Americans supported the recent gun control amendment in roughly the same proportion as the Senate.
YouGov research reveals today that 48% of Americans supported a recent bi-partisan proposal which failed in the Senate last week to expand federal background checks to almost all gun sales. 37% opposed the proposal.
When adjusted to remove those who did not have an opinion, the proportion between those who supported and did not support the proposal was strikingly similar to the Senate vote, 54-46, which failed to gain the required 60 votes to pass the amendment.
Support among Americans for the proposal was highly polarized with 72% of Democrats supporting it and 60% of Republicans opposing it.
Support for the proposal also diverged from previous YouGov polls which showed that background checks at gun shows and in private sales have in principle overwhelming support.
While the proposal failed, the topic remains an important one among Americans. 49% said the vote of their Senator on the proposal was "very important" and 23% said it was "somewhat important" in deciding how they will vote in the 2014 midterm election.
