Support for stricter gun control legislation increases after Las Vegas shooting

Support for stricter gun control measures has increased after a gunman killed 58 people and injured hundreds more in Las Vegas, according to a new survey.

Sixty-four percent of voters polled by Politico and Morning Consult said they now support stricter gun regulations, while 29 percent of voters polled said they opposed tougher legislation. 

The latest Politico/Morning Consult poll shows an increase of 3 percentage points in recent months for support of more stringent regulations on guns. 

{mosads}Sixty-one percent of voters polled last June said they were in favor of tougher regulations on guns, while 33 percent said they were against them. 

The survey comes weeks after suspected gunman Stephen Paddock opened fire on a country music festival from his hotel room window in Las Vegas. 

The event has reignited the debate over gun control policies on Capitol Hill, with a focus on bump stocks, which are devices that can be used to simulate automatic gunfire with a semi-automatic weapon. 

The new poll showed, however, that only 26 percent of voters said they believed there was an “excellent or good chance” of Congress passing stricter gun control measures within the next year. 

The poll was conducted Oct. 5 – 9, 2017, and uses data from 1,996 registered voters. Its margin of error is 2 percentage points.