Only 20 percent of Americans think pistols should be reserved only for police officers, as Democrats abandon the idea.
On Monday, Gallup released a poll on American attitudes on gun policy that found support for a handgun ban fell to a near-record low. While Republican support remained consistent at just six percent, support for a pistol ban fell among Independents and, especially, Democrats. A third of Democrats now support a ban compared to nearly half just a year ago.
“Gallup has measured public support for a ban on handguns since 1980 and, before that, had asked a similar question about ‘a law which would forbid the possession’ of ‘pistols and revolvers,'” Megan Brenan, a senior editor for the polling company, wrote about the poll that was conducted shortly before the election. “Support for banning the ownership of handguns by unauthorized people peaked at 60% in 1959, the initial reading. Since then, support has never risen to the majority level and has been consistently below 30% since 2008, including the current near-record low. The decline in support for a handgun ban this year is largely owed to Democrats, whose backing has fallen by 16 points since 2023 to 33% — a new low — after the group showed increasing support for a ban the prior two years.“
The decline in Democratic support coincides with Kamala Harris emphasizing that she owns a Glock pistol during her presidential run. It also could help explain part of the reason she lost to Donald Trump. While Harris promoted her gun ownership, her record included support for a total handgun ban in San Francisco and an effective ban on sales of new handgun models in California–something Trump attacked her for on the campaign trail.
Still, overall support for stricter gun laws remained stable in Gallup’s latest poll. While down from support levels seen in 2018 and 2022, 56 percent of Americans said they want stricter gun laws. Only 10 percent said they wanted looser laws. However, the partisan divide over gun laws reached new records.
“Partisans continue to offer sharply different preferences for gun control in the U.S., with 89% of Democrats supporting stricter gun laws compared with 56% of independents and 25% of Republicans,” Brenan wrote. “Democrats’ backing for tougher gun laws has ranged from 85% to 94% since 2017, while Republicans’ and independents’ have been significantly lower. Republicans’ current reading is essentially the same as the group’s 22% record low in 2020.”
Support for a so-called assault weapons ban dropped as well. While a bare majority still support a ban–including on possession–of the oft-debated firearms, support has fallen by nine points over the past five years. Backing for the ban was down across all parties but fell most among Republicans.
“Compared with 2019, support for an assault weapons ban is lower among Republicans (27%) and independents (50%). Meanwhile, Democrats (82%) steadily and broadly favor a ban on semiautomatic guns,” Brenan wrote.
However, Gallup’s question on the issue uses confused terminology that might skew the results. While its headline refers to “assault weapons,” the question actually asks about “semiautomatic guns, known as assault rifles.” Since “assault rifles” have traditionally been defined as certain centerfire rifles capable of both semi-automatic and fully-automatic fire, the mixed language the polling company employs may create some confusion among respondents. Still, the trend lines could be useful since the question’s wording hasn’t changed over time.
Overall, the poll paints a relatively stable picture of where Americans fall on gun policy. Support appears to be steadily declining for most gun bans, but at a relatively slow pace and in an environment where America has experienced relatively few major mass shootings over the past year.
Gallup conducted its poll of 1,023 adults between October 1st and the 12th. The poll has a margin of error of four points.
