Slight Majority Now Favor Major Gun Restrictions

A new CNN/ORC poll taken in the wake of the Connecticut school shooting finds that a narrow majority — 52% — of Americans now support major restrictions on owning guns or an outright ban on gun ownership by ordinary citizens. Further, 43% say the shooting makes them more likely to support more gun restrictions, up 15 points since the January 2011 shooting in Tucson, AZ.

Said pollster Keating Holland: “All of those numbers are much higher than they were in a CNN poll conducted in January, 2011, indicating that the tragedy in Connecticut may be affecting more Americans more intensely than other recent attacks.”

Key finding: There is a significant gender gap, with 62% support for major gun restrictions among women compared with 41% among men, and an even larger partisan gap, with nearly 80% support among Democrats but only 42% among independents and 31% among Republicans.