--- title: Poll: Americans Support Obama Gun Control Initiatives description: Many, however, are skeptical of their effectiveness. canonical: https://time.com/4173116/gun-control-barack-obama-polls/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-08T18:38:28.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T13:54:49.379Z article:section: Politics og:title: Poll: Americans Support Obama Gun Control Initiatives og:description: But many are skeptical of their effectiveness. og:url: https://time.com/4173116/gun-control-barack-obama-polls/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2204a9852b3be30d/698878338e0601be8446408e/guns-town-hall.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: US-POLITICS-GUNS-OBAMA og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Poll: Americans Support Obama Gun Control Initiatives twitter:description: But many are skeptical of their effectiveness. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2204a9852b3be30d/698878338e0601be8446408e/guns-town-hall.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Poll: Americans Support Obama Gun Control Initiatives by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Jan 8, 2016 6:38 PM UTC  President Barack Obama replies to a question by Arizona Sheriff Paul Babeu (L) at a town hall meeting with CNN's Anderson Cooper (R) on reducing gun violence at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, on January 7, 2016. President Barack Obama replies to a question by Arizona Sheriff Paul Babeu (L) at a town hall meeting with CNN's Anderson Cooper (R) on reducing gun violence at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, on January 7, 2016.NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Jan 8, 2016 6:38 PM UTC The majority of Americans support President Obama’s recently announced initiatives on gun control, according to a [survey released Thursday](http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/07/politics/poll-obama-gun-action/), but they are skeptical of the effectiveness the changes will have. A CNN/ORC poll shows that 67% of Americans are in favor a series of executive actions Obama proposed earlier this week, while 32% are opposed. Obama will expand background checks in an effort to reduce [gun violence](http://time.com/4168650/13-year-old-im-scared-of-gun-violence-in-america/), while making the process more efficient. The survey coincides with a town hall CNN hosted on Thursday night, where the president [engaged with Americans on either side of the issue.](http://time.com/4172019/obama-gun-control-cnn-town-hall/) Support for the president crossed party lines, with Democrats (85%), independents (65%) and Republicans (51%) in favor of the measures. Some 57% of gun owners are also in favor. While support is strong, skepticism about the effectiveness of the president’s executive actions is high—nearly 6 in 10 said the measures will not effectively curb gun-related deaths. This is especially true among gun owners, 75% of which say they didn’t think the changes would be effective. **Read More:** [_Obama Defends Gun Actions at Lively Town Hall_](http://time.com/4172019/obama-gun-control-cnn-town-hall/) Obama’s approval rating on his handling of gun policy went up following the announcement on Tuesday. He is up 8 points since a late-December CNN/ORC poll, with 43% approval on the issue. The survey was conducted January 5-6 with a random sample of 1,027 adults. 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