Poll shows that a majority of Americans want stricter gun laws

Charleston. Roseburg. Fort Myers. These are just a handful of the places where a mass shooting has occurred this year. Perhaps in response to such tragic, all-too-frequent events, an increasing number of Americans say that they are in favor of more stringent gun control legislation, a new poll finds.

Gallup reports that 55% of Americans say they want laws covering the sale of firearms to be stricter than they are at present—the highest that percentage has been since early 2013. 33% of Americans think that laws covering the fire arms should be left alone, and, according to the poll, only 11% of Americans say that those laws should be less strict than they are.

The poll was conducted during the second week of October, which Gallup notes was right after the shooting at Umpqua Community College that left nine people dead and five others injured.

Gallup broke down the demographics of respondents into a variety of groups: gun owners, gun nonowners, Republicans, Independents, and Democrats. Every single one of those groups saw an increase in the percentage of people who favored stricter laws concerning the sale of firearms over the past year, except Republicans.