Johns Hopkins
Support for requiring background checks for all gun sales remained
high, with 85 percent of gun owners and 83 percent of non-owners
favoring the policy. In the 2013 survey, 84 percent of gun owners and 90
percent of non-owners supported background checks for all gun sales.
Support for banning assault weapons among all respondents decreased from
69 percent in 2013 to 63 percent in 2015, and support for banning the
sale of large capacity ammunition magazines decreased from 68 percent to
60 percent. Notably, the small erosion in support for these policies
occurred almost entirely among non-gun-owners.
The 2015 national
survey was conducted two years from the date the 2013 survey was
fielded, and used the same sampling approach and survey research firm,
GfK. The latest survey included 1,326 respondents, while 2013 survey
included 2,703 participants.
More than 11,000 people in the United
States are killed each year as a result of gun homicides, and the
firearm homicide rate in the U.S. is seven times higher than in the
average high-income country.