Texas Survey Respondents Favor More Gun Control Measures

In a survey of more than 5,300 Houston and Harris County, Texas, residents, more than 80 percent of respondents said they would support measures — including more gun control — to reduce firearm deaths and injuries. More than half said they were willing to pay more to have more police on the streets.

In the report, Election 2023: Overview of Residents’ Policy Preferences by Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, 89 percent of respondents said they supported a license and mandatory training to carry a gun, and 95 percent said they were in favor of encouraging education for proper gun storage. Respondents also indicated support for community-oriented policing, as 91 percent said they favored funding community violence interruption programs — programs that use messengers to de-escalate conflicts.

Fifty-five percent said they would like to see police budgets increased, and 54 percent said the same about fire departments’ budgets.

A majority of respondents also said they were willing to pay more in additional fees and taxes on essential city services like improved water drainage systems and garbage collection. Nearly 80 percent of respondents said they’d be willing to pay a higher drainage fee.