The majority of Michigan voters -- Democrats, Republicans and Independents -- support newly proposed gun law reforms moving through the state Legislature, according to a new WDIV/Detroit News survey.
The package of bills would enhance background checks, establish red flag laws and safe storage laws. The new WDIV/Detroit News survey shows strong bipartisan support for the package. The survey comes just weeks after the mass shooting at Michigan State University.
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Here are some of the key results from the March 2023 survey:
Background checks
The survey found 87.8% of Michigan voters support passage of a law requiring any person purchasing any type of gun from anyone else to go through a background check, including 77.5% of voters who strongly support it.
More than 77% of voters who identified as Republicans support the background check law, including 77.8% of Republican gun owners.
85.5% of gun owners support background checks. 84.5% of non-gun owners support background checks.
Red flag law
The survey found 74.5% of Michigan voters support passage of a law that creates red flag laws which would allow law enforcement to temporarily take guns away from a person deemed a risk to themselves or others by a court. 57.2% of Michigan voters strongly support a red flag law.
The strongest opposition for a red flag law comes from Republican voters who still support the law overall 57.5%-38.0%.
The survey found a particularly sharp difference among GOP households based on whether their household owns a gun. GOP gun owners support the red flag law 56.3%-39.3%. But GOP non-gun owners support the red flag law 80.5%-15.2%.
Republican women support red flag laws 70.0%-24.7%. Republican men support red flag laws 52.0%-43.9%.
The only demographic that opposes a red flag law are those voters that called themselves staunch supporters of the Second Amendment, who oppose it 36.8%-58.2%.
Safe storage law
Nearly 80% of Michigan voters support passage of a safe storage gun law that would create penalties for individuals that fail to lock up their guns at home or keep them out of the hands of minors, according to the WDIV/Detroit News survey. 69.2% of Michigan voters strongly support a safe storage law.
Republican women support a safe storage law 72.1%-20.5%. Republican men support a safe storage law 60.1%-38.4%,
Republican non-gun owners support a safe storage law 86.9%-10.8%. Republican gun owners support a safe storage law 60.1%-35.5%. Voters that call themselves strong proponents of the Second Amendment are split on safe storage laws at 47.2%-47.2%.
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A safer Michigan?
Voters were asked if the three proposed bills would make Michigan safer. About 67% of Michigan voters believe the laws will make Michigan safer.
18.8% say it will make Michigan much safer while 48.9% say it will make Michigan somewhat safer; 12.0% say it will not make Michigan much safer, and 18.0% say it will not make Michigan any safer at all.
Non gun owners believe it will make Michigan safer by a margin of 85.2%-13.2%. Gun owners believe it will make Michigan safer by a margin of 58.1%-40.0%.
Only base Republican voters believe the three bills will not make Michigan safer.
Other gun law reform ideas
By a margin of 74.5%-21.8%, Michigan voters support creating a fourteen-day waiting period for the purchase of a new gun – meaning a person must wait fourteen days to take possession of a new firearm. Gun owners support a fourteen-day waiting period 67.0%-28.5%. Non-gun owners support a fourteen-day waiting period 86.1%-12.3%.
By a margin 74.0%-22.5% Michigan voters support raising the purchase age for guns in Michigan from 18 to 21 years old except for guns used for hunting or agricultural purposes. The only opposition to this proposal comes from base Republican voters who still support the proposal but by a narrower margin of 55.3%-40.7%.
By a margin of 73.1%-22.1%, Michigan voters support banning the creation or possession of 3-D printed ghost guns that do not have a serial-numbers or can evade metal detectors.
By a margin of 59.7%-32.5%, Michigan voters support limiting gun magazines to no more than ten bullets at a time.
By a margin of 55.1%-40.3%, Michigan voters support a proposal to ban semi-automatic assault weapons in Michigan.
Related: Teen gun violence a growing issue in Metro Detroit: What experts are saying
Methodology
The Glengariff Group, Inc. conducted a Michigan statewide survey of Michigan voters. The 600 sample, live operator telephone survey was conducted on March 1-4, 2023 and has a margin of error of +/-4.0% with a 95% level of confidence. 27.0% of respondents were contacted via landline telephone. 73.0% of respondents were contacted via cell phone telephone. This survey was commissioned by the Glengariff Group, Inc. as part of our public polling program.