NEW GIFFORDS POLL: 8 in 10 Texans Support Universal Background Checks, Majority Want Their Senators to Pass Stronger Laws to Curb Gun Violence 

Washington, DC— Today, Giffords, the gun safety organization founded by former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, released new Texas polling that outlines record public backing for H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, and indicates growing support among Texas voters for stronger gun safety laws.

As gun deaths in the U.S. reached their highest levels in decades with more than 38,000 Americans dying each year from gun violence — an average of 100 Americans every day; Texans are demanding that Texas’ Senators support background checks.

“Universal background checks are bipartisan and overwhelmingly popular and supported by the majority of Texas gun owners,” said Executive Director Peter Ambler.“Sen. John Cornyn has an opportunity to demonstrate leadership and must follow the will of his constituents. Texans know that their communities will be safer if we pass universal background checks. The time for action in the Senate is now.”

The study, conducted by Global Strategy Group, surveyed hundreds of 2020 Texas voters, and outlined their preferences around background checks, as well as how likely they would be to support their representatives if they voted in favor of passing similar laws. The polling specifically focused on Sen. Cornyn.  

Key toplines include: 

• Texans increasingly care about and support stronger gun laws.  An overwhelming 79% of Texas voters, 71% including gun owners and 85% persuadable voters, support the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, also known as H.R. 8, that requires background checks on all gun sales and transfers of firearms. 
• The majority of Texas voters (61%), including persuadable voters (59%) and gun owners (54%), say they would never vote for a candidate who opposes background checks on all gun sales and transfers. They are also far more likely to blame their representatives for the lack of progress on gun violence prevention than they are to blame special interests. 
• Texas voters are ready to close loopholes in our current background checks system and prefer background checks on all gun sales and transfers. The majority of voters believe a background check should be completed in a range of situations, from when a firearm is gifted or handed down to a family member or when a firearm is sold in a store.
  
  
• The Texas Senate race can be won or lost on background checks. Texas voters are currently split on whether they would like to re-elect or replace Sen. Cornyn in the Senate (41% re-elect/42% replace), and his decision on background checks could carry immense weight.

The Texas polling from Global Strategy Group, aligns with recent polling from Everytown and Giffords that shows 93% of Americans support background checks on all gun sales (which is on par with job creation and COVID-19 relief). It also found that 86% of Americans who split their votes between parties agreed that “there is no excuse for the next president and Congress not to pass background checks into law.”

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