Poll: Support for Handgun Ban Down 13 Percent Since 2004

An October 26 Gallup poll shows that support for a handgun ban has fallen 13 percent since 2004.

According to Gallup, support for a handgun ban is at 23 percent, which means the idea is only embraced by one-in-five Americans. News of the faltering support for a handgun ban is in addition to news that support for an “assault weapons” ban has plummeted as well.

Support for an “assault weapons” ban sits at 36 percent, which represents a 21 percent decline since 1996. It represents an 8 percent decline from 2012, when 44 percent of Americans supported it.

Gallup offers the following explanation for the declining support of such bans:

In an era of ongoing terrorist attacks and mass shootings in the U.S., Americans are now more likely to oppose an assault weapons ban than they have been in two decades. One reason may be the large increase in opposition to such a ban among Republicans. Whereas 20 years ago half of Republicans were open to such legislation, now only one in four are. But politics alone do not explain the declining support, since it has dropped among independents and Democrats as well, although on a smaller scale.

It is possible this represents a backlash against calls by some in the national media and the federal government to ban certain weapons after mass shootings occur. This backlash may reflect growing apprehension that the government may infringe upon particular civil and personal liberties.

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.