How Americans really feel about gun control

A deadly shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, on Wednesday has triggered a fiery debate on gun control, yet again.

At least 17 people were killed after a young man armed with an AR-15 and multiple magazines approached the Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school and committed one of the deadliest school shootings in modern US history.

On Thursday, police charged 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz with 17 counts of premeditated murder. Officials said he purchased the weapon legally.

As with previous mass shootings, calls immediately erupted for Congress and President Donald Trump to "do something" to prevent the next deadly attack.

"From my personal viewpoint, it's time for Congress, government, somebody to do something. It's time to talk about what the problem is and try to fix it," Melissa Falkowski, a teacher who said she hid 19 students in her classroom's closet during the shooting, told CNN in an impassioned interview. "I feel today like our government, our country has failed us and failed our kids and didn't keep us safe."

While many lawmakers, victims, and gun control advocates have demanded swift political action, their opponents have cautioned against knee-jerk reactions and implored the public to wait for more information first.

As for the American public, their views on gun control are highly nuanced. Here's what they think:

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Spring 2017 surveys show 89% of Americans — including gun-owners and non-gun owners — tend to agree on one thing: the mentally ill should be prevented from purchasing guns.

Sources: Pew Research Center, NPR

The so-called "gun show loophole," through which people can purchase firearms without background checks through private sales and gun shows, is similarly non-controversial. Surveys show 84% of US adults — including 77% of gun owners and 87% of non-gun owners — believe the loophole should be closed.

Source: Pew Research Center

Another 83% of American adults believe people on the FBI's no-fly list should be blocked from buying guns. But civil liberties groups have decried previous attempts to push such legislation through Congress, arguing the no-fly list is arbitrary, frequently inaccurate, and discriminatory against Muslim-Americans.

Sources: Pew Research Center, Business Insider

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

source http://www.businessinsider.com/americans-gun-control-beliefs-las-vegas-shooting-polls-surveys-2017-10