https://thehill.com/homenews/news/457481-two-thirds-support-assault-weapons-ban-fox-news-poll Two-thirds of Americans support assault weapons ban: Fox News poll The majority of Americans support a ban on assault weapons in the wake of two recent mass shootings that killed a total of 31 people, a new Fox News poll found. Two-thirds of Americans favor a ban on assault rifles and semi-automatic weapons as a measure to reduce gun violence, according to a poll released Wednesday. It is a 7-point increase from when the question was asked in March 2018. Support for an assault weapons ban is stronger among Democrats, at 86 percent, based on the poll. Forty-six percent of Republicans and 58 percent of independents said they are in favor of a ban. An overwhelming 90 percent of Americans support requiring criminal background checks on all gun buyers, based on the poll. The support is statistically equal between Democrats and Republicans. Democrats and some Republicans have been calling on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to call a vote on a universal background check bill. The Democratic-controlled House passed the bill in February. Trump recently backed “intelligent background checks” in response to the El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio shootings. The president also said McConnell, who has not publicly backed any gun bills after the shootings, is “totally on board” with his proposal. The poll surveyed 1,013 voters nationwide between Aug. 11 and 13. There is a margin of error of three percentage points.
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/07/poll-most-voters-support-assault-weapons-ban-1452586 Poll: Most Republicans support assault weapons ban, despite Trump saying 'no appetite' By STEVEN SHEPARD 08/07/2019 05:00 PM EDT Most Republicans would support legislation banning assault-style weapons, a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll found Wednesday — a finding that contradicts President Donald Trump's claim earlier the same day that there's "no political appetite" for such restrictions. The poll found that nearly 70 percent of all voters would back such a ban. Support for an assault-weapons ban was higher, at 86 percent, among Democrats, who have been pushing for new restrictions on the firearms in the wake of two mass shootings over the weekend. Republicans typically are more reticent to support new gun restrictions, and Trump campaigned in 2016 on his strong support for the Second Amendment. But the poll found that 55 percent of GOP voters were comfortable with banning assault weapons, and 54 percent said they would support stricter gun laws more generally. Ninety percent said they would back universal background checks for gun sales. Only 23 percent of all voters oppose an assault weapons ban, the poll found. The poll was conducted Aug. 5-7, in the immediate aftermath of two mass shootings. A lone gunman opened fire Saturday at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, killing 22 people. Then, early Sunday morning, another gunman murdered nine people in Dayton, Ohio. In the past, support for strengthening gun laws has spiked in surveys from POLITICO/Morning Consult and other pollsters after mass shootings. Support typically recedes in the weeks after the attacks, though many of the measures being proposed in the wake of this weekend’s shootings remain broadly — and, in some cases, overwhelmingly — popular even outside these temporal surges. Overall, 73 percent of voters support stricter gun laws, the poll shows — up from 67 percent in the spring of 2018. The remaining 27 percent oppose stricter gun laws. Majorities of Democrats (91 percent), Republicans (54 percent) and independents (70 percent) support stricter gun laws. Voters almost unanimously want mandatory universal background checks on gun purchasers. More than 91 percent support requiring background checks for all gun sales. Only 5 percent of voters oppose background checks. While Trump poured cold water Wednesday on a possible assault weapons ban, he said he was optimistic background-check legislation could reach his desk, despite past congressional inaction on the issue. “There is a great appetite, and I mean a very strong appetite, for background checks. And I think we can bring up background checks like we’ve never had before,” Trump said. “I think both Republican and Democrat are getting close to a bill on — to doing something with background checks.” But a number of other proposed measures are also very popular, the POLITICO/Morning Consult poll shows: 89 percent of voters want to block gun sales to people who have been reported as dangerous to law enforcement by mental health providers. Only 6 percent of voters oppose those restrictions. Eighty-four percent of voters want to prevent people convicted of violent misdemeanors from purchasing guns. A similar percentage, 83 percent, support limiting gun purchases to those 21 and older. Eighty percent think there should be a mandatory three-day waiting period before someone can take home a gun. And 72 percent support banning high-capacity magazines.
Clinton did it once, and it didn't work. So there's that. Most of the idiots on the left think an assault weapons ban means confiscation. That isn't at all what it means. Existing weapons aren't banned. You raise the price of them, sure. And there are so, so many out there that it doesn't cut crime.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_of_Columbia_v._Heller "It also stated that the right to bear arms is not unlimited and that guns and gun ownership would continue to be regulated."
But also restricted the attempt to curb owning handguns, as an example, or the requirement to force locking mechanisms on rifles and shotguns. I think a ban would go further than that.
Why? For the record, there is no right or wrong answer to this question. It’s the old where do we draw the line question. Lots and lots of opinions can be right but where do we end out? For the record, I say you can ban assault rifles as long as you can reasonably protect your person and property (there may be another stipulation as well but I don’t recall right now).