One in five Americans wants Second Amendment repeal: Poll
A national opinion poll shows that only one in five Americans wants a repeal of the Second Amendment right to bear arms and supports the call for new restrictions on gun ownership.
The survey, conducted by the Economist and YouGov polling company in February, published the results on Tuesday, indicating that just 21 percent of the voters said they favored the revocation of the constitutional amendment in comparison with the 60 percent in opposition.
The poll, however, showed surprisingly robust support (39 percent) for Second Amendment repeal among Democrats and by contrast just 8 percent of Republicans said they would support a full repeal.
The survey also showed that a large number of Americans did not view the Second Amendment as something set in stone.
Forty-six percent of voters said they favored modifying the Second Amendment to allow for stricter regulations, compared to 39 percent who were opposed. Over three-quarters of Democrats said they supported modifying the Second Amendment, as did more than one-quarter of Republicans.
The United States has a powerful gun lobby, led by the National Rifle Association of America (NRA), which contributes heavily to the election campaigns of most members of Congress, particularly Republicans.
US President Donald Trump, who is pro-gun rights, has come under pressure to mend the country’s gun control laws following last month’s mass shooting that killed 17 people at a Florida high school.
Opponents of stricter gun laws, including the NRA, which supported Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, have dismissed the mounting demands for gun control as being politically motivated.
Trump, himself has stirred more outrage by promoting the idea of allowing teachers and staff to carry concealed firearms in classrooms and schools to protect students following the latest mass shooting in Florida, which was the second-deadliest shooting at a public school in US history.
The Republican-controlled Congress last year revoked Obama-era regulations meant to make it harder for those with severe mental illness to pass FBI background checks for guns, saying the rule deprived the mentally ill of their gun rights.
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