Poll: Majority favor Obama guns plan, but GOP strongly opposes

A majority of Americans support President Obama's comprehensive gun control plan, but Republicans overwhelmingly oppose the president's efforts, according to a new poll released Thursday.

The survey by the Washington Post and ABC News shows that 53 percent of those surveyed support Obama's plan, while 41 percent oppose it. 

At the White House last Wednesday, Obama urged congressional leaders to pass bans on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips along with universal background checks intended to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill. He also signed a series of so-called "executive actions" that strengthened government data collection and research on gun violence.

Voters are likely to feel passionately about the plan, with nearly seven in 10 saying they have a "strongly" favorable (38 percent) or "strongly" unfavorable (31 percent) sentiment toward the president's proposal. Support is strongly split along partisan lines; more than three-quarters of Democrats support the president's plan, while a full 72 percent oppose it.

A majority of independents do favor Obama's plan, with 51 percent saying they have a favorable opinion. By contrast, 44 percent said they had an unfavorable view.

The president is looking to grow that support, dispatching Vice President Biden to an event Friday at Virginia Commonwealth University to promote the plan. Biden will be joined by Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, Deputy U.S. Attorney General Jim Cole, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Congressman Bobby Scott (D-Va.)

On Wednesday, White House press secretary Jay Carney said the president was likely to begin traveling soon to host campaign-style events of his own in support of his policy agenda.

"I think you can fully expect that his commitment to engaging the American people in these important discussions about our future will continue," Carney said.

On Thursday, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced an updated assault-weapons ban in the Senate that would ban the sale and manufacture of more than 150 types of semi-automatic weapons with military-style features. The bill would also ban magazines holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

“Getting this bill signed into law will be an uphill battle, and I recognize that — but it’s a battle worth having,” Feinstein said. “We must balance the desire of a few to own military-style assault weapons with the growing threat to lives across America.”

-- Alexander Bolton contributed.

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