In a survey of 50 people participating in the walkout on Wednesday, 38 people (76%) said they believed that changing gun policy was a goal of the walkout.
While all students asked agreed that mourning the deaths in Parkland was a goal, only 12 students (24%) said that they thought that policy change wasn’t. Many of these students believed that although this event was dedicated to mourning, there would be future opportunities to advocate for gun policy reform.
Of those surveyed, 47 students (94%) supported some form of increased restrictions on access to guns, and 0 students (0%) wanted no change in gun policy. The remaining 3 students (6%) were undecided.
When asked generally what restrictions they would like to see implemented on gun purchase and ownership, no students suggested a ban on any kind of gun. When asked about their opinions on specific policies, however, 32 (64%) said they supported a ban on at least some guns that are currently legal.
Of these students, 7 (14%)* supported only a ban on semi-automatic rifles, 16 (32%) supported a ban on all semi-automatic weapons, and 9 (18%) supported a ban on all guns in the hands of civilians.
The remaining 15 students (30%) did not support any of these bans, but suggested policies like raising the minimum age to buy a gun, increasing the use of background checks, or banning gun shows.
*All percentages are relative to the total sample of 50 students.
