Americans Favor Raising Age to Buy Gun, Not Enlist or Vote
In the wake of the tragic school shooting in Florida last month, major retailers like WalMart and Dick’s Sporting Goods recently announced that they will no longer sell firearms to anyone under the age of 21. Several states, including Florida, have proposed legislation that will do the same on a state level, but while most Americans agree with raising the gun-buying age, they’re still torn on raising the age for enlisting in the military.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 67% of American Adults favor raising the legal age for buying a gun to 21. Just 26% oppose. Currently, most state laws require a gun buyer to be at least 18, though some states have exceptions for hunting and other recreational activities. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
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The survey of 1,000 Adults nationwide was conducted on March 1 and 4, 2018 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
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