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Poll: Most US Voters Favor Background Checks for Gun Purchases


FILE - Sarge's Sidearms store is seen in Benson, Arizona, Sept. 29, 2016.
FILE - Sarge's Sidearms store is seen in Benson, Arizona, Sept. 29, 2016.

A new Quinnipiac University public opinion poll shows U.S. voters who support universal background checks for gun purchases has reached a new high since Quinnipiac first started asking the question in 2013.

The poll released Wednesday found 95 percent of voters favor uniform background checks for gun purchases.

Most voters continue to believe it is too easy to purchase a firearm in the United States, but a majority doubt that more stringent gun control laws would help avert mass shootings, the poll said.

About 60 percent of voters would like to see tougher gun laws and 65 percent favor a ban on the sale of assault weapons.

The poll was conducted after more than two dozen people were killed earlier this month in a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.

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