2013-01-18 11:30:38
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - About three-quarters of Americans surveyed support
proposals to ban the sale of automatic weapons, ban high-capacity ammunition
clips and expand background checks on all gun buyers, according to an online
Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Thursday.
Those proposals were at the heart of President Barack Obama's package of
recommendations to Congress on Wednesday designed to curb gun violence after
last month's elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, that killed 20
children and six adults.
Obama's plan has drawn heavy opposition from gun-rights advocates, led by the
National Rifle Association, and faces a tough battle for approval in the coming
months in a divided and fiercely partisan Congress.
The reinstatement of a ban on assault weapons, which was approved in 1994 but
expired 10 years later when Congress failed to renew it, is seen as the
toughest sell to lawmakers, even though the poll found broad public support for
it.
The poll, mostly taken before Obama released his recommendations, found 74
percent of Americans favor a ban on assault weapons, with 26 percent opposed. A
ban on high-capacity ammunition clips was backed by 74 percent, and 26 percent
were opposed.
The poll also found 86 percent favor expanded background checks of all gun
buyers, including sales at gun shows and between private parties, with 14
percent opposed.
A proposal to place armed guards in schools, which has been backed by the NRA,
was favored by 72 percent with 28 percent opposed.
The online poll of 559 American adults had a credibility interval, similar to a
margin of error, of plus or minus 4.7 percentage points.
(Writing by John Whitesides; Editing by Stacey Joyce)