Jim Morrison was really onto something with that whole "People Are Strange" theory.
If you've ever wondered why so many conspiracy-theory-based bills are actually discussed at Arizona Legislature, it appears there's an explanation for that: Many people actually believe in these things (and also use tinfoil hats to deflect the government's mind rays).
Public Policy Polling released national poll results this morning on beliefs in government conspiracy theories, and there's a lot of belief there.
Is the Obama administration secretly trying to take guns away from Americans? Thirty-six percent say yes, including 62 percent of Republicans.
You'd think after this guy's been in office for five years that it would be weird that Obama's gun Nazis haven't gone door-to-door taking guns once yet.
Don't worry, because one in four Americans apparently thinks Obama's developing a plot to stay in office past 2017, including 44 percent of Republicans, because that's a normal thought to have.
Approximately 44 percent of Republicans and 12 percent of Democrats fear Sharia Law is making its way into American courts. Did all the stonings give that away?
About 13 percent of Americans think the government executes "false flag" operations -- like 9/11 being an "inside job" -- although 70 percent disagree.
Here's another thing that totally doesn't hint at a need for psychiatric medication: "And 17 percent of voters said they think a group of world bankers are slowly eliminating paper currency to force most banking online -- only to cut the power grid so regular citizens can't access money and are forced into worldwide slavery," the polling firm says.
One of the hottest theories is that professional sports leagues rig the playoffs -- 32 percent said that happens and another 19 percent wasn't ready to commit to saying it does or doesn't happen.
Just 3 percent "believe that the U.S. has been conspiring with aliens for technology advancements."
Just as a note, PPP says this was a poll of 790 registered voters, so these people actually have some sort of say in who our elected leaders are.
It's probably not surprising that several of these topics have been raised at the state capitol, including bills to prevent Obama's gun-stealing, Sharia law, and human-animal hybrids, not to mention multiple "birther" bills.
The main finding of the poll was that Republicans were more likely to subscribe to conspiracy theories than Democrats. You know, the people with the "I DON'T BELIEVE THE LIBERAL MEDIA" bumper stickers. In fact, this is probably a government plant to discredit your beliefs, and I'm a cyborg.
Check out PPP's release on the poll here.
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Follow Matthew Hendley on Twitter at @MatthewHendley.
