Poll: Half say gun laws are about right

Voters are split on the effectiveness of any new gun control laws heading into the 2016 presidential election, according to a CNN/ORC International poll of several domestic and international issues.

Nearly half of Americans, 49 percent, say that current laws for buying guns are “about right,” 9 points higher than a month after the Newtown, Conn., elementary school shooting, when a lone gunman killed 20 children and six adults.

{mosads}Forty-one percent say existing laws make it “too easy” for people to purchase guns, down 15 points since just after the Newtown shooting, while 10 percent now say laws make it “too difficult” to buy guns.

CNN notes that 42 percent of voters say gun policy is an “extremely important” issue when voting for president, 20 points higher than in June 2011.

In comparison, the number of people who say illegal immigration is extremely important is 39 percent, just 10 percent higher than in June 2011. The number of people who say abortion is an “extremely important” issue when voting for president is 27 percent, just 7 percent higher.

In the new poll released Monday, 23 percent of voters say new gun control laws targeted toward preventing people with mental health issues from purchasing guns would be “extremely likely” to work. Twenty-one percent said they would be “very likely” to work, 31 percent “somewhat likely” and 25 percent “not at all likely.”

Slightly fewer voters think new gun laws with comprehensive background checks would prevent convicted criminals from buying guns, with 21 percent saying it would be “extremely likely” to work. Thirty-five percent said it is “not at all likely” to be effective. 

Nearly six in 10 Americans, 59 percent, disapprove of the way President Obama is handling gun policy, slightly higher than earlier this summer but below last year’s level; 35 percent approve of his handling.

The CNN/ORC survey of 1,012 U.S. adults was conducted Sept. 4-8 via landlines and cellphones with an overall margin of error of 3 percentage points.