Background Checks on All Gun Purchases (February 2020)

Background Checks on All Gun Purchases (February 2020)

  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you support or oppose requiring criminal and mental health background checks on all gun purchases in the United States, including at gun shows and for private sales?"
Loading chart...
categoryTotal
Strongly support61%
Somewhat support18%
Somewhat oppose8%
Strongly oppose7%
Don't know/No opinion6%
  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you support or oppose requiring criminal and mental health background checks on all gun purchases in the United States, including at gun shows and for private sales?" Measurement of Party ID for this figure is based on two questions. First, respondents were asked whether they consider themselves to be a Democrats, Republicans, independents, other, or not sure. Those who responded that they are independents or "other" were then asked if they lean toward either the Democrats or Republicans. If they indicated that they lean toward one party or the other, they are considered Democrats or Republicans for the purposes of this figure. Only "pure" independents or members of a third party who indicate that they have no preference for Democrats vis-a-vis Republicans are considered independents. Respondents who answered that they are "not sure" for either of the two aforementioned questions are not incorporated into this figure.
Loading chart...
CategoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
Strongly support83%56%41%
Somewhat support8%17%27%
Somewhat oppose3%5%13%
Strongly oppose1%10%13%
Don't know/No opinion4%12%5%
  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you support or oppose requiring criminal and mental health background checks on all gun purchases in the United States, including at gun shows and for private sales?" Party identification is calculated according to the PID7 variable, a seven point scale of party identification.
Loading chart...
CategoryLean DemocratNot very strong DemocratStrong Democrat
Strongly support81%82%84%
Somewhat support10%12%6%
Somewhat oppose6%2%2%
Strongly oppose1%1%1%
Don't know/No opinion2%3%6%
  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you support or oppose requiring criminal and mental health background checks on all gun purchases in the United States, including at gun shows and for private sales?" Party identification is calculated according to the PID7 variable, a seven point scale of party identification.
Loading chart...
CategoryLean RepublicanNot very strong RepublicanStrong Republican
Strongly support33%44%44%
Somewhat support33%26%25%
Somewhat oppose12%14%14%
Strongly oppose17%7%13%
Don't know/No opinion5%9%4%
  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you support or oppose requiring criminal and mental health background checks on all gun purchases in the United States, including at gun shows and for private sales?" Ideology is measured on a scale of 1-7, with 1 corresponding to "extremely liberal", 7 corresponding to "extremely conservative, and 4 corresponding to "in the middle." For the purposes of this table, respondents who placed themselves at or between points 1 and 3 on the scale are considered "liberal," respondents who placed themselves at point 4 on the scale are considered "moderate," and respondents who placed themselves at or between points 5 and 7 on the scale are considered conservative.
Loading chart...
CategoryLiberalsModeratesConservatives
Strongly support86%66%41%
Somewhat support7%17%27%
Somewhat oppose4%2%14%
Strongly oppose1%4%14%
Don't know/No opinion3%11%5%
  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you support or oppose requiring criminal and mental health background checks on all gun purchases in the United States, including at gun shows and for private sales?" Ideology is measured on a scale of 1-7, with 1 corresponding to "extremely liberal", 7 corresponding to "extremely conservative, and 4 corresponding to "in the middle." For the purposes of this table, respondents who placed themselves at or between points 1 and 3 on the scale are considered "liberal," respondents who placed themselves at point 4 on the scale are considered "moderate," and respondents who placed themselves at or between points 5 and 7 on the scale are considered conservative.
Loading chart...
CategoryLean liberalSomewhat liberalExtremely liberal
Strongly support74%93%85%
Somewhat support16%3%4%
Somewhat oppose7%0%8%
Strongly oppose1%1%0%
Don't know/No opinion2%3%3%
  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you support or oppose requiring criminal and mental health background checks on all gun purchases in the United States, including at gun shows and for private sales?" Ideology is measured on a scale of 1-7, with 1 corresponding to "extremely liberal", 7 corresponding to "extremely conservative, and 4 corresponding to "in the middle." For the purposes of this table, respondents who placed themselves at or between points 1 and 3 on the scale are considered "liberal," respondents who placed themselves at point 4 on the scale are considered "moderate," and respondents who placed themselves at or between points 5 and 7 on the scale are considered conservative.
Loading chart...
CategoryLean conservativeSomewhat conservativeExtremely conservative
Strongly support50%34%42%
Somewhat support24%36%20%
Somewhat oppose16%12%15%
Strongly oppose5%14%17%
Don't know/No opinion4%4%5%
  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you support or oppose requiring criminal and mental health background checks on all gun purchases in the United States, including at gun shows and for private sales?" Race is calculated according to the race variable.
Loading chart...
CategoryWhiteBlackHispanic
Strongly support58%72%63%
Somewhat support21%8%16%
Somewhat oppose9%7%5%
Strongly oppose10%0%5%
Don't know/No opinion2%12%11%
  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you support or oppose requiring criminal and mental health background checks on all gun purchases in the United States, including at gun shows and for private sales?" Gender is calculated according to the GENDER variable.
Loading chart...
CategoryMaleFemale
Strongly support53%67%
Somewhat support20%16%
Somewhat oppose11%6%
Strongly oppose12%4%
Don't know/No opinion5%6%
  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you support or oppose requiring criminal and mental health background checks on all gun purchases in the United States, including at gun shows and for private sales?" Community type is based on the following question, " Would you say that you live in an urban, suburban, or rural community?"
Loading chart...
CategoryUrbanSuburbanRural
Strongly support65%63%49%
Somewhat support17%18%20%
Somewhat oppose5%9%10%
Strongly oppose4%6%16%
Don't know/No opinion8%5%5%
  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you support or oppose requiring criminal and mental health background checks on all gun purchases in the United States, including at gun shows and for private sales?" Age is calculated according to the AGEG variable.
Loading chart...
Category18-2930-4445-6465+
Strongly support58%64%60%60%
Somewhat support18%18%16%23%
Somewhat oppose9%4%9%10%
Strongly oppose5%7%9%7%
Don't know/No opinion10%7%6%1%
  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you support or oppose requiring criminal and mental health background checks on all gun purchases in the United States, including at gun shows and for private sales?" Education is calculated according to the EDUC variable.
Loading chart...
CategoryNo HSHigh school graduateSome college2-year4-yearPost-grad
Strongly support60%58%61%70%58%66%
Somewhat support9%21%15%16%23%10%
Somewhat oppose10%6%10%3%8%13%
Strongly oppose3%5%8%10%10%8%
Don't know/No opinion19%10%6%2%2%3%
  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you support or oppose requiring criminal and mental health background checks on all gun purchases in the United States, including at gun shows and for private sales?" Religiosity is calculated according to the IMPORT variable.
Loading chart...
CategoryExtremely importantSomewhat importantNot very importantNot at all important
Strongly support60%51%67%70%
Somewhat support18%24%13%14%
Somewhat oppose8%10%9%5%
Strongly oppose7%8%5%9%
Don't know/No opinion6%8%6%3%
  • Table |
  • Share
  • |
    More

