Less and less Americans support strict gun laws: Poll
3 Min Read
The divide over gun laws in the United States is narrowing, with less people unsatisfied with the status quo of gun laws in the country.
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Mourners place flowers, candles and tokens on crosses for each of the Robb Elementary School shooting victims at a memorial put up in the Uvalde Town Square, May 27, 2022 (American-Statesman)
The majority of Americans, though diminishing, support stricter gun laws as gun violence takes the country by storm, a Gallup poll released Monday revealed.
The poll, conducted October 3 through October 20, found that 57% of US citizens are in favor of stricter gun laws, specifically regarding the sale of firearms. However, this number is a decrease from the 66% recorded in June in the wake of the mass shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo.
In late May, an 18-year-old boy carried out a mass shooting that claimed the lives of at least 21 people at an elementary school in Texas. He used two weapons, including an AR15-style automatic rifle.
Similarly, a heavily armed 18-year-old donning tactical gear carried out a mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, where he shot 13 people, 10 of whom died on the scene before the police apprehended him.
Gallup attributed the decline to the loss in impetus over the gun issue over time, alongside the result being an acknowledgment of the federal gun law passed in June in response to the Uvalde shooting.
The US Senate passed in late June a bill aimed at curbing the gun violence ravaging the United States, which has been particularly rampant over the past couple of months. The bill that passed the Senate floor includes narrow restrictions on firearm ownership and allocates several billion dollars to mental health and school security funding.
Regarded as a life-saving breakthrough for Congress, the reforms have been praised after Capitol Hill stood idle for almost three decades as gun violence tore through the United States.
The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act received a consensus from the Senate Democrats, garnering 50 votes from the blue party, and was further pushed by 15 votes from the body's Republicans.
The legislation in question includes background checks for anyone under the age of 21 seeking to acquire a firearm and allocates $11 billion in funding for mental health support and $2 billion for school safety programs. It also provides funding to incentivize states to implement "red flag" laws to remove firearms from people perceived as a threat.
Regardless, the figure reflects an uptick in pro-stricter gun laws, with a year-on-year increase of 5 percent from the 52% reported a year earlier in October 2021.
The poll also found that 32% of Americans support the status quo of gun laws, with 10% wanting them to be less strict. Views seemed to be also divided as per partisanship, with 86% of Democrats supporting stricter gun laws as only 27% of their GOP counterparts supporting said laws.
The findings come a day after a shooting near a nightclub - CLUB Q - in Colorado Springs injured 18 people and killed 5. Police rushed to the scene to find dead bodies lying on the premises.
The police responded to reports of an active shooting at Club Q at 11:57 pm. local time on Saturday. The shooting victims were transported to hospitals around the city, while the suspect was taken to a hospital for medical attention and is currently in custody.
Meanwhile, four students were discovered dead last week in their home near the University of Idaho in the city of Moscow, Idaho, police reported.
