Americans Say Orlando Attack Was Both Hate Crime, Terror Attack

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NEW YORK (CBSMiami) - A majority of Americans view the mass shooting over the weekend in Orlando as both an act of terror and a hate crime.

That's according to a new CBS News Poll. It found 57-percent said it was both, 25-percent said it was mostly a hate crime and 14-percent said it was mostly a terror act.

As to whether U.S. intelligence agencies could have prevented it, the respondents were split. Forty two percent said 'yes', while 42% said 'no'. Those views were not much different than they were in a similar question asked after the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013.

President Obama received a mostly positive net rating for his response to the attack; 44-percent approved, 34-percent disapproved while about a quarter didn't have an opinion.

Republican president candidate didn't fare as well. More than half (51-percent) disapproved of his response, 25-percent approved and 24-percent didn't have an opinion.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton fared a little better. Thirty six percent approved of her response, 34-disapproved and a nearly a third (30-percent) said they didn't know.

Trump recently reiterated his support for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the U.S. Most Americans (62-percent) said they don't support this while 31-percent thought the U.S. should do it.

In addition to terrorism, the issue of gun policy has been debated in the aftermath of the Orlando shooting. A majority of Americans (57-percent) think gun laws should be more strict. However, there continues to be stark differences by political party, most Democrats (79-percent) want gun laws to be more strict while only 36-percent of Republicans think that.

After dipping in December, support for a nationwide ban on assault weapons has risen back up. Fifty seven percent of those polled said they would support a ban. Hillary Clinton has called for reinstating an assault weapons ban.

Breaking it down by party lines, most Democrats (78-percent) support an assault weapons ban, while Republicans (45-percent) and independents (47-percent) are more divided.

There continues to be widespread support for background checks on all gun buyers. Nine in 10 Americans favor this, including large majorities of Republicans, Democrats and independents.

The poll, conducted June 13th and 14, had a margin of error of four percent.