Most US voters have little faith on gun control laws, feel they won't stop shootings: New poll
The two mass shooting incidents inside a week this month have brought to the fore the deadly epidemic of gun violence and the Joe Biden administration has expressed a strong intent to bring in more laws or if necessary, move executive orders, to curb the menace. But will more laws be able to rein in the violence that claims several lives in America every year?
A new survey has given a hint which makes one less than optimistic. Taken in the wake of the mass killing at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado, that saw 10 people killed, the survey says most American do not believe that more gun laws will be able to stop the shootings.
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The Rasmussen Reports survey report of March 26 has said that 64 percent of likely US voters feel that it is not possible to completely stop mass shootings like the ones in Atlanta and Boulder. On the contrary, only 23 percent feel it can be done. Thirteen percent said they were not sure. Of the 64 percent, 53 percent were found to be Democrats.
The survey, which was conducted on March 24 and 25, also included other questions like: “Does the United States need stricter gun control laws?” and “Would stricter gun control laws help prevent shootings like the recent ones in Atlanta, Georgia, and Boulder, Colorado?”
The survey, which covered 1,000 US likely voters, also revealed that 49 percent felt the country does not need more gun laws as against 46 percent that feel it does.
The latest telephone and online survey is one of the first to take place after the Boulder tragedy. While President Biden, who has a long track record of dealing with gun violence in his political career and his deputy Kamala Harris have sought more anti-gun laws, other voices have also emerged saying a broader approach is required and that includes addressing mental health. In the case of the Boulder shooting, for example, early reports said the shooter had mental health issues who bought his weapon legally and was known to the police.
More people bought guns when race riots spread in US
It has also been reported earlier that as race riots spread across the US last year, more and more people were buying guns to improve their own safety. Rasmussen Reports said in October last year that over one-fifth of Americans who already have a gun in their household have added one more since the Black Lives Matter anti-police protests started in late May last year. Forty-three percent of the country’s adults said they or someone in their household owns a gun and of them, 22 percent said they or someone in their household has bought a gun since the protests started.
Fifty-four percent of adults who live in households possessing a gun said they feel more safe with a gun around them, although that figure came down from 61 percent registered in February 2018. Only seven percent felt less safe even with a gun. Thirty-eight percent thought the presence of the gun had no impact on their individual safety. Among those who have added a gun in the months June and October 2020, 90 percent felt more safe with a gun.
