Poll: Support For Background Checks At Gun Shows In Virginia

A new statewide poll finds overwhelming support in Virginia for requiring background checks on buyers at gun shows and for posting armed police officers in public school buildings in the wake of last month's mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut . The shooting left left 26 people dead, including 20 children.

The survey, released Thursday, found 92 percent favor gun show background checks.

Virginia requires licensed firearm dealers to check backgrounds of all purchasers, but a loophole in the law exempts those who purchase guns at gun shows, which are large, private weapons bazaars. The state's Republican-majority legislature has repeatedly refused to close the loophole.

Quinnipiac University's survey also shows that half of the 1,134 registered Virginia voters surveyed Jan. 4-7 believe gun ownership protects people from criminals, while 41 percent said it puts them more at risk.

When asked whether Virginia's gun-control laws should be stricter or more lenient, 49 percent of those surveyed favored tighter control, 6 percent said they should be less stringent, and 42 percent felt they should remain the same.

Other gun-related questions in the survey found: 58 percent supported a national ban on assault weapons and 59 percent supported banning high-capacity ammunition magazines.

The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.