A new Field Poll released Tuesday shows 80 percent of registered voters in California favor a requirement that anyone buying ammunition in the state should undergo a background check.
That’s up 5 percent from 2013, the last time the question was asked, and represents an even greater majority than the 75 percent who back banning those on the government’s no-fly list from purchasing firearms.
To date, no state in the country has required a background check on ammunition. But Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom included such a requirement, among a host of other gun-related restrictions, in an initiative he submitted to the state in December. Supporters have until June 28 to submit 365,880 valid signatures to qualify the proposal for the November ballot.
In addition to the ammunition question, the Field Poll found 58 percent support for outlawing the possession of large-capacity ammunition magazines, and 56 percent in favor of expanding the state’s assault weapons ban to include semi-automatic rifles with detachable ammunition magazines.
On a macro level, 57 percent said it’s more important to impose greater controls on gun ownership than it is to protect the right to own guns. That percentage is little changed since February 2013, when 61 percent of voters answered the same way. In fact, in the five times Field has asked that question over 17 years, Californians have been remarkably consistent in leaning more toward gun control than gun rights, with majorities for gun control never falling below 55 percent.
The poll of 1,003 registered California voters was conducted Dec. 15, 2015 to Jan. 3, 2016 among 1,003 registered voters in California, reflecting a period when the fear created by the Dec. 2 San Bernardino terrorist attack was arguably at its most raw.
The breakdown of who backs what went like this: At least 70 percent of Democrats and self-described liberals favor greater gun control; more than 70 percent of Republicans and “strong conservatives” lean toward gun rights. In other words, a mirror image. Sixty-one percent of those with no party preference — independents — back more gun control.
Still, when it comes to more firearms restrictions, Californians may be out of sync with their governor — and vice versa. As KQED’s Marisa Lagos reported last month, while Jerry Brown and the Democratic-controlled Legislature have passed 28 new gun control laws since 2011, Brown has vetoed some of the strongest measures.
In any event, it’s interesting to compare Californians’ views on the issue with those of the nation as a whole. Two nationwide polls released in December — again, not long after San Bernardino — found that Americans slightly opposed “stricter gun laws.” However, in one of those polls, from Quinnipiac University, 89 percent of registered voters supported requiring background checks on people buying guns at gun shows or online, 58 percent backed a nationwide ban on the sale of assault weapons, and 55 percent said it’s “too easy” to buy a gun in the U.S.
That’s confusing.
You can find an archive of gun control polls going back 17 years at PollingReport.com.