Huffman said early detection of mental health problems would go a long way to curbing gun violence. If such problems are caught early enough "you won't have people killing people," she said.
Among gun owners, just 40 percent back a ban on the sale of military-type, rapid-fire guns, and 37 percent favor a ban on high-capacity magazines, while 66 percent of non-gun owners would ban military-style weapons and 60 percent would ban high-capacity magazines.
However, 80 percent of gun owners do support federal standards for gun-show background checks, as do 87 percent of non-gun owners.
Gun owners lean more Republican than the overall public. Fifty-five percent of them are Republicans, compared with 30 percent who are Democrats.
Max Lude, 70, a retired teacher from West Frankfort, Ill., said limiting magazines to 10 rounds "is probably the smartest thing they can do" to reduce mass tragedies. Mandatory background checks also would help, as would mandatory prison sentences for those convicted of gun grimes, said Lude, a National Rifle Association member and hunter-safety instructor.
"It's a complicated problem with a complicated solution," he said. "It's not just a one-time, quick-fix deal."
The gun control debate heated up after Adam Lanza, 20, shot his way into the Newtown school on Dec. 14 and killed 26 people before committing suicide. Lanza also killed his mother at her home before the shooting spree. His mother kept guns at the home she shared with her son.
The poll of 1,004 adults was conducted by telephone Jan. 10-14, 2013. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
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Associated Press writer Matthew Daly and AP News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.
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Online: http://www.ap-gfkpoll.com
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