About one year after the deadliest mass shooting in American history, and with yet another gun tragedy in Virginia just this morning, its important to pause to consider how our gun laws continue to drift so far rightward. Our new poll conducted for the group GunsDown demonstrates exactly how out of step the gun debate is from what Americans actually want. Even many voters in gun-owning households oppose efforts toward fewer, weaker gun laws. (Our poll reached 1294 adults, including 997 likely voters, online May 19-21. The the full polling memo is on the GunsDown website here .)

Americans want fewer guns that are harder to get

Voters clearly express their values when it comes to guns. Fewer guns, not more (54% vs 15%). Harder to get, not easier (61% vs 9%). Stronger laws, not weaker ones (59% vs 10%).

Even among likely voters in gun-owning households, this pattern holds. While shy of a majority, more gun-owners prefer stronger laws, fewer guns over more, and guns that are harder to get.

Majorities support a sweeping list of stronger gun laws

While many support stronger gun laws broadly, even more back a variety of specific proposals. This is consistent with other public research on guns and is similar to the well-documented pattern of Affordable Care Act polling. Even on Common Core , weve found the provisions to be better-received than the standards as a whole. For all three of these examples, the broader labels are partisan triggers; the specifics are less so. The angels are in the details.

In the current poll, majorities favor all but one of the 16 proposals testedeven policies some might assume to be controversial, like a national registry or buyback programs. Only an outright ban on handgun ownership fails to gain majority support, but a third of Americans even support that. Most proposals also enjoy substantial support from gun owners.