A January 2013 PRRI poll found that 60 percent of Americans favored passing stricter gun control laws in the wake of the shootings, while 37 percent opposed. The strength of this support has since dropped, with a new Associated Press-GfK poll finding 52 percent of Americans now favor stricter gun laws, while 31 percent want them left as they are; 15 percent say they should be loosened.
Although slim majority of Americans still support stricter gun laws, these national preferences have not been reflected in state-level legislation. Of the 109 state gun laws passed since the shootings, nearly two-thirds (70) loosen restrictions while just 39 tighten them. Twenty-five of the laws passed to tighten restrictions were passed by states with Democrats in control of state legislatures and the governorship, while nine were passed in states controlled by Republicans. Five laws tightening gun restrictions were passed by states controlled by both parties. Of the 70 new laws to loosen gun restrictions, three became law in Democrat-controlled states, 18 in states under mixed control, and 49 in Republican-controlled states.
Be sure to check out an informative infographic breaking down each law’s timeline on a state-by-state level over at The New York Times.