This Washington Post-ABC News poll was conducted by telephone Feb. 15-18, 2018, among
a random national sample of 808 adults, including landline and cellular respondents.
The results from the full survey have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus four
percentage points for the full sample. Sampling, data collection and tabulation by
SSRS of Glen Mills, Pa.
*= less than 0.5 percent
1. Would you (support) or (oppose) a nationwide ban on the sale of assault weapons in
this country?
-------- Support --------------- Oppose --------No
NET
Strongly
Somewhat
NET
Somewhat
Strongly
opinion
2/18/18
50
38
12
46
11
36
4
6/23/16*
51
41
10
48
10
37
2
12/13/15
45
34
10
53
12
41
3
4/14/13
56
45
11
42
12
30
2
3/10/13
57
46
11
41
11
30
2
1/13/13
58
50
9
39
12
26
3
1/19/11** 63
NA
NA
34
NA
NA
3
4/26/09** 54
"
"
41
"
"
5
4/22/07*** 67
54
13
30
10
21
3
5/10/00
71
60
11
27
11
16
2
9/2/99
77
68
9
22
8
14
1
5/16/99
79
67
12
19
7
12
2
6/14/94
80
NA
NA
18
NA
NA
2
*June 2016 and prior “Would you support or oppose a law requiring a nationwide ban on
the sale of assault weapons?”
**CBS/NYT "Do you favor or oppose a nationwide ban on assault weapons"
***ABC News
2. Do you think [ITEM] is or is not doing enough to try to prevent mass shootings in
this country? Do you feel that way strongly or somewhat?
Summary Table – 2/18/18

a. Congress
b. President Trump

----- Is doing enough ----No
NET Strongly Somewhat op.
19
11
8
0
29
21
8
0

--- Is not doing enough --No
NET Somewhat Strongly op.
77
17
59
1
62
11
50
*

No
op.
4
9

3. Do you think that mass shootings in this country are more a reflection of (problems
identifying and treating people with mental health problems) or (inadequate gun
control laws)?

2/18/18
10/18/15

Mental health
problems
57
63

Gun control
laws
28
23

Both
(vol.)
9
10

Neither
(vol.)
2
3

No
opinion
4
1

4. You may have heard about the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida
this week. Do you think this event could or could not have been prevented by [ITEM]?
Summary Table – 2/18/18

a. Stricter gun control laws
b. Allowing school teachers to

Could have
prevented
58

Could not
have prevented
37

No
opinion
4

 carry guns
c. More effective mental health
screening and treatment

42

51

7

77

16

7

*** END ***
METHODOLOGICAL DETAILS
This poll was sponsored and funded by The Washington Post and ABC News and is a random
sample adults of the United States, including interviews in English and Spanish. This
questionnaire was administered with the exact questions in the exact order as appears
in this document unless otherwise noted. These questions were part of an “omnibus”
survey in which other questions were asked before or after these questions.
A dual frame landline and cellular phone telephone sample was generated by Marketing
Systems Group (MSG) using Random Digit Dialing procedures. Interviewers called
landlines cellular phone numbers, first requesting to speak with the youngest adult
male or female at home. The final sample included 329 interviews completed on
landlines and 479 interviews completed via cellular phones, including 313 interviews
with adults in cell phone-only households.
This survey uses statistical weighting procedures to account for differential chances
of being selected due to landline and cellular phone access and household size.
Weighting also corrects for deviations in the survey sample from known population
characteristics, which helps correct for differential survey participation and random
variation in samples.
The overall adult sample is weighted using a raking procedure to match the demographic
makeup of the population by sex, region, age, education, race/ethnicity, marital
status, and population density according to Census Bureau estimates. The sample is
also weighted to match phone estimates of the share of the population who are cell
phone-only, landline-only and mixed user populations according to the National Health
Interview Survey. The sample is also weighted to match the average of party
identification in the previous two waves of Post-ABC national polls and this current
survey.
All error margins have been adjusted to account for the survey’s design effect, which
is 1.3 for this survey. The design effect is a factor representing the survey’s
deviation from a simple random sample, and takes into account decreases in precision
due to sample design and weighting procedures. Surveys that do not incorporate a
design effect overstate their precision.
Contact polls@washpost.com for further information about how The Washington Post
conducts polls.
The Washington Post is a charter member of AAPOR’s Transparency Initiative, which
recognizes organizations that disclose key methodological details on the research they
produce.