A Fox News poll found that 61% of Americans support a ban on assault weapons

• A new Fox News poll found that 61% of registered voters in the US want a ban on assault weapons.
• Broken down by political party, 84% of Democrats favored a ban, compared to 36% of Republicans.

Sixty-one percent of Americans support a ban on assault weapons in the country, according to a new Fox News poll released Friday.

Following multiple mass shootings in 2023 — including one at an elementary school in Nashville and another at a bank in Louisville — Fox News polled 1,004 registered voters nationwide via phone from April 21 to April 24 on their thoughts about guns in America. The poll had a sampling error of 3 percentage points.

On Tuesday, Washington state banned manufacturing, importing, distributing and selling assault weapons.

In the Fox News poll, 87% of respondents said they favor requiring criminal background checks on everyone who wants to purchase a gun and 80% said they want mental health checks on gun buyers nationwide. Eighty percent said they want police to be able to take guns away from those who are considered a danger to themselves or others, a regulation known as red-flag laws.

A vast majority of those polled, 81%, said they wanted the age to legally buy a gun in the US to be raised from 18 to 21 years old.

Seventy-seven percent said they favor enforcing a 30-day waiting period for all gun purchases. On Thursday, the parents of the 25-year-old who opened fire at an Old National Bank in Louisville said a waiting period would have been helpful in stopping their son who was able to purchase a gun in just 40 minutes days before the incident.

When looking at those polled generally, 45% said they think more citizens should carry guns to protect themselves, but 52% opposed that idea. Broken down by political party, a small 27% of Democrats polled said people should carry guns with them, compared to 61% of Republicans.

Similarly, 84% of Democrats favored banning assault weapons versus 36% of Republicans.

Half of those polled (51%) are "extremely or very concerned" that they or someone they love will be a victim of gun violence, including 44% who live in a home with a gun. The poll found that the concern is higher among younger voters, parents, those who live in urban areas, and nonwhite voters.

Of those who are worried about becoming a victim of gun violence, 67% said they believe stricter gun laws will make the US safer.

Overall, nearly half of voters polled (43%) think stricter gun laws would make the country safer while 25% disagreed. Thirty-one percent said they don't think stricter gun laws will make a difference.

A February Gallup poll showed similar results: It found that 63% of Americans are dissatisfied with current gun laws while 34% are satisfied. The number of Republicans versus Democrats satisfied with the current gun laws was much higher. Democrats polled at only 14% satisfied — a record low, Gallup said.