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92% favor background checks for all potential gun buyers, while just 7% are opposed. The poll was conducted before the President's press conference on Wednesday.
Background Checks on All Potential Gun Buyers
Favor 92% Oppose 7%
There is support for universal background checks across political party lines, and among Americans who have a gun in their household. 85% of those living in a household with an NRA member favor background checks.
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Total | Republicans | Democrats | Independents | Gun Households | NRA Households |
| Favor | 92 % | 89 % | 93 % | 93 % | 93 % | 85 % |
| Oppose | 7 % | 10% | 6 % | 5 % | 6 % | 13 % |
In addition, 74% of Americans think more armed security guards would help at least some to prevent mass shootings in public places such as schools, movie theaters, and malls. More than a third thinks it would help reduce such shootings a lot. Republicans, Democrats, and independents hold similar views on this.
| Total | Republicans | Democrats | Independents | |
| A Lot | 35% | 35% | 34% | 36% |
| Some | 39% | 42% | 38% | 39% |
| Not Much/at All | 25% | 21% | 28% | 25 |
This poll was conducted by telephone from January 11-15, 2013 among 1,110 adults nationwide.
Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups may be higher. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Poll.
Amid ongoing debate about U.S. gun violence in America, a new poll from the Associated Press-GfK shows that nearly six in 10 Americans favor more stringent gun laws, while majorities also support strengthening background checks and limiting the violence depicted in video games.
According to the survey, which polled 1,004 people between Jan. 10-14, 58 percent of Americans support strengthening gun laws, while only 5 percent say they should be made more lax. Thirty-five percent said current gun laws should stay the same.
An overwhelming majority of adults -- 84 percent -- also favored the broadening of background checks, and specifically of closing so-called gun show loopholes that make it relatively easy to buy a gun without undergoing a criminal background check.
In the aftermath of last month's massacre in Newtown, Conn., the gun control movement has enjoyed a groundswell of support, and polls across the board have shown increases in support for stricter gun laws. In the AP-GfK poll, most people said the Newtown shootings inspired feelings of both anger and shame.
According to the AP-GfK poll, 55 percent of adults support a ban on military-style, rapid-fire guns -- which would fall under the assault weapons ban -- and 51 percent backed a ban on the sale of magazines containing 10 bullets or more. Fifty-four percent of adults also favored limitations on the portrayal of gun violence in television shows, movies, or video games.
At 75 percent, Republicans were more likely to believe stronger gun laws infringed on Americans' Second Amendment rights, and 53 percent of Republicans believe gun laws should stay the same. But Democrats, at 76 percent, and independents, at 60 percent, strongly favor stronger laws.
Gun owners were generally less likely to support these measures, according to the poll, although 80 percent said they'd support closing the gun show background check loophole. Among non-gun owners, that provision earned 87 percent support.
