Americans remain divided on gun control as national worry over violence rises, Pew report finds

As gun-related death rates continue to rise each year in the U.S., a new Pew Research study found that while views about gun ownership and gun policy remain starkly divided along party lines, Americans across the political spectrum increasingly see gun violence and violent crime as issues of national concern.

Democrats and Republicans agree on little when it comes to gun ownership and gun policies, according to the report released Wednesday. Seventy-nine percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents surveyed said they believe that gun ownership increases safety; nearly the same percentage of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents said the opposite. Only one policy proposal, restrictions on gun purchases for people with mental illnesses, received bipartisan support in the Pew study.

Despite these differences, 60 percent of Americans surveyed said they believe gun violence is a ‘very big’ national issue, up seven percentage points from 2018. Americans in both parties are also increasingly concerned about violent crime; 59 percent of Americans see violent crime as a ‘very big’ national issue, up seven percentage points from 2018, according to the report. Over 60 percent of Americans said they believe that gun violence will increase in the next five years; just seven percent believe it will decrease during that time period.

Concerns among Democrats and Republicans about crime have increased similarly. Fifty-two percent of Democrats and 64 percent of Republicans view crime as a ‘very big’ national issue, up eight and 12 percentage points from 2021 respectively.

Meanwhile, concerns about gun violence are up 11 points among both Republicans and Democrats. That said, an over 40-point gap still exists between the two parties’ voters on the issue; 81 percent of Democrats view gun violence as a ‘very big’ issue as opposed to just 38 percent of Republicans.

The data from Pew comes as violent crime remains a critical talking point for Republicans on the campaign trail, and as the number of mass shootings and gun-related homicides and suicides continues to increase in the wake of the pandemic. FBI data from 2021, the most recently available year for crime data, noted that 61 mass shootings occurred that year, and that gun-related homicides and suicides that year were responsible for the deaths of 48,830 Americans.

In response to several high-profile mass shootings, notably the May 2022 shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill negotiated the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which expanded background checks and federal funding for community and mental health initiatives. The bill, which President Joe Biden signed into law in July 2022, was the first major piece of gun control legislation passed in three decades.

However, the White House and Democrats on Capitol Hill have continued to push for further federal gun control measures. In February, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) reintroduced the Background Check Expansion Act. The bill, which faces steep odds in the slimly-Democratic Senate and the Republican-controlled House, would extend federal background checks to cover almost all sales and transfers of firearms between individuals.

Biden has also indicated his desire to take greater action on gun violence, saying in a speech in Connecticut earlier this month that the Safer Communities Act was "an important first step" and that "we are not finished."