Poll: Majority backs assault weapons ban

A new poll shows a majority of Americans support a nationwide ban on assault weapons following the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history on Sunday in Orlando. 

{mosads}The CBS News poll finds that 57 percent of Americans support a ban on assault weapons, up from the 44 percent who said they supported a ban in the same poll in December. 

Thirty-eight percent oppose any legislation that would ban assault weapons, compared to 50 percent who opposed it in December. 

Most Democrats — 78 percent — support a ban, while 18 percent oppose it. Half of Republicans oppose a ban, while 45 percent are in favor of it. 

A gunman killed 49 and injured 53 at an Orlando nightclub early Sunday morning. The gunman was armed with an AR-15-type assault rifle and a handgun, both of which were obtained legally.

The shooting has reignited talk of gun control in Congress, and President Obama and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton have both renewed their calls for a ban.

A similar ban expired in 2004, but Clinton called for it to return, linking the availability of the weapons to terrorism. 

“We’ve got to keep weapons of war off our streets, as well as blocking suspected terrorists from buying guns,” Clinton said Monday. 

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump argued the Orlando shooter could have been stopped if partygoers had brought guns themselves to the nightclub, but he didn’t specifically address the ban. 

On his website, Trump says “the government has no business dictating what types of firearms good, honest people are allowed to own.”