A recent Winthrop University poll asked a number of South Carolinians where they stand on several hot-button issues, including gun control, the economy, abortion, and transgender issues.
According to the Winthrop poll, roughly 30 percent of South Carolinians approved of President Joe Biden’s handling of his job, while 57 percent disapproved and 13 percent had no opinion.
When asked about gun issues, 73 percent of Republican respondents said they would support legislation requiring background checks, with a comparable 81 percent of Democrat respondents saying the same.
Similar support was shown for restricting firearms to those 21 and older. Similar Republican support was also shown for gun policy to allow family members to seek a court order to temporarily remove a gun from an owner who may be likely to harm themselves or others, with Democrat support for the same policy jumping to 91 percent.
When asked on the topic of the economy, 44 percent of respondents said they were in a worse financial situation than before, 33 percent saying they are about the same, and 20 percent saying they are in a better situation.
Roughly 37 percent of South Carolinians supported a six-week abortion ban, while 43 percent apposed the ban. The results sat on a strong party line similar to the vote on similar legislation in the state legislature.
Regarding exceptions, 81 percent of respondents said an abortion that threatens the woman’s life or health should be legal, with 75 percent of Republican and 90 percent of Democrat respondents being in favor.
Roughly 78 percent of respondents also supported an exception for a legal abortion should the pregnancy be the result of rape, with 69 percent of Republicans and 88 percent of Democrats supporting this form of exception.
On transgender individuals in sports, roughly 88 percent of Republican respondents favored policy requiring athletes to compete on teams matching the sex they were assigned at birth, with just under half of Democrats supporting the same type of policy.
