Concern over gun violence surges in new survey

More Americans say they believe access to guns and firearms is the leading public health threat in the U.S., according to a new poll, following a string of recent mass shootings that have renewed debate over gun control in the country.

Over a quarter of respondents in the newly released Axios-Ipsos poll, 26 percent, say access to guns is the No. 1 public health threat. It took over the top spot from opioids and fentanyl, which 25 percent of people now say is the leading threat.

The latest findings on gun violence mark a 9 percentage point surge from February, with multiple mass shootings making national headlines in recent months. Most recently, a shooter in a neighborhood in Farmington, N.M., left three people dead and six others injured.

The attacks also included a shooting at a mall in Allen, Texas, that killed eight people; the killings of part of a family in Cleveland, Texas, that left five people dead; an attack on a bank in Louisville, Ky., that claimed the lives of five people and a shooting at a school in Nashville, Tenn., that killed three children and three adults.

Almost half of Black Americans in the new survey, 49 percent, cited access to guns as their top public health concern. Fifty percent of Democrats also listed it as their No. 1 concern. It was also the leading concern for people living in urban areas.

Obesity, which 20 percent of people listed as the top issue, and cancer, with 8 percent, followed gun access and opioids and fentanyl as the top public health issues. Just 3 percent of respondents said their top concern was the coronavirus pandemic. It was tied with smoking and alcohol abuse.

The poll of 1,095 adults in the U.S. was conducted between May 12-15, with a margin of error of 3 percentage points.