Majorities say two elements of Senate gun framework could prevent mass shootings: poll

Olafimihan Oshin
·2 min read
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A majority of Americans said that two elements of the bipartisan Senate gun framework could help prevent future mass shootings from happening in the country, according to a new Yahoo News-YouGov poll.

The poll, published on Thursday, found that 71 percent of respondents favor universal background checks for all firearm sales in the country and that 68 percent of those surveyed said they are in favor of raising the age to purchase semi-automatic weapons from 18 years to 21 years of age.

Sixty-six percent of respondents said they favor including juvenile records in expanding criminal and mental background checks for those attempting to purchase a firearm, while 19 percent of respondents oppose the idea.

Sixty-seven percent of respondents approve of the idea of the government spending more on mental health programs in public secondary schools, while 14 percent of those surveyed oppose the idea, according to the idea.

Fifty-four percent of respondents in the poll also agree with the idea of expanding red flag laws, which let authorities confiscate firearms from those who are considered a threat, compared to 26 percent of respondents who oppose the idea.

Sixty-three percent of Republican respondents favor including juvenile records in expanding criminal and mental background checks for those attempting to purchase a firearm, while 24 percent of Republicans surveyed in the poll oppose the idea, the poll said.

The poll comes as a bipartisan group of lawmakers announced last week they have reached a framework on potential legislation to curb the surge of gun violence in the U.S.

The framework includes funding for school safety resources, expanded background checks for buyers under the age of 21, incentives for states to implement their own red flag laws, penalties for straw purchases of firearms and new protections for domestic violence victims.

The Yahoo News-YouGov poll was conducted from June 10 to June 13, with a total of 1,541 respondents. The margin of error was 2.9 percentage points.

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