Americans increasingly support tougher gun laws, poll shows

Americans increasingly favour tougher gun laws by margins that have grown wider after a steady drumbeat of shootings in recent months, but they also are pessimistic change will happen anytime soon, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents expressed support for stricter laws, with majorities favouring nationwide bans on the sale of semi-automatic assault weapons such as the AR-15 and on the sale of high-capacity magazines holding 10 or more bullets.

The percentage of Americans who want such laws is the highest since the AP-GfK poll started asking the question in 2013, a survey taken about 10 months after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., that killed 20 children and six educators.

High-profile shootings also appear to have taken a toll on Americans’ sense of safety. Strong majorities of those polled expressed some degree of concern they or a relative will be a victim of gun violence or a mass shooting.

“If you live in the United States in these days right now, you have to be concerned,” said Milonne Ambroise, a 63-year-old administrative assistant from Decatur, Ga. “You could be on the street somewhere. You could be at a shopping mall thinking there will be a mass shooting and you will be in the middle of it. “You can’t not think about it.” Ambroise, a native of Haiti who moved to the U.S. nearly 50 years ago, said she is now much more alert and on guard when she is in public.

“I’m looking for exits. This isn’t something I did before,” she said.

“What if I have to run? Where’s the exit? Where would I go?”

The level of concern about being victimized is not uniform, however. Non-whites are significantly more likely to be very or extremely concerned.