Polls show rise in gun control support after Newtown

Polls show rise in gun control support after Newtown

Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

Gun control supporters take part in a candlelight vigil at Lafayette Square across from the White House on Saturday. A CBS New poll found a 10-point jump in the number of Americans favoring more gun control since last spring. 

In the wake of the horrific Newtown, Conn., massacre that left 20 children and 7 adults dead, two new polls show a rise in the number of Americans who support expanding gun control.

Released Thursday, a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found that 49 percent of Americans now believe that controlling gun ownership is a bigger priority than protecting the right to own firearms, while 42 percent said the opposite.

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The rise in the popular support for gun control noted in the Pew survey was more distinct in a  CBS News poll released on Monday that found a 10-point jump since last spring among Americans who believe stricter gun control is needed.  

In the Pew study, Americans expressed a greater wariness about the kinds of guns used by Adam Lanza in his attack on Sandy Hook Elementary School. Among those surveyed, 65 percent said that allowing assault weapons ownership makes the country more dangerous, while just 21 percent say they make the country more safe.

Support remains high, however, when it comes to keeping handguns legal, with 67 percent of those surveyed saying they should not be outlawed. That figure is not surprising given that 35 percent of those questioned told Pew that they kept either a pistol or a rifle in their homes.

As with most issues facing the country, views on gun restrictions vary with political affiliation.

“Republicans and Democrats are on opposite sides of the issue: About seven-in-ten (69%) Republicans say protecting gun rights is more important, while about the same proportion of Democrats (72%) say gun control is more important. Independents are divided (47% gun rights, 42% gun control),” Pew stated in a summary of the survey results. 

dknowles@nydailynews.com