Some 16.8 percent of Ukrainians maintain and another 18.5 percent are inclined to agree that citizens have the right to protect their property and the safety of their homes by using a firearm which is legally procured and possessed and is strictly controlled by the government.
In turn, 21.5 percent are inclined to disagree and 31.7 percent raise objections, the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) said after a poll conducted on the orders of the Volia political party.
In the opinion of 10.5 percent of respondents, fellow citizens are entitled to protect their life and safety in the street and to carry a concealed weapon which is legally procured and possessed and is strictly controlled by the government; 13.8 percent are inclined to agree; 40.3 percent disagree, and 23.4 percent are inclined to disagree.
In case the right to self-defense by means of a legal firearm is granted, 13.8 percent of respondents said they would buy a weapon, 13.3 percent would be inclined to do so, 55.1 percent would not, and 11.3 percent would be inclined not to do so.
Only 6.2 percent of respondents believe that law enforcement authorities can fully protect citizens and their property; 31.6 percent argue that the protection is partial, 31.4 percent think that law enforcers are failing this mission, and 23.2 percent say that the failure is partial.
The sociologists polled 2,040 persons in 110 populated localities throughout Ukraine in the period from Dec.3 till Dec. 12, 2016.
