Americans Slightly Less Inclined To Support Gun Control, New Poll Shows

Americans are less supportive of some gun control measures than they were a year ago, according to a new Gallup poll released Monday.

Support for a handgun ban is at 20%, near the all-time low, and support for an “assault weapons” ban is down nine points from 2019, according to the poll conducted Oct. 1 through Oct. 12. However, a slim majority still support stricter laws overall, with 56% supporting additional laws and 33% supporting no change.

Democrats swung 16 points against handgun bans from 2023 to this year, going from 49% in favor to only 33%, the poll found. Independent voters also decreased their support for the policy, dipping five points from 2022.

Gun policy was an important issue during the 2024 election, with 53% President-elect Donald Trump supporters and 59% of Vice President Kamala Harris supporters saying the issue was “very important” for their vote, according to a September Pew Research poll. Harris promised in 2019 when she ran in her party’s presidential primary race to ban assault weapons if she were elected to office.

However, she later insisted throughout her brief 2024 presidential campaign that she was “not taking anyone’s guns away” if elected, despite her record on the issue.

Currently, nine states have an assault weapons ban, according