on public transportation. Zarutska was killed while riding the Charlotte light rail and her murder sparked national attention and outrage.
Director of the Elon Poll Jason Husser said the poll wanted to focus on public safety due to a series of recent incidents across the state and country.
“There's certainly a lot of important things happening in the world,” Husser said. “When we started this project, we knew the crime would be on people's minds in light of high-profile violent incidents, both in Charlotte as well as Charlie Kirk’s assassination.”
Kirk was a conservative political activist who was killed at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10. Since Kirk’s death, Vice President J.D. Vance said that people who celebrate the death of Kirk should be held accountable, while guest-hosting an episode of the Charlie Kirk Show.
The poll found division between political parties over people losing their jobs for making public statements celebrating Kirk’s death. 9% of Democrats and 65% of Republicans surveyed said people should lose their jobs for making public statements celebrating Kirk’s death, while 73% of Democrats and 17% of Republicans say people should not.
Despite the partisan division, 75% of respondents said people should not be fired for making public statements criticizing Kirk’s beliefs.
“We likely will continue to study these areas of public discourse,” Husser said. “What we did find, those Republicans do at least want to see people losing their jobs that celebrate the violence of the act, but generally, Republicans are supportive of freedom of expression and don't want to see people having job loss if all they're doing is criticizing a political belief of someone they disagree with.”
The poll also found that the majority of North Carolinians surveyed believe that political violence, relations between Democrats and Republicans and freedom of speech will get worse over the next year.
While most responses had division towards one side, respondents of the poll were split on President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to act as law enforcement. The National Guard has not been deployed in North Carolina.
Respondents were also mixed on state, county and local law officials should assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement with enforcing federal immigration laws. This month, The Criminal Illegal Alien Enforcement Act went into effect in North Carolina, and requires sheriffs to cooperate with federal immigration law enforcement.
Even though the total responses were split, when looking at demographics the responses remained very split again along party lines.
“It's a more extreme version of the pattern of polarization,” Husser said. “We know we've tapped into an issue that really embodies what it means to live in a polarized society like we do today. Part of the reason for that split is because it has become a centerpiece of President Trump's policy proposals regarding crime.”
The next Elon Poll will be released on Oct. 16.