More than two-thirds of likely Republican and Democratic primary voters in South Carolina want the United States to lead the world in reducing the number of nuclear weapons globally and believe that those reductions would make the United States safer, according to a new public opinion poll commissioned by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

Majorities in both parties further agreed that current U.S. policy makes it more likely that other countries will try to acquire their own nuclear weapons, because that policy includes the option of using nuclear weapons against countries without nuclear weapons. Likewise, majorities oppose the U.S. policy option of using nuclear weapons first in a conflict, and believe the United States should only use nuclear weapons in response to a nuclear attack, or should never use them. (For a brief overview of the poll, click here.

“These poll results demonstrate that there is bipartisan support for a new U.S. nuclear weapons policy,” said Dr. Lisbeth Gronlund, co-director of UCS’s Global Security Program. “Voters in South Carolina, like those throughout the country, consider U.S. words and actions to be critical to stopping the spread of nuclear weapons.”

Continue reading →