Parents should be held legally responsible for children using guns in crime
Democrats77%
Republicans71%
Independents73%
Source: Gallup, Oct. 30, 2025
Chart: Americans Agree
Chart: Americans Agree
Parental Responsibility
Gallup, Oct. 30, 2025
Details
| Question | Would you generally favor or oppose a law that would hold parents legally responsible if their children commit crimes with the parents' guns? |
| Response | Favor |
| Poll Main Page | Americans Prefer Tempered Crime-Fighting Methods |
| Interview Period | Oct. 1, 2025 to Oct. 16, 2025 |
| Sample Size | 1,000 |
| Note | This question was asked to half the poll’s sample, so it has a higher margin of error than normal. |
| Policy Context | When this poll was conducted in October 2025, there was no recent news on this topic. The issue of parent’s legal responsibility for under-18 children’s gun crimes came to prominence with a 2024 court case in which the jury found the parents responsible. |