Following last month's terrible mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, a new poll done by NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist suggests that a majority of Americans now believe that controlling gun violence is more essential than protecting gun rights.
According to The Hill, 29% of those polled believe that protecting gun rights should take precedence over reducing gun violence in the country.
Ninety percent said Congress should prioritize legislation aimed at reducing gun violence, while 75% of Independents agreed.
Protecting the rights of gun owners, however, is a higher priority for 56% of Republican respondents.
The study comes after a separate USA Today/Ipsos poll found that half of Republicans now support stronger gun legislation, up 15% from last year. In contrast, the poll, which was conducted in early June and included 488 Democrats, 416 Republicans, and 149 Independents, found that over 90% of Democrats want stronger gun rules, while Independents support them at 67%.
Overall, 69% believe gun laws should be stricter than they are now, with 44 percent believing they should be "significantly" stricter.
The new poll comes after a run of mass shootings in the U.S. in recent weeks, with 10 people slain at a grocery store in Buffalo, NY, 21 at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and four at a hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Four more people were killed and 28 others were injured in a wave of mass shootings throughout the United States on Saturday.
In reaction to the recent spate of mass shootings, U.S. President Joe Biden encouraged lawmakers to combat gun violence by adopting legislation expanding background checks, establishing a national red flag law system, and prohibiting the sale of assault-style firearms.
The House passed the Protecting Our Kids Act on Wednesday, which raises the legal age to purchase certain semiautomatic centerfire rifles from eighteen to 21 years old, creates new federal offenses for gun trafficking and selling large-capacity magazines, allows local governments to compensate individuals who surrender such magazines through a buyback program, and strengthens existing federal regulations.
The House voted on Thursday to pass a federal "red flag" bill, which would allow guns to be temporarily confiscated from people deemed by a federal court to be a threat to themselves or others.
However, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who is assisting in the bipartisan gun reform talks in the Senate, stated on Sunday that any potential legislation deal would not include an assault weapons ban or "comprehensive" background checks.
