“Why it matters: The drop in support coincides with a major spike in gun sales and estimated violent crime rates that has continued into 2021, though criminologists are largely divided on what caused the crime increase.”
Support for stricter gun control laws in the United States has fallen, polls by Quinnipiac University and Gallup published this week show.
Why it matters: The drop in support coincides with a major spike in gun sales and estimated violent crime rates that has continued into 2021, though criminologists are largely divided on what caused the crime increase.
By the numbers: Quinnipiac found that among 1,378 surveyed adults, 45% supported stricter gun laws, a drop of 9 percentage points from a survey it did in April 2021. Opposition to new gun laws rose from 42% in April to 49% in November.
- 91% of polled Democrats said they support stricter laws, while 84% of Republicans and 54% of independents said they oppose them.
- 40% of those surveyed said they believed the U.S. would be safer if more people owned guns, and 48% said it would be less safe.