Americans are somewhat more likely to back new gun-control measures in the wake of the most recent high-profile shooting.
At least, that’s what the latest poll released by The Economist and YouGov shows. On Wednesday, the pair released a survey that found American adults backed universal background checks and “red flag” measures at a higher rate than the last time they asked about them.
82 percent of adults said they favor requiring background checks on all gun buyers, including those using private sales. That’s up two points from the last time YouGov asked the question in February 2023 but up nine points from when it asked in April 2022. Meanwhile, 73 percent backed allowing a court to “temporarily remove guns from people that are believed to pose a danger to themself or others,” an increase of four points from February 2023 and five points from January 2023.
The upswing in support for gun restrictions, as modest as it might be, could help Kamala Harris over Donald Trump since she has made universal background checks and “red flag” laws a consistent part of her platform. 84 percent of the respondents also said guns were an important issue in their vote, with 55 percent labeling it very important. However, the poll may indicate the Georgia shooting hasn’t significantly shifted the election. While 90 percent of respondents had heard about the shooting, only four percent of Americans listed guns as their most important issue–a one-point decrease from the previous poll. Overall, the poll put the two candidates in a dead heat at 45 percent support.
Additionally, the public’s opinion shifts weren’t consistent across different areas of gun policy. Not every gun restriction polled saw a jump in support.
54 percent said laws covering handgun sales should be made more strict. That represents no change from February 2023 but is up nine points from April 2022 despite support reaching a high of 58 percent in January 2023. Similarly, the number of people who felt new gun laws would have prevented mass shootings was unchanged from the previous poll, with a plurality saying no. There, too, support for the idea gun laws would have prevented any of the recent mass shootings was up from April 2022 but peaked back in January 2023.
The poll also appeared to try and ask about restrictions on AR-15s. The National Shooting Sports Foundation, an industry trade group, estimated earlier this year that there are over 28.1 million AR-15s and similar rifles in civilian hands. It is widely believed to be the most popular rifle in the country, especially since the expiration of the federal assault weapons ban in 2004.
It specifically asked about a ban on “assault rifles,” which definitionally require fully-automatic capability and are heavily regulated under the National Firearms Act but are often confused with their semi-automatic-only counterparts like the commonly-available AR-15 by media and polling firms. Harris has pushed for a ban on the sale of “assault weapons,” which she hasn’t explicitly defined but often covers semi-automatic-only firearms with detachable magazines that have a number of banned features like telescoping stocks or pistol grips–such as the AR-15. Either way, Wednesday’s poll found 59 percent of Americans supported banning “assault rifles.”
To confuse matters further, YouGov changed its question from previous years when it asked about a ban on an even broader subset of guns: all “semi-automatic weapons.” The pollster found 59 percent supported that ban in February 2023, up two points from that January and seven points from April 2022.
Regardless, the YouGov polls reflect a higher support level for hardware bans than other recent polling. In February 2023, a Quinnipiac University poll found more people opposed banning “assault weapons” than supported doing so. An ABC News/Washington Post poll during the same timeframe found a majority of Americans opposed a ban.
Still, a Fox News poll from last April got closer to the YouGov number when it found 61 percent of Americans supported an “assault weapons” ban.
The poll asked about a number of other gun policies as well. It found that 77 percent approved of the new trend of holding parents legally responsible if their child commits a crime with a gun they got from them. It found Americans were split on the idea of allowing public school teachers to carry concealed weapons, with 45 opposed and 43 in support.
Americans also indicated their views on guns are pretty well solidified. Only 24 percent of the poll’s respondents said they had ever changed their minds on gun control, with a similar breakdown across demographics.
The Economist and YouGov conducted the poll among 1,626 American adults between September 8th and 10th. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 points.
