Sixty-two percent of U.S. citizens expressed dissatisfaction with the nation’s current gun laws, according to a recent Gallup poll.
This strong majority represents an 11 percent increase from 2015 and the highest level of discontent in the poll’s history.
“At the close of the Clinton administration [2001], dissatisfaction with gun laws was also high, at 57 percent,” Gallup noted. “It dipped into the 40s during the Bush presidency and the first term of Obama’s presidency. After the Sandy Hook massacre in late 2012, a majority of Americans again became dissatisfied with gun policies, and that has remained the case in the years since.”
Among the 62 percent who expressed dissatisfaction with current gun laws, 38 percent said they wanted stricter laws and 15 percent desired less strict. Nine percent, while unhappy with the status quo, said they preferred to leave gun laws as they are.
More Democrats (75 percent) noted their dissatisfaction with current laws than independents (59 percent) or Republicans (54 percent).
When asked about crime policies, 57 percent of respondents expressed dissatisfaction with present crime control and reduction efforts – a 6 percent increase from 2015 and three points above the previous high point in 2013.
Republicans (61 percent) were more likely to express disapproval regarding crime policies than independents (55 percent) or Democrats (54 percent).
The full results are available here.
