The public support for background checks has been much more equivocal when voters have the opportunity to enact expanded background checks into law. Three referendums put up to vote in california, maine and nevada that proposed, in different ways, expanded background checks on guns or on ammunition purchases. The initiatives fared about as well as hilary clinton did. So there wasn't unanimous support at all.
In calling for Republicans to pass gun safety measures like expanded background checks, Democrats point to polls that show most Americans support the idea.
They aren’t wrong about the polling. In fact, some polls show that over 90 percent of Americans support expanded checks.
Polling, however, does not tell the whole story.
Guest: Nate Cohn, a domestic correspondent for The Upshot at The New York Times.
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