Voters Want President Biden to Use Executive Authority to Address Gun Violence
By Lew Blank
In June 2022, Congress passed the “most sweeping gun violence bill in decades,” the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which expanded background checks, closed the “boyfriend loophole,” helped states implement red flag laws, and invested more funding in mental health programs. Then in September 2023, President Biden announced the creation of the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. Overseen by Vice President Kamala Harris, the new office is dedicated to supporting communities impacted by gun violence through executive and legislative action.
Despite recent progress, more than 43,000 people died from gun violence in 2023. While Biden has requested that Congress take additional actions, such as banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, congressional Republicans remain firmly opposed to essentially any form of gun control. As a result, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and a coalition of Democratic lawmakers in the Senate and House recently proposed a series of executive actions that Biden could take to combat gun violence without needing congressional approval.
New Data for Progress polling finds that voters strongly support the U.S. government taking a variety of actions to prevent gun violence, and believe Biden should use his executive authority to address these issues if Congress fails to do so.
Voters Want the U.S. Government to Release More Data on Gun Violence
Two in three voters (67%) support the U.S. government publicly releasing a higher amount of data on gun violence in the U.S., including data on the largest suppliers of guns used in crimes. This includes 83% of Democrats, 62% of Independents, and 52% of Republicans.
Voters Across Party Lines Want Firearm Manufacturers to Follow a Code of Conduct
An additional executive action Biden could take is directing U.S. government agencies, including the Department of Defense, to only purchase firearms from manufacturers that follow a code of conduct. This code of conduct could include only selling to responsible dealers who refuse to sell firearms to individuals unless they pass a criminal background check or who implement best practices to avoid stockpiling of firearms and ammunition when they sell in the commercial market.
Across party lines, more than two-thirds of Democrats (87%), Independents (73%), and Republicans (68%) support the U.S. government only buying firearms from manufacturers that follow a code of conduct.
Additionally, 64% of voters support requiring all companies selling firearms to the U.S. government to refuse to sell military-grade weapons to American citizens.
Voters Support New Restrictions on the Imports and Exports of Firearms
While the Gun Control Act of 1968 generally prohibits imports of firearms from foreign countries, many rifles are allowed to be imported from foreign countries if they are for “sporting purposes.” However, the U.S. government hasn’t reevaluated which firearms should be classified as being for "sporting purposes” for more than a decade, despite technological changes.
After hearing arguments from both sides, a majority of voters (62%) support the U.S. government reevaluating which firearms should be eligible to be imported for “sporting purposes." This includes majorities of Democrats (87%) and Independents (57%), and about two-fifths of Republicans (39%).
We also asked voters whether they think the U.S. should increase or decrease regulations on its exports of assault weapons to other countries, or whether these regulations should stay the same. A clear majority of voters want these regulations to be either increased (39%) or to be kept as they are (41%). Only 9% of voters — including 5% of Democrats, 9% of Independents, and 14% of Republicans — want to cut back on these regulations.
Voters Support Regulations on Stockpiling of Firearms and Ammunition
In 2022, major U.S. credit card companies created a “tag” to categorize firearm-related purchases, similar to tags that are regularly used to categorize other types of purchases. These tags could help investigators detect suspicious patterns of firearm purchasing, such as someone stockpiling thousands of dollars worth of firearms within a few days.
Lawmakers in multiple states responded by attempting to ban credit card companies from using this tag, including a bill that was passed into law by Florida Republicans in May 2023.
Our survey finds that only 1 in 4 voters (25%) support banning credit card companies from tagging firearm-related purchases. A majority of voters think these tags should either be required (39%) or allowed but not required (26%).
A majority of voters (55%) also support limiting how much ammunition an American can stockpile in a given time period. This includes a majority of Democrats (81%) and a plurality of Independents (47%), although Republicans are opposed by a -27-point margin.
Voters Support Executive Action on Gun Violence From the Biden Administration
Alongside their support for these specific actions to combat gun violence, a majority of voters (53%) also support Biden using his executive authority to prevent gun violence and limit the sale of assault weapons if Congress is unable to do so.
Broadly, these findings show that voters strongly support the U.S. government taking a variety of actions to confront gun violence, including releasing more data on the issue, requiring firearm manufacturers to follow a code of conduct, placing restrictions on firearm imports and exports, and regulating the stockpiling of firearms and ammunition. Voters also believe Biden should use his executive authority to take action against gun violence if Congress fails to do so.
Lew Blank (@LewBlank) is a communications strategist at Data for Progress.