Attitudes Toward Guns

A majority of Americans (55%) want stricter gun laws. However, that number has decreased significantly since 1990, when 78% of Americans believed that gun laws should be stricter.

Three-out-of-every-four Americans (76%) do not believe that handguns should be banned for non-law enforcement.

Most Americans (36/61%) do not support a ban of semi-automatic assault rifles. In 1996, to the contrary, most Americans (57/42%) did support banning semi-automatic assault rifles.

Almost nine-out-of-ten Americans (86%) support a 50-state universal background check with a national database when a gun is transferred.

A majority of Americans (56%) believe the county would be safer if more (screened and trained) people carried concealed weapons.

Most Americans (66%) believe Congress should expand background checks for gun purchases.

Political leanings matter greatly. Nine-out-of-ten (91%) gun-owning Republican and Republican-leaning Independents regard gun ownership as essential to freedom. Even six-out-of-ten (61%) non-gun-owning Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents regard gun ownership as essential to freedom. Just 43% of gun-owning Democrats and Democrat-leaning Independents regard gun ownership as essential to freedom. Pew did not report any numbers for Democrat non-gun owners.

One-in-five gun owners are members of the National Rifle Association.

This is the third in a series of articles on guns. To see the others in the series go here and here.