More Americans Than Ever Support Stricter Gun Control Laws, Poll Finds

A week after the U.S. was rocked by its deadliest school shooting in five years, support for stricter gun control laws is at an all-time high among American voters, according to a Quinnipiac University poll.

Those in favor of stricter gun legislation outnumber those opposed by a measure of more than two-to-one, according to the poll. Sixty-six percent of respondents said they would support more stringent laws, while just 31% said they would not. That’s the highest favorable percentage ever recorded by a Quinnipiac University National Poll, and a considerable increase from the 47% to 50% split measured in late 2015, according to an announcement from the school released Tuesday.

The split, however, was more even among gun owners, with 50% in favor and 44% not, according to the poll.

Other gun control-related questions also got highly favorable responses, the announcement says. Support for universal background checks, a mandatory waiting period for firearm purchases and an assault weapon ban came in at 97%, 83% and 67%, respectively. Sixty-seven percent of respondents also said it is currently too easy to buy a gun in the U.S., and three-quarters said Congress needs to do more to reduce gun violence.

Interestingly, however, less than half of respondents — 40% — said stricter gun control would do more to reduce gun violence in schools, compared to 34% who said metal detectors would do more and 20% who said armed teachers would do more.

Last week’s school shooting at Florida’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, which left 17 dead, has sparked a renewed conversation around gun control, carried in large part by students from the school. In addition to speaking out on social media and in interviews, student advocates rallied for gun control in front of the federal courthouse in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday and traveled to the state capital on Tuesday to argue their case. They are also organizing a nation wide march to take place on March 24.