Poll: Gun control support at all-time low

PRINCETON, N.J., April 8 (UPI) -- Gun-control law support in the United States is at an all-time low, a Gallup Poll survey taken before last week's massacre in Binghamton, N.Y., indicates.

Twenty-nine percent of Americans asked said they favored banning possession of handguns by private citizens, the smallest approval percentage since Gallup first asked the question nearly 50 years ago, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said Wednesday in releasing the results.

The latest results are from the latest installment of Gallup's annual crime survey, conducted in October. The pollster said it was unclear what, if any, impact last week's shooting spree in which 14 people, including the gunman, died could have on the gun-control issue.

The October survey found 49 percent of respondents said they want laws on firearms sales to be stricter than they are now. Eight percent said gun laws should be made less strict and 41 percent said laws should remain as they are now.

Since October, several high-profile shooting sprees have occurred, including the incident in Binghamton. On Christmas Eve in California, a man dressed as Santa Claus killed nine guests at a house party while in March, a gunman killed 10 people at an Alabama home, including several members of his family.

Results are based on nationwide telephone interviews with 1,011 adults conducted Oct. 3-5, 2008. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.