The Gallup survey released Monday showed 38% of Americans are dissatisfied with current gun regulations, and want stricter laws put in place. That’s a thirteen point jump from one year ago, when 25% expressed that view.
While women were more likely to say they were in favor of stricter gun laws, the change in attitude from 2012 was more apparent in men – the figure jumped seventeen points among men, and ten points among women.
Expectedly, a partisan divide was also evident. Only 18% of Republicans favor tighter gun control laws, a 12 point increase from last year. Sixty-four percent of Democrats (up 22 points from 2012) want more restrictive gun laws.
A plurality of respondents – 43% — remained satisfied with current laws, though that figure was down seven points from the 2012 poll. Another 5% said they were dissatisfied with current laws and wanted regulations that were less strict.
On Tuesday, Vice President Joe Biden – who has led a White House task force charged with finding ways to reduce gun violence – will present his proposals to President Barack Obama. One of the measures he’s expected to put forward is a reinstatement of an assault weapons ban.
On Monday Biden meets with members of a House Democratic task force on guns, along with Attorney General Eric Holder, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, and Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of Health and Human Services.
Monday’s Gallup poll was conducted by telephone between January 7-10 from 1,011 adults. The sampling error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.