    Respondents were asked, "Do you support or oppose requiring criminal and mental health background checks on all gun purchases in the United States, including at gun shows and for private sales?" Fundamentalism is calculated according to the LITERAL variable.
Loading chart...
CategoryThe Bible is the actual word of God and is to be taken literally, word for word.The Bible is the word of God but not everything in it should be taken literally, word for word.The Bible is a book written by men and is not the word of God.Don't know.
Strongly support57%56%75%53%
Somewhat support18%26%10%12%
Somewhat oppose10%8%6%5%
Strongly oppose9%7%7%7%
Don't know/No opinion7%3%2%23%

Latest Poll News

June 2023 University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll

The June 2023 University of Texas / Texas Politics Project poll included extensive questioning about the performance of state leaders during the 2023 Legislative session.
State on the Wrong Track

For only the second time in UT polling, but the second time in less than a year, a majority of Texas voters say that the state is on the wrong track.
Inflation on Texans' minds

More than half of Texans think the state is on the wrong track, while border security and immigration continue to loom large, especially among Texas Republicans.
June 2021 University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll

The latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll has been released in full. Check out the latest poll page to explore results related to the 87th legislative session, the coronavirus pandemic, assessments of state leaders, and more.
March 2021 Texas Politics Project/UT Energy Institute Poll

The Texas Politics Project just released the results of a March poll developed in conjunction with a team of researchers at the UT Energy Institute that asked dozens of questions about Texans’ experience during the winter storm, their attitudes toward causes and consequences of the storm, their views of, and expectations about, possible policy responses, and their views of how a wide range of actors from their neighbors and utility providers to state political leaders, regulatory bodies, and corporate actors. 

Related Results