53 per cent of Americans oppose assault weapon bans

A wall of semi-automatic rifles at the National Rifle Association Annual Meetings and Exhibits in St. Louis, Missouri. (Karen Bleier/Getty)

For the first time in 20 years, the majority of Americans oppose a ban on assault weapons, according to a new ABC News/Washington Post poll.

Voters expressed that the ban would do little to prevent “lone wolf” terrorist attacks in the states, believing that armed citizens could prevent these types of tragedies.

Roughly three-quarters of Americans who doubt the government’s ability to prevent a lone-wolf attack, 57 per cent oppose banning assault weapons, versus 41 per cent in support.

Fifty-seven per cent of voters who support the ban are confident that the US government can thwart lone-wofl attacks, while 42 percent who oppose the ban said that they are not confident in government counterterrorism.

The results also showed that President Barack Obama's approval rating has dropped to 45 per cent with 51 Americans disapproving.

The pollsters surveyed 1,002 people over landlines and cellphones on December 10-13.