Support for gun control among Americans is rising in the wake of the Orlando shootings, even as Congress continues to block any gun legislation proposed by House and Senate Democrats.
According to a CNN poll released on Monday, support for stricter gun control laws has reached its highest point since January 2013, one month following the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn.
A majority of Americans — 55% — now support tougher gun control laws, while only 42% of Americans oppose such legislation. The poll represents a nine-point increase of those in favor of gun control laws — a considerable increase since CNN last conducted the study in October 2015.
The Huffington Post also released a poll showing a spike in support for stricter gun control laws following the Orlando attacks in which 49 people were massacred.
But what’s puzzling is that it took an attack like Orlando for public sentiment to change in favor of more restrictions on guns.
From the time Adam Lanza walked into an elementary school and killed 20 children to the deadly rampage earlier this month, public support for stricter gun control laws has mainly declined — spiking only in response to deadly mass shootings during that span.
On Sept. 16, 2013, Aaron Alexis, a 34-year-old former Navy reservist, shot and killed 12 people at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C, before turning the gun on himself.
The CNN poll, however, showed a continual drop in support for stricter gun control laws from years prior. The percentage of people for more gun control dropped from 53% in April 2013 to 49% in November of that same year.
On April 2, 2014, Ivan Lopez, a veteran who served in Iraq, went on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, killing three.
Again, the killings did not lead to a spike in public support for more gun control legislation. In September 2014, only 44% of Americans were for increased gun legislation.
Adam Winkler, a law professor at UCLA and author of “Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America,” said he believes that the drop in public support for gun control could be the result of either polling errors or the public’s frustration with Congress’ ineptitude.
“The Newtown shootings increased public attention,” Winkler told the Daily News.
“But when nothing happens at the federal level in the wake of shootings, this may lead people to believe that it’s fruitless to pursue gun control.”
