WASHINGTON, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Two months after the deadly Parkland school shooting, U.S. citizens no longer name gun violence as their top concerns for the country, a poll showed Tuesday.
Only 6 percent of those polled said gun issue is the most pressing concern of the country, compared with a record high of 13 percent registered last month, the Gallup poll showed.
A February poll, taken before the Parkland shooting that killed 17 on Valentine's day, showed that less than 1 percent was most worried about guns.
Concern over guns is now in fourth place among all problems facing the nation, according to the poll, after dissatisfaction with government (23 percent), illegal immigration (11 percent) and racial relations (7 percent).
The trend may signal that memory of the pain inflicted by gun violence is short-lived in the United States, according to poll researchers.
"The 7-percentage-point drop ... might be a signal that concerns over guns in the U.S. are beginning to fade," Gallup said in a statement.p Researchers found similar patterns in the wake of the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in 2012, saying the effect of a high profile gun violence can be temporary.
Almost identical trends were found after the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting, when mentions of gun control as the most important problem edged up four points, only to fall back to the original level over the next two months.
With the lifespan of gun anxiety lasting only a few months, the effort to push for tighter gun control is also often short-lived.
"Support for stricter gun laws often rises after a high-profile shooting and then quickly falls," the Gallup statement said.
This was ever evident in the past two months, during which large protests erupted across the country demanding lawmakers take steps to prevent future attacks.
Debates over gun rights dominated newsrooms and town hall meetings also prompted U.S. President Donald Trump to issue multiple tweets pledging to make schools in the country safer.
But even as emotions begin to calm, U.S. lawmakers show no signs that they are budging on gun rights and risk running afoul with the all powerful National Rifle Association that is the biggest pro-gun group known to be able to sway elections.
The Florida legislation has passed a law allowing school staff to carry guns, which Trump said will "harden the schools", but the bid only proved to heighten concerns among teachers, who fear more guns will make schools less safe, not safer.