Americans have broad exposure to firearms, whether they personally own a gun or not. At the same time, most adults say gun laws should be stricter.
While Americans say their nation’s colleges compare relatively well with those in other countries, they offer more negative assessments of U.S. public schools.
In the week after the Oct. 1 mass shooting in Las Vegas, partisan differences were on full display in how elected officials responded on Facebook.
Explore 20 years of data on public opinion about gun control vs. gun rights.
Despite double-digit decreases in U.S. violent and property crime rates since 2008, most voters say crime has gotten worse during that span.
Over the past year, there has been a substantial rise in the share of Americans — across racial and ethnic groups — who say the country needs to continue making changes to give blacks equal rights with whites.
The public sees a number of contributing factors for the outbreak of violence and unrest in Baltimore last week, and most say it was the right decision to charge some Baltimore police officers in the death of Freddie Gray.
Race and community relations have become the focal point of tension in a series of incidents over the past year.
In December 2014, the balance of opinion flipped: For the first time, more Americans say protecting gun rights (52%) is more important than controlling gun ownership (46%).
Support for gun rights has edged up from earlier this year, and marks a shift in attitudes since shortly after the Newtown school shootings. For the first time in our surveys, there is more support for gun rights than gun control.
