Poll: Texans back stricter gun laws

A little more than half of registered Texas voters say gun control laws should be stricter, according to a new University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll.

The internet survey of 1,200 registered voters polled from Oct. 18-27 comes after recent mass shootings in El Paso and the Odessa-Midland area and shows little change since the last UT/Texas Tribune poll on the subject in February.

While 51 percent say gun control laws should be more strict, 28 percent say they should be left as they are, 13 percent say they should be less strict and 8 percent say they don’t know.

The poll released Tuesday — the second anniversary of the Sutherland Springs church shooting — found that 81 percent of registered voters support background checks for all gun purchases, and 68 percent support red flag laws that would allow the court-ordered removal of guns from people who are considered to be dangerous.

Although public opinion continues to show support for stronger gun control laws and background checks, state lawmakers have been slow to agree on a solution. Gun background checks are not required in all private gun sales.

In September, Gov. Greg Abbott proposed pushing voluntary background checks in person-to-person sales of firearms, while Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has suggested that background checks on private gun purchases should be mandatory.

“No (responsible gun owner) would want to sell a gun to someone they felt was going to go commit a crime. They just wouldn’t do it. So just get a background check,” he said as a guest on the Chad Hasty radio show on KFYO in Lubbock. “I’m not anti-Second Amendment because I just have this view that maybe we need to look at this issue.”

In response to mass shootings, Abbott released an action plan in September that included a number of gun-related recommendations for the Legislature to tackle. It rejected calls for universal background checks or limits on militarystyle firearms.

Abbott said his office compiled the recommendations after consulting privately with politicians, community leaders, law enforcement, federal officials, business leaders, activists and survivors after a gunman killed 22 people at an El Paso Walmart on Aug. 3.

While that work was being done, another shooter killed seven people in Odessa and Midland firing from his vehicle on Aug. 31.

The UT/Texas Tribune poll also found that 59 percent of voters support “banning the sale of selected semi-automatic rifles, often referred to as assault weapons.” Eighty-six percent of Democrats support a ban, while only 35 percent of Republicans support one.

The possibility of an assault weapons ban received national attention after Beto O’Rourke, who ended his presidential bid last week, called for a ban in the September Democratic debate.

So far, state and federal lawmakers have shown little interest in pushing for an assault weapons ban.