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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
Have polls shown high levels of support for some gun-control measures?
Saturday, August 29, 2020
By William Boger
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YES
Multiple pollsters in recent years have reported strong, often bipartisan public support for some measures to regulate gun sales in the U.S. For instance, Gallup surveys have found:
- 96% support for background checks (October 2017).
- 75% support for a 30-day waiting period for gun sales (October 2017).
- 64% support for generally stricter laws (October 2019).
Opinion is more divided about regulating or banning high-capacity magazines and assault weapons. Women and college-educated men tend to be more supportive of new restrictions. Pew Research in October 2019 found that there had been a "modest" rise in overall support since 2017, among both Democrats and Republicans, although Republicans are four times as likely as Democrats to say gun rights are more important than gun control.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
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Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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