Fewer and fewer people are in favor of gun control

"Americans' calls for stricter gun laws have declined since June." One study notes that public support for stricter gun control spikes after major mass shootings.

Published by

Verónica Silveri Pazos

16 de diciembre, 2022

Topics:

Gun control

A Gallup poll reveals that Americans' support for stricter gun legislation dropped to 57% after rising sharply (66%) in June following the two mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, N.Y.

Another 32% of citizens say gun control laws should remain as they are now, and 10% would like them to be less strict. The study states:

Americans' calls for stricter gun laws have fallen since June, when back-to-back massacres in a grocery store and a school resulted in an increased appetite for gun control. This pattern, whereby public support for tougher gun control spikes after prominent mass shootings and falls back as the memory of them fades, has been evident historically in Gallup polling.

Fewer restrictions on firearms

Each political group surveyed showed a downward trend in support for gun restrictions: 86% of Democrats currently think gun sales laws should be stricter, down from 94% in June; the same is true for independents: 60% versus 66% six months ago; and 27% of Republicans say gun sales laws should be stricter versus 38% in June.

Independents' current support for stricter laws is 14 percentage points higher than a year ago, while Democrats' is five points lower and Republicans' is about the same.

Weapons possession in the home

Since 2005, personal gun ownership has remained at an average of 30%. Forty-six percent of Americans say there is a firearm in their home. One-third (33%) say they own one personally, and another 13% say a different household member owns the gun.

Weapons possession varies most by political party, with Republicans more than doubling (48%) that of Democrats (20%). In addition, 66% of Republicans live in a household with a gun, while only 31% of Democrats do.

Further, the groups with highest reported gun ownership are: people with annual incomes of $100,000 or more (63%), urban/rural residents (62%), southerners (59%), and men (51%).