.. like gun laws where 3/4 of gun owners support private sale background checks?
I do detest this kind of survey "result". Partially because, of the gun owners I know, the only ones who support private sale background checks (as anything other than an abstract idea) are FFL dealers!
Without knowing exactly what question was asked, its misleading information.
Because the specific wording of the question matters. Sometimes, you can do some digging and find exactly what was asked, often you cannot.
It makes a difference. If they ask "Do you support the idea of background checks for private gun sales?" that's one thing, and going to get a certain level of support.
If they ask, "do you support mandatory background checks for private sales, under penalty of law?" I think that's a different question, and would result in a different level of support. Many people think its like helmet laws for motorcycles. It's not.
It's not a flawless analogy, but consider this;
if you conduct a survey asking people (or just motorcycle owners) "do you support laws requiring a helmet to ride a motorcycle", you'll get a certain amount of support.
How much of that support do you think would change if the question asked was "do you support a law requiring taking you, your motorcycle, and your helmet to a police station and paying them $35 dollars to watch you put the helmet on, before you could legally ride your motorcycle? Every time you wanted to ride your motorcycle?"
Because that what we GET with background check laws.
The difference between the abstract concept and what we get in reality is HUGE!
I know of one state where the background check law is so badly written there is a potential argument that a friend, handing you a gun in his living room, for you to examine violates the law. And you, accepting the gun to look at violates the law, and you both violate the law when you hand him back his own property, in his own home!!!!! And the first violation is punishable as a misdemeanor, while the second is punishable as a felony!
The State police, and other enforcement agencies have publically stated that they are not going to enforce this law, until the state provides clarification on what is, and is not a transfer, under the law.
So far, its going on 3 years now, and that clarification has not yet been provided.
NOTHING stops any private seller from going though an FFL (who is required to do the check) if they want to. NOTHING. The seller is free to pay for it themselves, or pass the cost on to the buyer. Its a good idea. BUT, making it a law, particularly where both the seller, the buyer, and the gun must physically present themselves to the FFL kind of removes one's freedom of choice in the matter.
I rather strongly believe that if the survey actually explained the REALITY of the issue, rather than the conceptual idea, the number of people supporting it would change, drastically.