Coloradans, who have endured mass shootings at Columbine High School and at an Aurora movie theater last year, have long held a mix of ideas about guns that favor the rights of firearms owners, but those opinions have become more nuanced, according to the findings of a new Denver Post poll.
While a majority of respondents expressed support for gun-owner rights, they expressed greater support for specific limitations that would strengthen gun laws.
Proposals that would ban assault-style rifles, limit the number of cartridges allowed in ammunition magazines and require universal background checks on gun sales garnered more than 60 percent support from those polled.
The findings of the poll come after President Barack Obama last week announced a plan to toughen gun-control laws nationally after highly reported mass shootings. A handful of his proposals are already in the works at the state level.
The latest Post poll, conducted the day after Obama’s announcement, found that overall support for the rights of gun owners shrank from an earlier Post poll in September — conducted shortly after the Aurora theater shootings.