USA TODAY International Edition
Poll: Americans back gun laws
But 76% of those in survey doubt Congress will toughen legislation soon
WASHINGTON – Americans overwhelmingly support tougher gun laws, a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll finds, but they also overwhelmingly agree on this: Congress isn’t likely to act anytime soon.
In the aftermath of another deadly school shooting, the disconnect between public opinion and predictions of legislative inaction is sharp. Advocates of gun control and others wonder if the outcry sparked by students who survived the shooting spree at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland might shake the political calculations that have stymied significant new limits on guns for decades.
In contrast, some in corporate America — from airlines to car rental companies — moved over the weekend to break ties with the National Rifle Association, the powerful D.C. lobby that has stood against the most far-reaching proposed gun laws. The NRA called their action “a shameful display of political and civic cowardice.”
“Right now it’s a joke,” said Greg Silva, 64, a retired electrical engineer from Reno who was among those called in the poll. “If a person wants a gun, they can go to a gun show and pass no checks.
That’s ludicrous.” Licensed dealers at gun shows are required to conduct background checks, but private sellers are not.
As President Trump sends mixed signals about what he’ll support in gun legislation, his approval rating has fallen to its lowest level in USA TODAY’s survey since he was inaugurated last year. Just 38% approve of the job he’s doing as president; 60% disapprove.
That’s a steep drop from the president’s standing in March 2017, after his first address to Congress got good reviews. Then, 47% expressed approval; 44% expressed disapproval.
What’s more, the intensity of feeling is hardening against the president. Now, the percentage who “strongly disapprove” of him is more than double the percentage who “strongly approve,” 39% compared with 16%.
A new CNN poll released Sunday put Trump’s approval rating at 35%, his lowest level in that survey.
The USA TODAY/Suffolk Poll of 1,000 registered voters nationwide, taken Tuesday through Saturday, has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.
On guns, a nation that is often divided on issues is remarkably united:
❚ By almost 2-1, 61%-33%, they say tightening gun-control laws and background checks would prevent more mass shootings in the United States.
❚ By more than 2-1, 63%-29%, they say semiautomatic weapons should be banned.
❚ By more than 6-1, 76%-12%, they say people who have been treated for mental illness should be banned from owning a firearm.
Few expect Congress to toughen gun-control laws in the foreseeable future. About one in five say the odds are excellent or good. More than three in four, 76%, rate them as fair or poor.
There is a partisan divide on whether restricting access to guns or improving mental health care would do more to curb mass shootings. Republicans and gun owners say improving mental health care would do more. Democrats and those who don’t have guns in their household are inclined to say restricting access to guns would do more.
In all, 39% say improving mental health care would do more; 31% say restricting access to guns would; 25% say both.