June 28 (UPI) -- A Pew Research Center poll published Wednesday shows 60% of Americans believe gun violence is a very big and growing national problem. But the poll also shows an even split as to whether gun ownership increases or decreases safety.
A majority, 58%, said U.S. gun laws should be more strict. A bare majority of 51% of White Americans wanted stricter laws while 77% of Black Americans support stricter gun laws.
"The question of whether gun ownership does more to increase or decrease safety evenly divides Americans: 49% say it increases safety by allowing law-abiding citizens to protect themselves; an identical share says it reduces safety by giving too many people access to firearms and increasing misuse," Pew said.
A majority of 58% support stricter gun laws and a huge majority of 88% support keeping mentally ill people from buying guns.
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A strong majority of 79% supports making 21 the minimum age to legally buy a gun.
The Pew survey of 5,115 was done June 5-11, 2023.
Reflecting the larger political polarity in the nation, this Pew Research gun poll reveals Democrats and Republicans remain sharply divided over guns.
Republicans and independent who lean Republican said - by 79% margin - that gun ownership increases safety. Among Democrats and Democratic leaners 78% said the opposite, that it decreases safety.
The proportion of poll respondents that said guns are a very big national problem is 11% higher than last year in both political parties.
And the divide over guns isn't just political, it's also geographic.
Among rural residents 65% said having guns increases safety compared with just 34% of city dwellers who believe that.
When it comes to questions about what gun policies make sense to address the very big problem, solid majorities support banning high-capacity ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, banning assault-style weapons, preventing the mentally ill from owning guns and raising the gun ownership age to 21.
The Pew poll showed Americans evenly split 50-50 on letting K-12 school teachers and officials carry guns. More than three-fourths opposed letting people carry guns without permits.
