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Snapshot: Majority in U.S. Now Oppose Ban on Assault Rifles.

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Vincent

Byline: Megan Brenan

Synopsis: Forty percent of Americans support a ban on semi-automatic guns in the U.S., but a majority (57%) oppose it.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans' support for a ban on semi-automatic guns in the U.S. has dropped eight percentage points from a year ago, when opinions were more evenly divided after the mass shooting in Las Vegas. Last year's measure was unusually high for the trend over the past several years; the current 40% is back to within a few points of where it was between 2011 and 2016.

The latest findings, from an Oct. 1-10 survey, mark the eighth time since 1996 that Gallup has gauged public opinion on banning "semi-automatic guns, known as assault rifles." These types of guns, which reload automatically but fire only once per trigger pull, have been used in a number of mass shootings in the U.S. in recent years.

Background: Support for banning assault rifles has changed over time. In 1994, President Bill Clinton signed a ban on assault weapons in the U.S. When Gallup first asked Americans about such a ban in 1996, 57% were in favor and 42% opposed. By the time the 10-year ban expired in 2004, support had fallen to 50%. In recent years, opinion has generally been against such a law, and an attempt to pass a new ban -- after the Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting -- was defeated in 2013.

In 2016, 36% supported a ban and 61% opposed one. But last year, after the Las Vegas shooting left 58 people dead and nearly 500 injured, support for a ban rose 12 points.

The current...

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