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In the wake of the recent mass shooting in Maine, a new Rasmussen Reports national survey reveals a slight increase in support for gun control.
However, the majority of voters believe in stricter enforcement of current laws rather than the introduction of new ones.
The survey indicates that 44% of likely U.S. voters think that tighter gun control laws would help prevent incidents similar to the Maine shooting, an increase from 40% who expressed this belief after the May 2022 mass shooting in Buffalo, New York.
Despite this rise, a notable 49% of respondents do not believe that stricter laws would have a deterrent effect on such tragedies.
The Rasmussen survey, commissioned after the Maine incident, echoes sentiments long held by the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA): A greater emphasis on enforcing existing gun laws is more effective in preventing gun-related violence than creating new laws.
The survey found that 57% of voters favor stricter enforcement of current gun control laws, while only 30% believe that new laws would be more effective .
Political affiliations play a role in these beliefs, with 71% of Republicans and 58% of Independents supporting the enforcement of existing laws.
SEE ALSO: Rasmussen Reports: Most Say No to Federal Control of Guns
In contrast, only 43% of Democrats hold this view, underscoring the significant ideological divide on the issue.
CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb points out, “We’ve maintained for decades that if existing gun laws were enforced, we wouldn’t need a constant stream of new laws, with additional restrictions on law-abiding citizens, which have really not prevented such events, as gun control proponents invariably promise when they push their latest schemes.”
Highlighting the broader political divide, the Rasmussen survey also reveals that 44% of Democrats believe it is possible to entirely prevent mass shootings.
However, this sentiment is shared by only 21% of Republicans and 19% of Independents. Conversely, 66% of GOP voters and 63% of Independents believe complete prevention is unattainable, a view shared by 41% of Democrats.
CCRKBA, known as the “common sense gun lobby,” takes this recent survey as affirmation of its long-held positions.
“Passing a new, feel-good law only creates the illusion something has been done,” Gottlieb said. “In reality, such knee-jerk legislation accomplishes nothing and sets the public up for more horror when another incident occurs, after which anti-gun politicians repeat the process, fooling their constituents all over again while steadily eroding the Second Amendment and perpetuating a problem they know their policies can’t solve.”
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