One month after the Uvalde school shooting, Texans have been overwhelmingly critical about the response of law enforcement to the incident. A majority believe it’s crucial to investigate their actions. Most Texans are worried about another mass shooting.
Texans rate Gov. Abbott’s Uvalde response was rated more negatively than positively by Texans.
Nearly half (50%) of Texans say that Uvalde’s shooting spurred them into supporting gun restrictions. There is some support in Texas.
Texas supports many gun-related measures and looks much like the rest of the country.
Bipartisan support is seen for measures such as universal background checks or making the AR-15 purchase age minimum 20 years. There are more partisan differences in policies that deal with guns. The majority of Republicans oppose Texas’ AR-15 ban. More than half also oppose Texas’ red flag law. This law allows a court to temporarily remove a gun from someone deemed to pose a danger.
While more than half disapprove Abbott’s job performance overall, Abbott is still ahead of Beto O’Rourke in the race to be governor by eight points.
Senator John Cornyn is receiving mixed reviews from his party regarding Texas’ gun rights. This is lowering Cornyn’s job approval rating which is currently at 35% among Texans.
Nearly nine out of ten Texans believe Uvalde law enforcement could do more to stop the gunman. Critiques are widespread in all political and demographic groups.
Younger Texans, women, and Black and Latino voters give Abbott negative marks for how he handled the Uvalde shooting. While a majority of Democrats and Independents believe he has done a poor job, most members of his party rate his response positively.
Eight in 10 Texans are worried about mass shootings like the one in Uvalde. Nearly half of them are “very concerned”. Women are more concerned than men. Black and Latino people in Texas are more likely to express concern about mass shootings than White people.
About half of Texans believe that Robb Elementary’s shooting has increased their support for gun restrictions. Democrats, who have long supported restrictions on guns, are most likely to affirm this. However, three out of 10 Republicans also believe that the shooting has increased their support for some measures.
Texans support background checks and a minimum age limit of 21. A Texas “red flag” law and a ban of the AR-15 are supported by the majority. However, there is more disagreement among Texans about these measures.
These measures are viewed by Texans in the same way as Americans.
Texans have different opinions about gun policy. They are influenced by what they believe would be the most effective to stop mass shootings.
Republicans are more interested in measures that do not relate to guns, such as more religion and faith, better mental health services, and increased armed security in public places. Democrats want more restrictions on guns, including background checks and red flag laws.
Republicans who believe Cornyn did a poor job in gun policy are overwhelmingly critical of his job performance. Cornyn’s approval rating among Republicans is 20 percentage points lower than Ted Cruz’s.
The majority of the interviewing was done while the legislation was being reviewed and before it was adopted. Texas Republicans were more likely to oppose the legislation than they were to support it. It is more popular in Texas.
Like the rest of the country, gun owners in Texas are more likely than others to identify as Republican. This is evident in their views on gun policy, which are very similar to those held by Republicans.
What does gun ownership actually mean? The top answer is “protection”, followed closely by “responsibility”, freedom, and “self-reliance”. These sentiments are the same for all gun owners, men and women.
Gov. When Texans view Abbott’s job, they get mixed results. While most Republicans love the job, many Democrats don’t, and independents split in the middle, the majority of Republicans approve. He is still viewed as doing better as governor in a state with a greater red lean than the rest of the nation.
Early polling indicates that Greg Abbott is eight points ahead of Democratic challenger Beto Olson, despite his low approval ratings.
The CBS News/YouGov survey included a representative sample of 1,075 U.S. adults in Texas, who were interviewed from June 22 to 27, 2022. Based on the U.S. Census Current Population Survey and 2020 presidential vote, the sample was weighted so that it represented adults in Texas. The total sample’s margin of error is +4.7 points.
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