Most voters say it’s ‘important’ lawmakers pass gun control measures: post-Buffalo poll
Nearly six out of 10 registered voters — 59% — agree that it is important that their elected representatives pass stricter gun control laws, with 41% deeming it “very important,” according to a poll released on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, 32% said it is not important, including 13% who say it is “not too” important and 19% who say it is “not important at all,” a Politico/Morning Consult survey shows.
Eighteen percent believe passing stricter measures is “somewhat important,” and 9% had no opinion on the matter.
The poll was taken after the May 14 shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo that killed 10 people and before Tuesday’s massacre at a school in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 21 people, including 19 students.
Democrats by large margins support such legislation over Republicans and independents.
The poll shows that 65% of Democrats believe it is “very important” and 18% say it is “somewhat important.”
Among Republicans, 18% think it is “very important” and 19% say it is “somewhat important” — while 36% say passing gun measures is “not important at all.”
Independents occupy the middle ground with 34% saying it’s “very important” and 18% opting for “somewhat important.”
Asked which measures lawmakers should take to reduce the number of mass shootings in the US, 35% of registered voters say passing stricter gun control measures, 25% go with preventing the spread of extremist ideologies and 23% back more effective policing.
Democrats overwhelmingly support more gun control measures more than Republicans by 54% to 17%.
Republican voters prefer more policing (34%).
Speaking at the White House just hours after the Uvalde shooting, President Biden blamed the “gun lobby” and called for Congress to enact new gun control laws.
“As a nation, we have to ask when in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? When in God’s name will we do what we all know in our gut needs to be done?” the president said.
But any such legislation is expected to have a difficult time getting the required votes in the evenly divided Senate.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), a critical swing vote in the chamber, told reporters on Tuesday that while he supports “common sense” gun reform, he’s not willing to suspend the 60-vote threshold for passing legislation.
The poll surveyed 2,005 registered voters between May 20 and 22.
It has a plus/minus 2 percentage-point margin of error.
