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Do you think the federal government should make it more difficult for people to buy a gun than it is now, make it easier for people to buy a gun, or keep these rules about the same as they are now?
Making it easier or harder to buy a gun · Asked in 6 waves, 2000–2020 · 23,805 responses · weighted estimates computed from individual responses
Kept and flagged: -9 (other_missing), -8 (dk).
Dashed lines mark changes in how interviews were done, which can shift answers: 1. → mixed mode (2012).
Shares of people who gave an answer. Each column is one wave, evenly spaced rather than to scale in time; hover for exact shares.
| Group | More difficult | Keep these rules about the same | Make it easier | n | MoE | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All respondents | 49% | 43% | 7% |
| Poll | Field dates | Mode | Respondents | Responses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANES 2020 Time Series Study Source variable: V202337. | 2020-08-18 to 2021-01-04 | mixed | 8,280 | 8,280 |
| ANES 2016 Time Series Study Source variable: V161187. | 2016-09-07 to 2017-01-09 | mixed | 4,270 | 4,270 |
| ANES 2012 Time Series Study Source variable: gun_control. | 2012-09-09 to 2013-01-13 | mixed | 5,914 | 5,914 |
| ANES 2008 Time Series Study Source variable: V083164. | 2008-09-02 to 2008-12-30 | face to face | 2,322 | 2,322 |
| ANES 2004 Time Series Study Source variable: V043188. | 2004-09-07 to 2004-12-19 | face to face | 1,212 | 1,212 |
| ANES 2000 Time Series Study Source variable: V000728. | 2000-09-05 to 2000-12-22 | mixed | 1,807 | 1,807 |
Dashed lines mark changes in how interviews were done, which can shift answers: 1. → mixed mode (2012).
Shares of people who gave an answer. A group’s column is left blank in waves where its effective sample is under 50; hover for exact shares.
| 8280 |
| ±1 |
| Democrats | 76% | 21% | 3% | 2861 | ±3 |
| Independents (incl. leaners) | 47% | 44% | 8% | 2822 | ±2 |
| Republicans | 22% | 67% | 11% | 2562 | ±3 |
ANES 2020 Time Series Study · US citizens 18+ (face-to-face samples: contiguous 48 states and DC; web samples: 50 states and DC). Shares of people who gave an answer. n is unweighted; ± is the 95% margin of error at 50% from the weighted effective sample. Groups with an effective sample under 50 are grayed; under 20, hidden.