After many years of pushing for stricter gun laws, gun control advocates are on the verge of some success in Minnesota. House and Senate negotiators include two gun measures in the public safety bill that will soon be on the House and Senate floors. 

Gun rights advocates say the move was made with no transparency.

“Yesterday the Public Safety Conference Committee, without any Republican representation, snuck in red flag gun confiscation and universal gun registration into their omnibus bill to shield vulnerable senators from voting on the controversial legislation,” the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus said in a news release. “The final language of the amendments was available to the public less than 15 minutes before being adopted into the omnibus bill following backroom negotiations.”

According to our latest KSTP-TV/SurveyUSA poll, the majority of Minnesotans agree with the proposed new laws.

On the proposal to require background checks on all private gun sales, 74% of Minnesotans approve of the idea, with just 21% opposed. The support is widespread, with 79% support in urban areas, 78% in suburbs and 62% in rural areas. 

It’s a similar story on the “red flag,” or “extreme protection” law, which would allow guns to be taken from people deemed a danger to themselves or others. In our survey of 681 registered voters across the state, 63% support the proposal, while 26% are opposed. Again, it has strong support in urban (71%), suburban (69%) and rural areas (52%).

Carleton College political analyst Steven Schier says the recent string of mass shootings, along with almost daily news coverage, are having an impact.

“It sensitizes people to the issue,” he says. “It makes it more salient to them in their daily lives and people want safe environments. If they believe government can provide that through regulations, they will support the regulations.”

The poll included 34% of respondents who identified themselves as Democrats, 34% as Republicans and 27% as independents. The “credibility interval,” similar to a margin of error, is ±4.2%.

Read the full breakdown of these survey questions below: