OB Rag Poll on the Use of Drones: 82% Oppose Drones in the U.S.

Recently, the OB Rag ran a readers’ poll on the use of drones by the US government either in America and/or abroad.  The results of the week-long poll are in:  82% of respondents oppose the use of drones in the United States.

36% of the respondents replied that they are okay with the use of the unmanned flying vessels in other countries by our government. 17% indicated that they are okay with their use in America.

45%  of the 108 readers who responded specifically feel that the use of drones in America is unconstitutional or that they should not be used in our country.  Another 37% replied that they specifically opposed their use overseas as well.

26% said that their use in America is “absolutely unconstitutional”.  Another 19% were okay with their use in hunting down terrorists abroad, but opposed their deployment here in this country.

Another 26% stated that drone use overseas “is resulting in too many casualties” and “are creating new terrorists”, and 11% replied that they believed that both presidents Bush and Obama “have dangerously expanded their use” overseas “in countries that we are not at war with.”

The ‘pro-drone’ responses included 10% who said drones were better than “having American boots on the ground”, 6% who wanted to “rejoice in [drone] use as it provides more jobs in our area.” A 1% felt that the military can be trusted to use drones.

Here is the actual poll:

Question: What do you think about drones being used within America and overseas?

Answers with Votes and Percent

• They are better than having American boots on the ground overseas. 11 votes – 10%

• The military can be trusted to use them just as they use other weapons of war. 1 vote – 1%

• Drone use in the US against Americans is absolutely unconstitutional. 28 votes – 26%

• The last two Presidents – Bush and Obama – have dangerously expanded their use in other parts of the world in countries that we are not at war with. 12  votes – 11%

• I’m okay with their use to hunt down and smash terrorists, but they should not be used in America. 21 votes – 19%

• Their use overseas is resulting in too many casualties viewed as “collateral damage” and are creating new terrorists who hate us for it. 28 votes – 26%

• We in San Diego should rejoice in their use -as it provides more jobs in our area. 7 votes – 6%