Poll: Americans skeptical about prospects of a gun bill
Weeks after the Senate voted down a bill to expand background checks for gun owners, a majority of Americans are skeptical any significant new gun control laws will make it through Congress this year, according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center.
According to the survey, conducted from May 1-5 among 1,504 adults, an overwhelming majority of Americans - 81 percent - favor a bill that require background checks for private gun sales and sales at gun shows, and 73 percent say the background check measure that failed in April should pass through Congress if reintroduced.
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But only 42 percent think its likely any significant new gun control law would be even somewhat likely to pass this year, while 56 percent said it's not too likely or not at all likely.
Democrats and Republicans favor background check laws about equally, with 83 percent of Democrats, 81 percent of Republicans, and 80 percent of independents in support of them.
The specific bill that failed in the Senate, however, was more divisive: only 57 percent of Republicans would support that measure, which would make most private gun sales subject to background checks.
According to Pew, people who approved of general background check legislation but disapproved of the specific measure cite flaws in the legislation, concerns about individual liberties, or concerns about the expansion of government power. Seventeen percent say the legislation would not prevent criminals from committing violence.
Americans are also divided on whether gun rights or controlling gun ownership should be prioritized. Fifty percent of adults say it's more important to control gun ownership, and 48 percent said the right of Americans to own guns should be prioritized.
Nearly five months has passed since 20 schoolchildren were gunned down at their school in Connecticut, and talk of gun legislation on Capitol Hill has largely cooled. In light of the Senate bill's failure last month, Democrats have little reason to be optimistic about the passage of any such bill, and most Republican lawmakers oppose any law that would make gun laws tougher.
