Support for background checking runs high

“More than 80 percent of Americans believe we need to have universal background checks.” Georgia Sen. Nan Orrock

Orrock, an Atlanta Democrat, made this claim during a floor debate earlier this month about a Senate bill, which she feared would expand access to guns.

In certain circumstances, this bill would allow Georgians as young as 18 to be granted a gun license with basic military training, and would eliminate a ban on guns in public housing

After the December shootings in Newtown, Conn, President Barack Obama announced a series of proposals that included background checks for all gun sales. Several Democrats, including Obama, have said about 40 percent of all guns are sold without a background check. PolitiFact has reviewed this claim before, rating it Half True.

National polls we checked about support for background checks produced varying numbers of support: 85 percent, 92 percent, 91 percent and 94 percent. All were above 80 percent, even with a margin of error of 3 to 4 percentage points in each poll.

We rated Orrock’s statement True.

Orrock