Majorities of voters nationwide support some of the most notable gun policy proposals outlined by President Barack Obama but the public still trusts Republicans in Congress slightly more on the issue, according to the latest poll from Quinnipiac University released Thursday.
A majority of 51 percent of voters said they are in favor of stricter gun control laws in the country while 42 percent are opposed. Fifty-four percent said they support a ban on the sale of assault weapons and another 54 percent said they back a proposal to ban the sale of high-capacity magazines that contain more than 10 rounds of bullets. On all three of those questions, large majorities of Republicans said they are opposed to said proposals.
But when asked who they trust more on the issue of gun policy, voters gave the narrowest of edges to the congressional GOP: 44 percent said they trust Republicans on Capitol Hill more while 42 percent said they have more trust in Obama on that front.
The poll did find overwhelming, bipartisan support for universal background checks on firearms purchases — consistently shown to be the most popular gun policy proposal. A whopping 88 percent of voters — including 83 percent of Republicans, 96 percent of Democrats and even 85 percent of voters with guns in their households — said they support background checks for all gun purchases
