Voters Support Common-Sense Gun Control Laws That Have Proven Successful in Other Countries
By Sabrina Jacobs
The United States government has had numerous opportunities to pass common-sense gun control legislation after decades of unmitigated gun violence. There was the Columbine High School massacre in 1999. The Virginia Tech shooting in 2007. Sandy Hook in 2012. Yet, the Senate refuses to pass any critical gun control legislation and has let laws like the Assault Weapons Ban expire.
Despite the government’s lack of action, a poll by Data for Progress finds 61 percent of voters support a new assault weapons ban, including 79 percent of Democrats, 53 percent of Independents, and 45 percent of Republicans.
The recent mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, is another addition to the growing list of preventable tragedies. The gunman purchased two assault weapons for his 18th birthday, just one week before he used an AR-15 to kill 19 students and two teachers. The shooting comes less than a year after Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill legalizing “constitutional carry,” which permits residents to carry a gun without a license or training. In Texas, residents must be 21 years old to buy a handgun, but they only need to be 18 to purchase a long gun, such as an AR-15.
Despite five mass shootings in Texas since 2017, Abbott has consistently loosened gun laws. He also signed an act that declared Texas a “Second Amendment sanctuary state,” which prevents state agencies and local governments from enforcing new federal gun rules.
Texas Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn also oppose gun safety measures. Cruz and Cornyn both have had A+ ratings with the National Rifle Association and have consistently voted against gun control efforts. In 2013, Cruz helped lead the Republican charge to filibuster a background-check bill introduced after the Sandy Hook shooting. After the Uvalde shooting, Cruz said “That [gun control] doesn’t work. It’s not effective. It doesn’t prevent crime.”
In the wake of the Uvalde shooting, Cornyn has been speaking with Democrats about potential gun control legislation. Despite voting against the assault weapons ban in 2013 and other key gun control bills, he is generally in favor of background checks. Last year, he was working with Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) to close a loophole that allows people to buy guns from an unlicensed dealer without a background check. However, those talks fell through because Cornyn didn’t want to restrict family-to-family gun trades.
Both Cruz and Cornyn benefit from NRA spending. According to a report from the Houston Chronicle, Cruz has received $176,284 and Cornyn $583,816 from the NRA. Abbott has received $16,750 from the organization.
As a conservative state with a deeply rooted hunting culture, it’s not surprising that Texas has very loose gun control laws. However, conservatives in other countries have been motivated to take action and strengthen gun laws after tragedies. In 1996, the Port Arthur massacre in Australia killed 35 people and injured 23. It remains the worst mass shooting committed by a single person in Australian history. The assailant legally purchased his Colt AR-15 semiautomatic rifle. In response to the shooting, the government initiated a buyback program and worked with states and territories to restrict the ownership of semiautomatic rifles and shotguns. Australia also passed a law requiring a 28-day waiting period and a justifiable reason to own a gun. Self-protection does not count as a justifiable reason, as the lax gun laws allow for in the United States. Since the gun control reforms, there has only been one mass shooting in Australia and rates of suicides and homicides have dropped substantially.
One might assume that it was the Australian Labor Party, the more liberal-leaning political party in the country, that ushered in the gun control reforms. However, conservative Prime Minister John Howard and Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer took the lead on the groundbreaking changes to gun policy. If Australia was able to pass gun control legislation with conservative leadership, why can’t the United States?
Like the United States, Australia has an active shooting and hunting culture. The country was also born out of a similar history of revolution and ideas of freedom, having been under British rule and occupation. However, Australia’s gun laws prevent easy access to handguns and restrict unnecessary ownership of semiautomatic rifles. The key difference between Australia of 1996 and America of 2022 is the existence of a strong gun lobby. Since the Port Arthur shooting and the strengthening of Australia’s gun control laws, a gun lobby with similar market strategies and political reach to the NRA has been growing in Australia. However, the organization was much less influential in the 1990s, and Howard’s swift action after the shooting allowed Australia to sidestep any resistance. Without the political and monetary influence of the NRA, the United States could have followed in Australia’s footsteps and passed common-sense gun control legislation. However, the NRA prevents Republican senators and representatives from taking steps to restrict gun access because they live in fear of fiscal and political retaliation.
Voters in the United States support gun control laws similar to those in Australia. Data for Progress finds voters support establishing a gun licensing program. Under the proposal from Democratic members of Congress, a person would have to take a firearms safety course and submit a permit application to a police department so it could initiate a background check before purchasing a gun.
Sixty-nine percent of voters support the gun licensing program, including 85 percent of Democrats, 66 percent of Independents, and 53 percent of Republicans.
Voters across both parties also support regulating ghost guns, which are untraceable firearms without serial numbers, assembled from components bought online. Seventy-three percent of voters support legislation that would make ghost guns traceable by adding serial numbers to components, imposing background checks, and requiring online purchasers to pick up their orders at federally licensed gun shops. This includes Democrats by a +78-point margin, Independents by a +54-point margin, and Republicans by a +31-point margin.
In order for gun control laws to pass under current Senate rules, the bill would require the backing of 60 senators. Since the Democrats hold the narrowest majority, the filibuster rule — which requires 60 members to end debate and move to a vote — makes it impossible to pass legislation without the support of Republicans. However, lawmakers in Congress are considering changing the procedure to allow bills to pass with a simple majority of 51 votes.
Data for Progress finds 49 percent of voters support changing Senate rules so Democrats can pass gun control legislation. This includes 76 percent of Democrats, 43 percent of Independents, and 24 percent of Republicans.
Common-sense gun control laws have prevented mass shootings in Australia and elsewhere. The American people have the right to feel safe when they go shopping, drop their kids off at school, or attend religious services. The political influence of the NRA has prevented necessary gun control legislation from passing in the U.S. Congress. Republicans need to take a stand and put the safety of the American people above the monetary benefits they receive from the NRA.
Sabrina Jacobs (@bri_jacobs) is a digital fellow at Data for Progress.