44 percent say gun violence is related to easy access to firearms: poll

Forty-four percent of Americans say most gun violence is related to easily accessible firearms, according to a new survey from Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll released exclusively to The Hill on Monday. 

Another 29 percent of voters polled attributed gun violence to urban gangs, while 27 percent said mental illness was related to the violence. 

The findings come as two mass shootings this month reignited the long-running debate over gun control in the U.S. Eight people in the Atlanta area and 10 people in Boulder, Colo., were killed in the recent shootings. 

President Biden urged Congress to pass meaningful gun reforms last week, while a number of other Democrats called for action on the issue, pointing to gun control. 

Many Republicans, on the other hand, have pushed back on the notion that gun violence can be solved with stricter gun control measures, pointing instead to making mental illness a priority. 

“Every time there is a shooting, we play this ridiculous theater where this committee gets together and proposes a bunch of laws that would do nothing to stop these murders,” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) said last week during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. 

The same Harvard CAPS-Harris poll found that voters were split on prioritizing mental health or gun restriction, with 52 percent saying improving funding for mental health should be a priority and another 48 percent saying putting restrictions on assault rifles should be a higher priority. 

However, 61 percent of respondents said they supported reimposing the assault rifle ban, while 39 percent said they were against reinstating the ban.

Another 77 percent of respondents said the White House should ask Congress to pass legislation raising the minimum age for purchasing a firearm from 18 to 21 years old. Another 23 percent said they would oppose that course of action.