a bipartisan gun safety bill<\/a>. The package, approved in the wake of shootings like the one that killed 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, was both a measured compromise and the most significant bill addressing gun violence to be approved in Congress in decades \u2014 an indication of how intractable the issue has become. <\/p>\nThe poll found 71% of Americans say gun laws should be stricter, including about half of Republicans, the vast majority of Democrats, and a majority of those in gun-owning households. <\/p>\n
Nicole Whitelaw, 29, is a Democrat and gun owner who grew up hunting and target shooting in upstate New York with her strongly Republican family. Whitelaw, who now lives along Florida\u2019s Gulf Coast, supports some gun restrictions, such as prohibiting people convicted of domestic violence from owning firearms and a federal law preventing mentally ill people from purchasing guns. <\/p>\n
She said other restrictions \u2014 such as banning sales of AR-15 rifles \u2014 are \u201cgoing too far\u201d and may not solve the problem. Whitelaw pointed to the the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many people bought up all the toilet paper they could find. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think people would start trying to hoard guns,\u201d she said, adding that a better approach is to make smaller changes and see what impact they have. <\/p>\n
The poll shows bipartisan majorities of Americans support a nationwide background check policy for all gun sales, a law preventing mentally ill people from purchasing guns, allowing courts to temporarily prevent people who are considered a danger to themselves or others from purchasing a gun, making 21 the minimum age to buy a gun nationwide and banning those who have been convicted of domestic violence from purchasing a gun. <\/p>\n
A smaller majority of Americans \u2014 59% \u2014 favor a ban on the sale of AR-15 rifles and similar semiautomatic weapons, with Democrats more likely to support that policy than Republicans, 83% vs. 35%. <\/p>\n
Chris Boylan, 47, from Indianapolis, opposes restrictions on guns. As a teacher for many years, Boylan said he has \u201cburied more kids than I care to count\u201d and believes gun violence is a major problem. But the Republican, who said he leans more toward Libertarian in his personal stances, believes the issue is more about mental health and a too-lenient criminal justice system.<\/p>\n
\u201cBlaming the gun is an oversimplification of what the issues really are,\u201d Boylan said. \u201cIt\u2019s not the gun. It\u2019s a hearts-and-minds issue to me.\u201d <\/p>\n
The new poll finds 88% of Americans call preventing mass shootings extremely or very important, and nearly as many say that about reducing gun violence in general. But 60% also say it\u2019s very important to ensure that people can own guns for personal protection.<\/p>\n
Overall, 52% of Americans \u2014 including 65% of Republicans and 39% of Democrats \u2014 say both reducing mass shootings and protecting the right to own guns for personal protection highly important.<\/p>\n
University of Chicago professor Jens Ludwig said the poll\u2019s findings show that concerns raised by opponents of gun restrictions are \u201cvery off base.\u201d Led by the National Rifle Association, the gun lobby argues that any new limitations on who may have a gun or what type of firearms may be sold will lead to nationwide bans on all weapons and ammunition. <\/p>\n
The poll showed most Americans\u2019 opinions are more nuanced and there is support for some changes even among Republicans, who as elected officials typically oppose gun control, said Ludwig, who also is director of the University of Chicago\u2019s Crime Lab.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt should shut the door to some of the \u2018slippery slope\u2019 arguments,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
The poll also found that only about 3 in 10 Americans support a law allowing people to carry guns in public without a permit. Seventy-eight percent of Democrats are opposed. Among Republicans, 47% are in favor and 39% are opposed.<\/p>\n
Ervin Leach, 66, lives in Troutman, North Carolina, north of Charlotte, believes gun violence is a major problem and says that laws should be much more strict. A Democrat, Leach said he supports measures like background checks \u2014 or what he said should be \u201cin-depth studies\u201d \u2014 and a minimum age of 21 to buy a gun. <\/p>\n
The poll found 1 in 5 people have experienced gun violence themselves in the last five years, such as being threatened with a gun or a shooting victim, or had a close friend or family member who has. Black and Hispanic Americans are especially likely to say that they or someone close to them has experienced gun violence. <\/p>\n
Leach, who is Black, said the gun violence he sees in the news has made him more cautious. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t like people approaching me,\u201d he said. \u201cIt used to be if someone was on the side of the road, you\u2019d stop to help. Now, you go to help somebody, you might lose your life.\u201d <\/p>\n
All the killings have caused Leach to contemplate buying a gun for his own protection. While he hasn\u2019t had a chance yet to get his gun permit, he said, \u201cThat is my intention.\u201d <\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
AP Polling Reporter Hannah Fingerhut in Washington contributed to this report.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
The poll of 1,373 adults was conducted July 28-Aug. 1 using a sample drawn from NORC\u2019s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n
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