Poll: 2 Out of 3 Americans Say Focus On Mental Health, Not Gun Control

After a week of polls showing the American people reacted to the Umpqua Community College (UCC) shooting with stronger support for gun rights than gun control, a Washington Post-ABC News poll released October 26 shows that an overwhelming majority of Americans also believe Congressional focus ought to be on fixing our mental health system instead of talking about more gun laws.

According to The Washington Post, the poll shows that 63 percent of Americans believe mass public attacks like the one at UCC “reflect problems identifying and treating people with mental health problems rather than inadequate gun control laws.” Only 23 percent of Americans believe such attacks show the need for more gun control.

And if we break down poll responses by political parties we see the continuation of a similar pattern–namely, that Second Amendment support is coming from Republicans and independents while the driving force behind gun control is the Democrat Party. For example, in the Washington Post-ABC News Poll 82 percent of Republicans and 65 percent of Independents says mass public attacks show the focus should be on mental health rather than the passage of more gun control laws. Only 46 percent of Democrats agree with the Republicans and independents on this.

Moreover, when asked about gun rights versus gun control, the Washington Post-ABC Poll showed that seven out of 10 Republicans say the focus should be on gun rights while seven out of 10 Democrats want more gun control.

Breitbart News previously reported that the responses to a recent Gallup poll show a similar breakdown among political parties regarding concealed carry in America. Gallup showed that 56 percent of Americans believe more concealed carry would make America safer while 41 percent of Americans believe more concealed carry would make America less safe. The pro-concealed carry position was driven by Republicans and independents; eighty-two percent of Republicans believe more concealed carry would make the U.S. safer and 56 percent of independents agree. The anti-concealed position was driven by Democrats, 67 percent of whom believe more concealed carry permit holders will make America less safe.

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.