Nearly 60% of registered voters think it’s at least somewhat important for lawmakers to pass stricter gun laws, a new Morning Consult/Politico poll found after a mass shooting in Buffalo, New York—even before another shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday further ramped up calls for Congress to pass gun control legislation.
The poll found a combined 59% think it’s important for elected leaders to “pass stricter gun control laws,” including 83% of Democrats, 52% of Independents and 37% of Republicans.
That includes 41% who believe it’s “very important” and 18% who think it’s “somewhat important,” while 13% said it’s “not too important” and 19% believe it’s “not important at all.”
A majority also want Congress to pass legislation that places “additional restrictions on gun ownership,” with 34% saying it should be a “top priority” for lawmakers and 22% believing it’s an “important” priority, but not a top one.
A 35% plurality said the most important thing the federal government should do to prevent mass shootings is passing stricter gun control laws, but that question was more divided—25% think it’s most important to “[prevent]
the spread of extremist ideologies,” and 23% want “more effective policing.”
That includes 54% of Democrats who think passing gun control laws is most effective (while 27% want to combat extremist ideologies), versus 31% of Independents and 17% of Republicans.
The House has passed two bills that would strengthen background check requirements for gun purchases, but they’re unlikely to clear the Senate, as Republican lawmakers and moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) have opposed the measures.
The poll was conducted among 2,005 registered voters from May 20-22, which is after the shooting in Buffalo took place on May 14 but before the shooting in Uvalde on Tuesday.
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