By Associated Press

CHICAGO — LaShun Roy supports a ban on semi-automatic weapons and more comprehensive background checks. But the 21-year-old gun owner from rural Texas doesn’t consider gun-control measures a top priority in this year’s elections.

For Keionna Cottrell, a 24-year-old who lives on Chicago’s South Side and whose brother was shot and killed, few things are more important than limiting access to guns.

Their lives and experiences differ, but their support for additional policies aimed at curbing gun violence reflects the feelings of many Americans between the ages of 18 and 30, regardless of their backgrounds, according to a poll by GenForward, a survey by the Black Youth Project at the University of Chicago with the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

About 9 in 10 young adults say they support criminal background checks for all gun sales, support that remains consistent across racial and ethnic groups. Stiffer penalties for violating existing gun laws are supported by 9 in 10 young adults, including about 9 in 10 whites, Asian-Americans and Latinos, as well as 8 in 10 African-Americans.

Fifty-seven percent of young Americans support a ban on rapid-firing semi-automatic weapons.