Fifty-one percent of Americans favor a nationwide ban on the sale of AR-15 rifles and similar semiautomatic assault weapons, while 32% are opposed. An additional 18% hold neither opinion.
The poll was conducted May 12-16, the same weekend of the shooting at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York. Roughly three-quarters of the interviews were conducted before the racist attack that killed 10 Black adults and injured three more.
Most Democrats, regardless of ideology, favor a ban on AR-15 rifles and similar semiautomatic weapons. Though 58% of Republicans oppose the ban, there are stark differences depending on ideology. Sixty-nine percent of conservative Republicans oppose such a ban. However moderate and liberal Republicans are more closely divided: 42% favor a ban on semiautomatic weapons and 38% oppose. CONTINUED
AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research
The OPINION TODAY email newsletter is a concise daily rundown of significant new poll results and insightful analysis. It’s FREE. Sign up here: opiniontoday.substack