Poll: Support for ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban at 20-Year Low

A Gallup poll released October 26 shows support for an “assault weapons” ban is at a 20-year low.

According to Gallup, 36 percent of Americans support an “assault weapons” ban. That is 21 percent lower than in 1996, when Gallup first posed the question to respondents. And it is down 8 percent from 2012, when 44 percent of Americans supported such a ban.

When respondents are broken down by party affiliation, 50 percent of Democrats support an “assault weapons” ban, while 25 percent of Republicans do. In 1996, the numbers were higher, with 63 percent support among Democrats and 50 percent support among Republicans.

Independent support for an “assault weapons” ban has fallen more than 50 percent, from a high of 63 percent in 2000 to 31 percent in 2016.

Support for such a ban has also fallen among households without guns. “In 2004, 55% of those in non-gun households supported a ban; this year, 45% do.” In households with guns, support has fallen from 44% to “an all-time low of 26%.”

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of “Bullets with AWR Hawkins,” a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.