Most Americans say they would support stricter gun control laws: poll

A majority of Americans in a new poll released on Friday said they would support stricter gun control laws.

Sixty-four percent said they were in favor of stricter laws, while 36 percent said they were opposed, the CNN-SSRS poll found. 

A slightly smaller portion — 54 percent — said that such gun control laws would reduce gun-related deaths in the country, and 58 percent said they believe the government is able take effective action to prevent mass shootings.

Some 59 percent in the survey said they were in favor of banning semi-automatic rifles, while 94 percent said they would support taking measures to prevent convicted felons and those with mental health issues from owning guns.

Eight in 10 also said people under the age of 21 should be barred from purchasing any type of gun, the poll found.

However, those in the survey were nearly evenly divided on whether allowing gun owners to carry their firearms in public places makes those areas safer. While 36 percent said it would make public places less safe, another 32 percent each said it would either increase safety or make no difference. 

President Biden called on Congress on Wednesday to take further action on gun violence, including banning assault weapons and high capacity magazines, establishing universal background checks and red flag laws, and ending immunity for gun manufacturers, as he marked the one-year anniversary of the Uvalde school shooting.

Nineteen children and two adults were killed in the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, last May.

The CNN poll was conducted May 17-20 with 1,227 U.S. adults and had a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points.