Most Americans would support stricter gun laws: Poll

(The Hill) — A majority of Americans in a new poll released on Friday said they would support stricter gun control laws.

Sixty-four percent said they were in favor of stricter laws, while 36 percent said they were opposed, the CNN-SSRS poll found. 

A slightly smaller portion — 54 percent — said that such gun control laws would reduce gun-related deaths in the country, and 58 percent said they believe the government is able take effective action to prevent multi-victim shootings.

Some 59 percent in the survey said they were in favor of banning semi-automatic rifles, while 94 percent said they would support taking measures to prevent convicted felons and those with mental health issues from owning guns.

Eight in 10 also said people under the age of 21 should be barred from purchasing any type of gun, the poll found.

However, those in the survey were nearly evenly divided on whether allowing gun own...