New polls show that half of Republicans support stricter gun laws in the wake of deadly mass shootings, most notably in Uvalde, Texas, and Buffalo, New York, and this comes as Congress reconsiders, once again, the possibility of moving a package of gun control reforms.
It was found that 44% of right-leaning lawmakers said that mass shootings in the United States are something that we, as part of a free society, have to accept. The remaining number of Republicans, 56%, said that the crimes were something that can be prevented and stopped if they really tried.
Gun Control Policies
The statistics are a striking departure from how the country as a whole views the issue of gun violence and gun laws. It was also found that more than seven in 10 Americans, roughly 72%, said that mass shootings could be prevented if they really tried and only 28% said that they were part of living in a free society.
What some Republicans are saying is that there is no policy or cultural solution to the problem of mass shootings in the United States. Instead, they said that it is a necessary evil of living in a free society, as per CNN.
However, there are plenty of free countries around the world that do not have the same problem with mass shootings as the U.S. What the uninformed view allows, however, is an attitude that suggests gun violence in the nation cannot be changed and has to simply be accepted as a byproduct of living in freedom.
The perspective takes all agencies away from individuals and the people, collectively, as a society. Furthermore, 46% of Republicans said in the CBS/YouGov survey that the United States would be safer if all or more people had guns while only 16% said the country would be safer if no one or fewer people had access to firearms.
According to USA Today, the rise in GOP Support for stricter gun laws could boost the prospects for Congress to tighten federal gun policies, an effort that has failed for several decades. Later this week, the White House is poised to pass a Democratic package of proposals as bipartisan negotiations on a less far-reaching compromise continues behind closed doors in the Senate.
Division Among Lawmakers
On Capitol Hill on Wednesday, 11-year-old Miah Cerrillo is scheduled to testify at what seems to be a heartbreaking hearing. The young fourth-grader was the one that smeared herself with a classmate's blood and played dead during the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, last month that resulted in the death of 19 school children and two teachers.
On the other hand, 27-year-old Sean Nelson said that he was pro-gun as is it part of the country's Second Amendment. The lawmaker is an independent from Hagerstown, Maryland, who leans to the GOP and is a cybersecurity analyst who was among those called in the survey. The recent mass shootings forced him to support stronger background checks and waiting periods for gun purchases.
The situation comes as a lawmaker's position on gun control law matters more for Democrats than it does for Republicans. This comes as Democratic voters are particularly energized when considering how the issue of guns would influence their votes as Republican voters tend to be less likely to say a candidate's stance on gun policies would affect their vote, CBS News reported.
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