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Politics

Voters Want Gun Laws But Are Wary of Democrats Writing Them

  • Polls show even Republican voters support stricter gun control
  • Gridlock, distrust prevent parties from agreeing on solutions
Law enforcement officers stand guard following a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24.

Law enforcement officers stand guard following a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24.

Photographer: Eric Thayer/Bloomberg
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A majority of Americans support stricter gun control laws, but deep partisan distrust means the shooting deaths of 19 school children and two teachers in Texas on Tuesday are unlikely to inspire cooperation on the issue.

About 60% of voters in a Morning Consult poll last week -- after a White supremacist armed with a semi-automatic rifle killed 10 Black people in a racist attack in Buffalo, New York -- said they support stricter gun control laws. But that number is down from 66% in 2019, after mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, and before President Joe Biden was elected.