After the Uvalde Shooting, Majority of Voters Support Red Flag Laws and Stricter Gun Control
By Sabrina Jacobs, Grace Adcox, Danielle Deiseroth, Erin Thomas, and Bella Kumar
Following the devastating shooting in Uvalde, Texas, Data for Progress conducted polling regarding views on gun reform and proposed gun control policies. At the same time, a bipartisan group of senators released a plan to tackle gun violence through federal reforms, such as implementing red flag laws, closing the “boyfriend loophole,” and raising the age limit to purchase a semiautomatic rifle from 18 to 21. Data for Progress polling finds overwhelming support for these gun reforms.
Red flag laws, which allow law enforcement to temporarily confiscate a person’s gun if a judge determines them a threat to themselves or others, have long been sought by gun violence prevention leaders. We find that voters overwhelmingly support red flag laws by a +50-point margin, including Democrats by a +77-point margin, Independents by a +55-point margin, and Republicans by a +21-point margin.
As was the case in Uvalde, as well as the recent massacre in Buffalo, New York, a majority of mass shooting perpetrators are young men. In both of these shootings, the gunman was able to legally purchase semiautomatic firearms at just 18 years old. Knowing this, 79 percent of voters support raising the national age limit for purchasing semiautomatic firearms from 18 to 21, including 86 percent of Democrats, 77 percent of Independents, and 71 percent of Republicans.
Research also shows that a majority of mass shooting perpetrators, including the gunmen in Uvalde and Buffalo, were experiencing or had recently experienced a mental crisis. Knowing this, 81 percent of voters support red flag laws. This includes Democrats by a +74-point margin, Independents by a +66-point margin, and Republicans by a +60-point margin.
Currently, federal law prohibits those with a history of domestic violence from purchasing firearms, but with the caveat that they must have been married to, have lived with, or have a child with the victim. This “boyfriend loophole” allows abusive dating partners to purchase weapons, which endangers current and previous partners. Eighty-nine percent of voters support banning the sale of guns to those who have criminal histories of domestic abuse, including 91 percent of Democrats, 88 percent of Independents, and 88 percent of Republicans. Expanding the current federal law to prohibit every person with a history of domestic abuse from purchasing a gun, whether they have been married to the victim or not, will help protect those in abusive relationships and survivors of domestic violence.
Data for Progress also asked voters about the Uvalde Police Department’s response to the shooting. Uvalde police officers waited outside of Robb Elementary School for 40 minutes while the gunman was inside, and videos from outside the school show officers tackling and tasing parents as they pleaded with the officers to enter the school. When asked about the police's response to the shooting, 83 percent of voters reported that they perceived UPD’s response as “somewhat bad” or “very bad.”
After the disastrous police response came to light, authorities agreed to conduct an investigation into local law enforcement’s response to the shooting. Eighty-five percent of voters agree that governments should be allowed to investigate police actions during a crime, such as the Uvalde shooting.
Uvalde officials have also struggled to put together a timeline of events after the shooting. They still cannot answer what officers were doing between 11:28 a.m., when the shooter crashed the car, and 11:40 a.m., when he entered the school. Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin said he’s been frustrated by the lack of transparency in the investigation into the mass shooting. When he asked for a briefing on the shooting, he was told that he wasn’t entitled to one because he isn’t a member of law enforcement. Seventy-three percent of voters believe that when major crimes occur, police departments should be required to hold press conferences and speak with the media. This includes 79 percent of Democrats, 71 percent of Independents, and 67 percent of Republicans.
Despite Republican resistance to gun reform, a majority of voters clearly support common-sense proposals like raising the age to buy an assault weapon to 21 and implementing red flag laws. In order to reduce gun violence in the U.S., it’s crucial that Congress takes action and passes gun control legislation that prioritizes safety of our communities.
Sabrina Jacobs (@bri_jacobs) is a digital fellow at Data for Progress.
Grace Adcox is a polling analyst at Data for Progress.
Danielle Deiseroth (@danielledeis) is Lead Climate Strategist at Data for Progress.
Erin Thomas (@erin_c_thomas) is a senior software engineer at Data for Progress.
Bella Kumar (@bellakkumar) is a communications intern at Data for Progress.