Biden's Gun Control Claims: Separating Fact from Fiction

Strategic Insights -

President Joe Biden's statements on gun control measures have drawn attention, with the President asserting that even gun owners support universal background checks and a ban on assault weapons. While it is true that a significant majority of Americans, including gun owners, support enhanced background checks, the evidence on a ban on assault weapons is more nuanced. A 2019 Washington Post-ABC News poll found that 56% of all respondents supported a ban, but among gun-owning households, the opposition to the ban was greater, with 53% opposing it. Furthermore, the poll revealed that gun-owning households rejected a mandatory buyback of assault weapons by a margin of 59% to 37%.

Key Takeaways:

  • Gun owners support enhanced background checks, with 88% of households with guns and 91% of households without guns supporting the measure in a 2019 Washington Post-ABC News poll.
  • A majority of Americans (56%) support a nationwide ban on the sale of assault weapons, but among gun-owning households, the opposition to the ban was greater, with 53% opposing it.
  • Gun-owning households rejected a mandatory buyback of assault weapons by a margin of 59% to 37% in the same poll.
  • The term "assault weapons" can be confusing, as it refers to a range of semiautomatic weapons with military features that lawmakers seek to ban.
  • Opinion surveys on gun control measures are sensitive to the wording of the question, with some surveys producing lower levels of support for a ban on assault weapons.

Statistics:

  • 56% of all respondents in a 2019 Washington Post-ABC News poll supported a nationwide ban on the sale of assault weapons.
  • 53% of gun-owning households opposed the ban on assault weapons in the same poll.
  • 59% of gun-owning households rejected a mandatory buyback of assault weapons.
  • 88% of households with guns supported enhanced background checks in the 2019 Washington Post-ABC News poll.
  • 91% of households without guns supported enhanced background checks in the 2019 Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Sources:

  • "A little more than half of Americans favor a ban on assault weapons: Post-ABC News poll" by Dan Hopkins in The Washington Post, October 5, 2019.
  • "Want to ban assault weapons? It depends on how you ask" by Dan Hopkins in The Washington Post, October 10, 2019.