Registered voters want AR-15 ban, new poll shows

Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Most registered voters favor banning the type of semi-automatic weapon used to kill 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Valentine's Day, a new monthly poll shows.

The Harvard-Harris February survey was conducted among 1,934 registered voters from Feb.16-19.

Sixty-one percent of voters said that the AR-15 should be banned from purchase, compared to 39 percent who said adults who pass background checks should be allowed to buy them.

Most voters -- 57 percent -- also believed that mental health issues, rather than gun control, were a driving force behind mass shootings. The remaining 43 percent said that it was lack of gun control.

The recent mass shooting in Parkland has revived the gun control and mental health debate.

No margin of error was reported for the poll.