SLU/YouGov Poll Analysis: Missouri Has Extremely Weak Gun Control Laws, Yet Our SLU/YouGov Poll Shows that Missouri’s Likely Voters Favor More Gun Control

by Kenneth Warren, Ph.D. on 08/29/2024

08/29/2024

SLU's Kenneth Warren, Ph.D., provides expert analysis of the results of the latest SLU/YouGov Poll, examining where Missourians stand on a variety of issues.

Since 2017, the State of Missouri has permitted people the right to carry concealed, loaded guns in public absent a permit or even a background check. In 2021, the state passed the Second Amendment Preservation Act that called for fining state and local enforcement officials who enforced federal gun control laws. Although this act was declared unconstitutional, it reflected the state’s willingness to defy federal gun laws to promote extreme gun rights.

Missouri’s lax gun control laws have attracted national attention, causing Giffords Law Center to conclude: “Missouri has appallingly weak gun laws and one of the country’s highest gun death rates. Lawmakers owe it to residents to start putting the safety of their communities first.” Missouri earned an “F” rating on Giffords Law Center scorecard.

But our SLU/YouGov Poll shows that Missouri’s likely voters do not show strong support for Missouri’s “appallingly weak” gun control laws. Likely voters in our poll showed strong support for requiring criminal background checks for all those buying guns, including the purchasing of guns at gun shows and private sales. Support favoring was 79% with only 16% opposed and a mere 5% “not sure”. Our polls’ demographics showed at least 73% favoring such background checks among all age groups, races, educational and income groups. In fact, in only one category, “some college education”, did “only” 73% favor background checks. Otherwise, in these categories, those favoring background checks stood at 75% or greater. In several categories those favoring background checks reached very high support: 85% for 18–29-year-olds, 83% for Black voters, 84% for those with household incomes above $100,000, 86% for those with four-year college degrees, and 88% for those having graduate education.

Likely voters' responses to 'Do you favor or oppose the following gun policies becoming law in Missouri...Banning minors from carrying guns on public property without adult supervision?': 85% Favor, 9% Oppose, and 6% Not Sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 91% Favor, 7% Oppose, and 2% Not Sure. Republican voters' responses: 83% Favor, 8% Oppose, and 9% Not Sure.

Women were more likely to favor background checks than men, 85% to 72% respectively, although both men and women strongly favored background checks. Expectedly, metro Missourians favored background checks more than in most rural regions of Missouri in our SLU/YouGov Poll. In the St. Louis metro area, 86% favored background checks, while 78% did in the Kansas City metro area. In rural Missouri, 86% favored background checks in northwest Missouri, 73% in northeast Missouri, 72% in southwest Missouri, and 70% in southeast Missouri.

Missouri law presently permits minors from carrying firearms on public property without adult supervision. However, our poll found that Missouri’s likely voters were adamantly in favor of banning minors from carrying guns on public property without adult supervision; 85% favored the ban, only 9% opposed, and just 6% said they were “not sure." With such a high percentage favoring the ban, it was expected all demographic groups included in our crosstabs strongly favored the ban.

Yet, in our SLU/YouGov Poll, we did find that a plurality of Missouri’s likely voters favored a proposed law allowing Missourians with a concealed-carry permit to possess a firearm on public transit and in places of worship by a margin of 48% to 38% with 14% “not sure." Men favored this concealed-carry policy more than women, 54% to 42%, while white voters favored the proposal more than Black voters and “all non-white” voters, 50% to 32% to 35% respectively. Older Missourians were more in favor of the measure than those under 45 years of age, although the differences were not very pronounced with a range of 51% favoring among those 65 years and older to 42% favoring in the 18-29 age group.

No remarkable differences were found for household income, but within educational levels we found that those with post-graduate education were less favorable to this gun concealed-carry proposal at only 33%, while 53% with high school or less education favored the proposal, 53% with some college, and 44% with a four-year college degree. We did find in our SLU/YouGov Poll that those in the St. Louis metro area, where crime and gun violence is relatively high, least favored the concealed-carry proposal with only 38% support. Those in southeast Missouri were most in favor of the proposal at 67%, followed by southwest Missouri, 59%, northeast Missouri, 51%, northwest Missouri, 50%, and the Kansas City metro area at 44%.

We did find stark differences in support for this concealed-carry proposal by party. While Republicans strongly favored the measure at 71%, only 17% of Democrats favored the concealed-carry proposal, with Independents in between at 48%.

Likely voters' responses to 'Do you favor or oppose the following gun policies becoming law in Missouri ... Allowing Missourians with a concealed-carry permit to possess a firearm on public transit and in places of worship?': 48% Favor, 38% Oppose, and 14% Not Sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 17% Favor, 77% Oppose, and 6% Not Sure. Republican voters' responses: 71% Favor, 12% Oppose, and 17% Not Sure.

We also found in our poll little support for a proposed law calling for Missouri counties, St. Louis City and Kansas City, to be permitted to pass their own gun control regulations. Only 34% of Missouri’s likely voters favored this proposal, 49% opposed, and 17% said they were “not sure”. No remarkable differences were found by age, race, and household income. We did find that as educational level went up, so did support for the proposal, forming a perfect pattern upward: 28% of those with high school or less favored the proposal, 31% with some college, 38% with a four-year college degree, and 47% with a graduate education.

Likely voters' responses to 'Do you favor or oppose the following gun policies becoming law ... Allowing Missouri counties, St. Louis City, and Kansas City to pass their own local gun regulations?': 34% Favor, 49% Oppose, and 17% Not Sure. Democratic voters' responses: ' 48% Favor, 38% Oppose, and 13% Not Sure. Republican voters' responses: 23% Favor, 54% Oppose, and 23% Not Sure.

This analysis is based on data from the August 2024 SLU/YouGov poll and reflects the opinion of the author.