Fox News Poll Reveals That A Majority Of Americans Support An Assault Weapons Ban
While the gun control issue once again dominates the airwaves in the wake of two mass shootings that left a total of 31 people dead, politicians and pundits have bounced around the notion of enacting an assault weapons ban like one put in place by former president Bill Clinton in 1994, which lasted 10 years.
While the idea is highly criticized by those on the right and has received major support from those on the left, a recent Fox News poll shed new light on what many Americans may now consider acceptable when it comes to banning one of the most popular firearms in the country — the “assault rifle.”
According to The Hill, two-thirds of those polled support a ban on assault rifles and semi-automatic weapons as a way to reduce gun violence. The number is a seven-point jump from March 2018 when the same question was asked. The poll was administered between August 11 to 13 with a margin of error of three percentage points.
It should be noted that a vast majority of modern firearms, including common pistols and hunting rifles, function in a semi-automatic fashion, according to Business Insider.
Democrats offered the heaviest support for a ban at 86 percent. Republicans weighed in at 46 percent support and 58 percent of Independents backed the idea.
The poll also asked related questions, including one that asked about support for criminal background checks on all gun buyers, which 90 percent of respondents supported. The percentages were virtually equal between Democrats and Republicans.
Eighty-one percent supported a question asked about giving law enforcement the ability to take guns away from people deemed too dangerous to themselves or others to own them, which is a potential bipartisan gun safety proposal known as “Red flag laws.”
When respondents were asked, “Do you approve or disapprove of how President Trump responded to recent mass shootings?” 52 percent disapproved.
Fox News poll: Two-thirds of Americans support assault weapons ban in the wake of mass shootings https://t.co/nD1lCPOd45 pic.twitter.com/bWGUbBeQrY
— The Hill (@thehill) August 14, 2019
Pressure for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has ratcheted in the wake of the mass shootings in Texas and Ohio to cut short the U.S. Senate’s August recess in order to debate a set of House-passed gun safety bills that would enhance background checks on gun buyers and dealers, as previously reported by The Inquisitr. The bills — one of which is the universal background checks bill — were passed by the Democrat-led House in February.
President Donald Trump indicated recently that he is pushing for “intelligent background checks” as part of his response to the deadly mass shootings. He stated that McConnell is “totally on board” with the proposal, though the Senate leader hasn’t publicly backed any gun control legislation.
