Our nonpartisan, nationally representative survey provides new information about the American public’s opinions about gun policies and behaviors among those who own guns (or live with those who do). The survey was conducted July 16 to 21, 2019, just two weeks prior to the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, and it covered several topics. This is the third and last release from that survey; the first release covered “red flag” laws and the characteristics associated with gun ownership and the second covered respondents’ knowledge about gun-related deaths.

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Although suicides account for the majority of gun deaths in the United States—60% in the latest data—by and large American adults are unaware of this. In our survey, only one-fourth of Americans correctly answered that gun deaths by suicide outnumber deaths resulting from mass shootings, murders other than mass shootings, and accidental gun discharges. This is no better than guessing at random from among the four choices given.

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This survey finds widespread support among American adults for “red flag” laws, also known as Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs), which allow a family member or the police to seek a court order to temporarily take away guns if they feel a gun owner may harm themselves or others. More than three-fourths of American adults support family-initiated ERPOs, the majority of whom say they “strongly” support such measures. Similarly, 70 percent support police-initiated ERPOs.

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