Support for a national ban on “assault weapons” is at an all-time low among American voters, according to a national poll that ranked inflation as a more pressing issue than “gun violence.”
Tim Malloy, Quinnipiac University’s polling analyst, noted that “in the midst of a raging partisan and emotional debate” on gun control and in the wake of recent mass shootings, support to ban “assault weapons” have “hit their lowest level.”
The most recent poll shows the lowest level of support among registered voters for a national ban on semiautomatic guns since 2013 after peaking at 67 percent on Feb. 20, 2018.
Inflation is instead considered the most urgent issue facing the country by 34 percent of respondents, followed by “gun violence” at 17 percent.
Among all voters, inflation is ranked as a top-three concern. But Republicans name it as the top issue (46 percent) followed by immigration (14 percent).
Meanwhile, Democrats name inflation as the second most urgent issue (15 percent) behind “gun violence” (31 percent).
Independents rank inflation (37 percent) ahead of gun violence (16 percent).
The U.S. economy has been shaken by surging gas and food prices and supply chain issues, which have been draining the wallets of Americans.
“There have been unanticipated and large shocks to the economy that have boosted energy and food prices and supply bottlenecks that have affected our economy badly that I didn’t—at the time—didn’t fully understand, but we recognize that now," Yellen told CNN.
Inflationary pressures are also cited in the Quinnipiac University Poll as the reason President Joe Biden is suffering from a low job approval rating of just 33 percent. These latest figures repeat the same presidential job approval scores recorded in the university’s April 13 and Jan. 12 surveys.
“Economic concerns driven by inflation take President Biden back to his lowest job approval number and give him the worst assessment of how he is handling the economy ever,” Malloy said.
Skyrocketing oil, gas, and food prices are reportedly positioning Biden and Democrats for an uphill climb to the 2022 midterm elections.
If an election were held today, the majority of the poll’s respondents (44 percent) said they would prefer the Republican Party to win control of the House of Representatives. Democrats were the second choice with 40 percent of respondents.
Of the respondents who would prefer the Republican Party to win, the vast majority were Republicans, while 40 percent were Independents and 3 percent were Democrats.
The poll reveals that there is support for some forms of gun control, including background checks (92 percent) and a “red flag” law (83 percent), while a majority (55 percent over 41 percent) do not support the government limiting the number of guns in the country.
The poll also marked an increase in support for “stricter gun laws” from 45 percent in its November 2021 survey to 57 percent in its most recent survey. Democrats and Independents were mostly in favor (91 percent and 56 percent respectively) while Republicans oppose them (64 percent).
This comes after recent mass shootings across America, with two notable cases in New York and Texas being perpetrated by 18-year-olds, which sparked debate about lifting the legal gun purchasing age from 18 to 21. Such a measure is currently supported by 74 percent of respondents to the poll.
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