After a steady string of mass shootings and a revival of the political fight over gun control, Americans are slightly more likely than they were two years ago to say gun laws should be made stricter, a new Associated Press-GfK poll found.

Despite the uptick in favor of tighter gun laws, Americans remain deeply divided along party, gender and geographic lines on an issue that has ricocheted into the presidential campaign. Eight in 10 Democrats favor stricter gun laws, while 6 in 10 Republicans want them left as they are or loosened.

Still, the results show the calls for tighter laws have some bipartisan appeal, with 37 percent of Republicans, including 31 percent of conservative Republicans, favoring stricter gun laws.

The new poll was taken two weeks after the shooting rampage at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore., thrust the discussion of gun control into the country's attention and the presidential campaign. Polls regularly find a rise in support for tighter gun laws after such shootings — although that support often levels off as the headlines fade.

http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Poll-Support-for-tighter-gun-laws-increases-6605893.php