Poll Watch: Rasmussen (R) Survey on Gun Control

Rasmussen (R) Poll on Gun Control 

Should a strict background check be required for anyone to buy a gun? 

• Yes 86%
• No 10%
  

If someone wants to buy a gun, should there be a three-day waiting period before they are allowed to get the gun? 

• Yes 73%
• No 16%
  

If someone wants to buy a gun, should they be required to take a gun safety course first? 

• Yes 73%
• No 23%
  

National survey of 1,000 adults was conducted January 6-7, 2013. The margin of error is +/- 3 percentage points.

Inside the numbers: 

Most adults with a gun already in their family strongly support these measures, but they are less enthusiastic about the waiting period and the gun safety course than families without a gun.

While Americans living in rural areas are generally less supportive of stricter gun control than those living in cities and suburbs, there is strong support in all three groups for strict background checks, safety courses and waiting periods for potential gun owners. Support for waiting periods and safety courses is slightly higher among city and suburb inhabitants.

Men and women show equal support for background checks, but women are more supportive of a required waiting period and gun safety courses.

Democrats show greater support for all three requirements than Republicans and those not affiliated with either major political party do.