Paul Ryan brings the House into session Wednesday June 22 following an all-day sit-in on the House floor to demand votes on gun-control bills. | AP Photo Poll: Support surges for stricter gun laws

More than half of registered voters support stricter gun laws in the United States, according to the latest results of a nationwide Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday that also found strong levels of support for background checks and for preventing people on government watch lists from purchasing guns.

Regardless of their opinions on specific proposals, 54 percent of registered voters surveyed said they would like tougher legislation when it comes to guns, the highest percentage of Americans expressing that view in the poll's history. Another 42 percent said they opposed stricter gun laws in the U.S., while 4 percent declined to respond. Among the various cleavages in the data for that question, 51 percent of men said they opposed tougher measures, while 45 percent supported; in contrast, more than six in 10 women, or 63 percent to 33 percent, said they would like to see increased measures.


Asked if it is possible to have new gun laws that will not interfere with the rights of responsible gun owners, 64 percent overall said they thought that would be the case, while 28 percent said they would interfere. On the notion that the U.S. would be safer if more people carried guns, 52 percent said it would be less safe, while 40 percent said would be safer. More than half of those in a gun-owing household, 55 percent to 34 percent, said that more guns would make the country more secure.

Six in 10 voters between the ages of 18 and 35 expressed support, compared to 57 percent of those aged 35 to 49 and 54 percent for those 65 and older. Among voters between the ages of 50 and 64, there is a split of 48 percent each. Voters in households owning guns said they would oppose stricter laws, 56 percent to 39 percent, as did white men, 57 percent to 39 percent.

Support was more universal for requiring background checks of all gun buyers. More than nine in 10, 93 percent, said they supported that, while just 6 percent said they opposed, with similar levels of support across various demographic and ideological groups. About 62 percent of all voters said requiring background checks would be effective in reducing gun violence in the U.S., while 35 percent expressed doubt that they would.

As for whether they would support barring people on federal watch lists from buying guns, 86 percent said they would, while just 12 percent overall opposed the idea.

Nearly six in 10, or 59 percent, said they would support a nationwide ban on the sale of assault weapons, while 37 percent said they opposed such an idea. Voters were largely divided on how effective such a ban would be in preventing future gun violence, with 47 percent saying they believed it would and 49 percent who said they did not think so.

The Senate on June 20 voted down four separate gun-related amendments that largely sought to keep people on watch lists from buying firearms and to improve the background check system.

The Senate Republican plan called for more resources to improve the National Instant Criminal Background Check System but did not expand overall mandated background checks, a proposal rejected by nearly all Democrats and Republican Sens. Mark Kirk of Illinois and Cory Gardner of Colorado, while Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) supported the measure.

Senate Democrats' plan for background checks expanded upon the system to require them for gun shows and for online sales.

Senate Republicans and Democrats also offered up differing plans on keeping suspected terrorists from purchasing guns. The Democratic version faced opposition from Republicans who argued that it could infringe upon the Second Amendment rights of people who end up on watch lists without having done anything to be on them. The Republican proposal would have stopped a sale only if a judge found probable cause that the person attempting to purchase the firearm is involved in terrorist activities, while Democrats argued that the burden of proof would be too great.

Quinnipiac conducted its survey via landlines and cellphones from June 21-27, surveying 1,610 registered voters nationwide with an overall margin of error of plus or minus 2.4 percentage points.