A new poll by Morning Consult and Politico shows that Republicans are nearly split on favorability for stricter gun control laws.
The poll, conducted in early August among 1,933 registered voters, shows that 47 percent of GOP voters support stricter gun control laws, while 45 percent oppose them.
These results may point to future complications for Congress to pass meaningful gun control laws when it returns next month.
The number of GOP voters in favor of stricter gun control laws is down from the group’s last two surveys surrounding the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February 2018. The highest numbers were of these voters was in a post-Parkland survey, where 57 percent of Republicans backed stricter gun control laws.
The August poll also showed that those who oppose stronger gun control laws feel more strongly about it, with 28 percent of those polled saying they are strongly opposed to stricter gun control laws and 20 percent saying they strongly support these laws.
Though still split on the matter, polling throughout President Donald Trump’s administration shows that they have become more open to tighter gun control laws than they were during the Obama administration. After the Pulse Night Club shooting in Orlando, Florida, in June 2016, nearly three in five GOP voters opposed tightening gun control laws.
Today, two out of three Americans, regardless of party affiliation, support stricter gun control legislation.
