By: José Niño
The support for gun control among Americans has reached its lowest level since 2014, according to a Gallup poll released last week.
Per the Gallup poll, 52 percent of American adults indicated that they desire stricter gun control laws. This represents a sharp decrease from the 2018 figure of 67 percent following the Parkland Massacre, which saw a depraved gunman kill 17 people.
The issue of gun control support has a strong partisan undertone to it. Democrats overwhelmingly back stricter gun control measures at 91 percent. On the other hand, only 24 percent of Republicans support stricter gun control laws. Of those polled, 11 percent want laxer gun control laws.
The support for a handgun ban has fallen to a historical low to around 19 percent. According to Gallup’s historical records, the peak support for a handgun ban was at 60 percent back in 1959.
As for the holistic support for stronger gun control laws, the highest rates of support discovered by Gallup were in the 1990s.
According to Gallup’s findings, 88 percent of American gun owners stated that they acquired firearms to protect themselves against crime.
Jeffrey M. Jones, a senior editor at Gallup, said that in addition to crime, the election of Joe Biden — a president who has been a zealous proponent of stricter gun control laws — has played a role in making gun control less popular.
After a series of mass shootings earlier this year, Biden has pressed Congress to approve broad-based gun control measures which include universal background checks and bans on so-called “high-capacity” magazines.
The Biden administration has already ordered the ATF to craft new regulations for so-called “ghost guns” and stabilizer braces. Due to Congress not being able to pass gun control laws, the Biden Administration has had to rely on using government agencies like the ATF to shape gun control policy.
The past year has been a record-breaking period for gun sales. According to a report by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, there were 21 million background checks conducted for firearms purchases.
Regardless of how anti-Second Amendment legacy institutions are, Americans remain firmly committed to exercising their natural right to self-defense. This is a deep-seated tradition that’s going to take a lot more than hyperbolic screeds in the legacy media for it to be significantly undermined.
Without the thorough embrace of the right to bear arms among large swathes of the American population, the Second Amendment would have died long ago. Recent gun purchase trends serve as a reminder that Americans’ devotion to foundational freedoms should never be questioned.
José Niño is a freelance writer based in Austin, Texas. Contact him via Facebook, Twitter, or email him at [email protected]. Get his e-book, The 10 Myths of Gun Control, here.