Majority of Americans Support Tougher Gun Laws

More than half of U.S. citizens favor tougher laws that regulate the sale of firearms in the country, a recent CBS television poll conducted with YouGov showed.

On Tuesday, Salvador Ramos, an 18-year-old from the Texas town of Yuvalde, opened fire at an elementary school. The intruder was subsequently eliminated by police. Ramos is known to have purchased two rifles on May 22 – less than a week after reaching his 18th birthday. Texas Governor Gregg Abbott said the school shooting in Yuvalde killed 19 children and two adults and injured 17 others.

A recent CBS News poll found that 54 percent of Americans want stricter laws governing gun sales. Thirty percent said gun laws should remain as they are, while 16% want them to be less strict.

It is noted that supporters of the Democratic Party of the United States are in favor of stricter legislation on the issue, while supporters of the Republican Party prefer to leave everything as it is.

Moreover, the poll shows that women are more likely to support stricter legislation than men.

The survey polled 2,041 U.S. citizens over the age of 18. The margin of error is about 2.5%.

Shootings are not uncommon in American schools. But the Yuvalde tragedy was the bloodiest in the past 10 years – since December 14, 2012. At that time, 20 students and six adult employees of Sandy Hook High School in Connecticut were killed.

In a special address to the nation Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden called for a challenge to the gun lobby.