Gallup finds jump in support for gun control

More than half of Americans want stricter gun control laws in the wake of multiple mass shootings, according to a new poll from Gallup that found support for tighter firearm rules jumping by 6 percent since 2014.

The latest Gallup survey released on Monday said that 55 percent want more restrictive gun control guidelines, a total up from 49 percent the year before.

{mosads}Support for keeping the current gun laws in place is also down 4 points, falling from 37 percent in 2014 to 33 percent now.

The number of people who want less-restrictive gun laws also dropped from 13 percent in 2014 to 11 percent this year.

Monday’s results follow several high-profile incidents of gun violence that have renewed a national debate about gun control. President Obama has repeatedly chastised Congress for failing to create stricter gun control legislation during his two terms in office. He most recently bemoaned an attack at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore. earlier this month.

The last major effort in Congress took place in 2013, a few months after 20 school children and six adults were killed in Newtown, Conn. by a lone gunman. Congress in the end could not overcome a filibuster in the Senate by opponents of stronger background-checks laws. 

Gallup conducted its latest sampling via random telephone interviews of 1,015 adults age 18 and up nationwide from Oct. 7 to Oct. 11. It has a 4-percent margin of error at the 95-percent confidence level.

Gallup found that 43 percent of respondents say they have a gun somewhere in their household, with 28 percent declaring they personally own a firearm.