UH Hobby School survey on Texans' opinions on abortion, gun safety, immigration, voting reform

HOUSTON - The Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston has released a new survey examining Texans opinions on abortion, gun safety, immigration and election reform.

The report is part of a series in which Texas adults were asked about the issues being considered by Texas lawmakers this legislative session.

According to the survey, a majority of Texans were in support of legislation that would allow abortion in the case of a lethal fetal anomaly (84%), if a mother’s physical health is at risk (82%), or if the pregnancy is the result of incest (81%) or rape (77%).

Currently, Texas law only allows abortion to save the life of a pregnant patient or prevent "substantial impairment of major bodily function." There are no exceptions for cases of rape, incest, or severe fetal abnormalities.

About half of Texans (52%) said they would make it easier to obtain an abortion, with 30% saying they would support abortion being legal for any reason through 23 weeks, according to the survey.

However, the report states that the median Texas adult supports abortion being legal only if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, or if the mother’s life is at risk.

Texans were also surveyed about gun safety. According to the report, most Texans (90%) support legislation to ban the possession or purchase of a gun by anyone who has a restraining order against them for stalking or domestic violence, and a majority (83%) of Texans support legislation that would let a judge take a gun away from those shown to be a danger to themselves or others.

The report shows that a majority of Texans (86%) also support legislation to require criminal background checks on anyone purchasing a gun – even at gun shows or private sales, and 81% support a mandatory three-day waiting period for a person to take possession of a gun after purchase.

On the topic of immigration, more than half of Texans supported the deployment of the Texas National Guard to the border (65%), spending $2 billion a year on border security (61%), and the state paying to bus asylum seekers to other cities up north (58%), according to the report. Less than half of Democrats were in support of any of these measures.

MORE: Texas Legislature 101: Understanding the state government and how it passes laws

Finally, on the topic of election reform, the survey shows that a majority of Texans are in support of legislation making illegal voting a state jail felony (71%), allowing all eligible Texans to register to vote online (71%), and creating universal no-excuse absentee voting (65%).

The report further explores Texans opinions on each of these topics and breaks down responses by demographics and political affiliations.

According to the report, 1,200 respondents participated in the survey and matched a sampling frame of demographics and education levels to be representative of the Texas adult population.

To see the full findings of the report, click here. Click here to see the rest of the series.