Majority fear mass shooting in their community: poll

A growing number of people fear a mass shooting could take place in their community, and an overwhelming majority support background checks for gun sales, according to a new poll. 

Sixty percent of Americans said they are worried about a mass shooting in their own community, according to the ABC News/Washington Post poll released Monday. That’s up 5 points compared to January 2013, when 55 percent of Americans said they feared a mass shooting.

The poll comes following a month in which several mass shootings took place in the United States that left dozens dead, renewing talks in Washington about gun control.

{mosads}Democrats in Congress are vowing to pressure the GOP-controlled Senate and President Trump to take action on background check legislation. Trump has given mixed signals on whether he could accept such legislation, and Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has made it clear that no legislation will move in the Senate that isn’t backed by Trump.

The new poll found an overwhelming majority of Americans of both parties support background checks and “red flag” laws, which would allow law enforcement to go to the courts to take guns from people thought to be a risk.

Mandatory background checks and red flag laws were supported by 89 percent of Americans, including 8 in 10 Republicans and conservatives, according to the poll. 

An assault weapons ban was also supported by a majority of Americans, 56 percent, but most of the support for such a proposal comes from Democrats.

Eighty-one percent of Democrats support a ban on the high capacity weapons, compared to 55 percent of independents and 33 percent of Republicans. 

The poll surveyed 1,003 Americans between Sept. 2 and 5. There is a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points. 

A ban on assault weapons has virtually no chance of being approved in the GOP-controlled Senate. Red flag laws have drawn support from a number of Republicans, however.

Democrats have been calling on Republican leaders to call a universal background check bill to a vote. The Democratic-controlled House passed the bill in February with eight Republicans voting with the majority of Democrats. McConnell has not brought it to the floor.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) wrote a letter to Trump Monday asking him to support the bill that passed in the House.