As we look back on the first months of 2023, the United States has already experienced dozens of mass shootings, with incidents occurring in Monterey Park, California, Louisville, Kentucky, and Nashville, Tennessee. According to a recent CBS/YouGov poll released on Sunday, more than three-quarters of Americans believe that these tragic events can be prevented with real effort.
The survey found that 76% of Americans believe that mass shootings are something that can be stopped with significant effort and not something that must be accepted as part of a free society. Furthermore, 62% of respondents support a nationwide ban on AR-15s. Concern about the threat of gun violence at children's schools also increased from 72% to 77% compared to last year's survey.
Children are not immune to the threat of gun violence either, with 61% of parents reporting that their children worry about gun violence at school sometimes or a lot. It is important to note that so far in 2023, there have been more mass shootings than days in the year, with at least 162 mass shootings occurring in the U.S., according to the Gun Violence Archive.
In a recent survey, one in five U.S. adults reported being personally threatened with a gun, and one in six have witnessed someone being shot. As physicians, it is our duty to advocate for policies that promote public health and safety. It is important that we work together to prevent mass shootings and protect our communities from the devastating impact of gun violence.
The CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted from April 12-14 and included a nationally representative sample of 2,065 adults, with a margin of sampling error of ±3.2 points at a 95% confidence level.
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