Posted June 23, 2017 1:31 pm by Comments

By Christen Smith

A majority of Americans who own guns and those who do not each support background checks for private gun sales, according to a survey released Thursday.
The Pew Research Center polled 3,390 adults in April and May about their attitudes toward and experiences with firearms. While the divide on policy issues appears wider than ever on most points — banning “assault-style” weapons and high capacity magazines, allowing concealed carry in more places and arming teachers — the two groups unite on the background check question.
About one-third of those surveyed identified as gun owners, Pew said, and of those, 77 percent said background checks should be required for private sales and at gun shows. Some 87 percent of non-owners agreed.
Nearly nine out of 10 respondents from each group also agreed on banning “the mentally ill” from buying guns.
When dividing owners by political affiliation, the support for denying gun ownership to those with mental illness holds strong across party lines: 88 percent of both Republican and Democrat owners support the prohibition.
Of those owners who identify as Republican or lean right, 70 percent support expanded background checks. Some 88 percent of Democrat or lean left owners agree.
The survey found gun owners’ partisan leanings also

Source: Guns.com

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