Star Tribune poll shows widespread backing for gun background checks

A majority of Minnesota voters support universal background checks on all gun sales and a ban on semiautomatic military-style rifles like the AR-15, a new Star Tribune Minnesota Poll has found.

According to the newspaper’s story:

More than 8 out of 10 Minnesota voters favor expanding criminal background checks to cover all gun sales, including those sold privately or at gun shows. And while legislation that would do so has stalled along party lines at both the State Capitol and in Washington, the Minnesota Poll found widespread support for the proposal across ideological, geographic and demographic lines. One of the only deeply partisan divides over guns that the poll found was over banning “military-styled rifles” such as the AR-15. Support for a ban on such firearms was strongest among Democrats at 82 percent, compared to 35 percent among Republicans. The nation’s long-running gun debate has further intensified since a pair of mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, left more than 30 dead just hours apart in August. The bloodshed renewed calls for stronger gun restrictions nationwide. That includes in Minnesota, where Democratic legislators are pushing measures for universal background checks and to create a new “red flag” law to allow authorities to petition a judge to remove guns from those deemed a threat to harm themselves or others.

• Gov. Tim Walz signs ‘Taylor Swift bill’ into law, requiring more regulation in the ticketing industry
• DFL lawmakers advance rideshare plan despite Uber, Lyft pushback
• 2 killed in house explosion in Mille Lacs County