Q-Poll: 9 in 10 Americans Still Support Universal Background Checks

A Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday found that 9 in 10 Americans support a background check requirement on all gun sales.

The Q-poll, released Thursday morning, showed 92 percent support for universal background checks, with 7 percent opposed. Among gun owners, the support was 92 – 6 percent. The number has hovered around 90 percent since February 2013, two months after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Democrats who responded to Newtown with a push for stricter gun restrictions initially pointed to universal background checks as a compromise – a proposal that could pass a divided Congress if they were unable to draw enough support for more controversial policies, like an assault weapons ban or a limit on ammunition magazine size.

But a measure to expand the federal background check requirement failed to clear the U.S. Senate last year. Democrats who advocated for gun control could not win enough support, and the legislation fell six votes short of the 60-vote supermajority required to override a filibuster. Democrats, including the president, frequently cite previous Q-polls showing 90 percent support – “How often do 90 percent of Americans support anything?” President Obama asked last year.

The Q-poll released Thursday found that even Republican voters support background checks, 86 – 11 percent. Democrats – under the lead of President Obama, who made gun control a top priority at the beginning of his second term – showed overwhelming support of 98 – 2 percent.

http://courantblogs.com/capitol-watch/q-poll-9-in-10-americans-still-support-background-checks/