Americans’ support for stricter gun control has fallen five percentage points to 52%, the lowest reading since 2014. At the same time, 35% of U.S. adults think laws covering the sale of firearms should be kept as they are now and 11% favor less strict laws.
Gallup has been tracking the public’s views on this measure since 1990, when the nation’s crime rate was high and a record 78% of Americans supported stricter laws for gun sales. Since then, calls for tougher gun control have generally spiked in the wake of prominent mass shootings and faded as the memory of each receded. As recently as three years ago, after the Parkland, Florida, school shooting, support for increased gun control rose to 67%, the highest point since 1993. It remained elevated until it began to fall last year. The latest decline in support for stricter gun laws, from an Oct. 1-19 Gallup poll, follows a seven-point drop last year.
The decline in support for stricter gun laws last year was mostly due to a 14-point drop among Republicans, to 22% — the group’s lowest point on record. This year’s decrease is driven by a 15-point plunge among independents. For their part, Democrats’ desire for more restrictive gun laws ticked up to 91%.
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