A slight majority (51 percent) of respondents to a survey conducted Jan. 10-11 by Vision Critical & Angus Reid believe the Tucson shooting last Saturday was an isolated incident resulting from an individual's action. About a third (31 percent) said the shooting was the consequence of a negative tone in U.S. politics. And 37 percent said they expect there will soon be more such incidents. In addition, 73 percent of respondents said that citizens should be allowed to carry a concealed firearm, although only 9 percent said they should be able to do so without obtaining a permit. In Arizona, as well as Alaska and Vermont, no such permit is required.

The poll surveyed 1008 American adults and had a 3.1 percent margin of error.

Some 56 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with the way President Barack Obama handled the aftermath of the shooting and 50 percent voiced satisfaction with the way the media handled their coverage.

The surveyors asked several questions about attitudes toward firearms, including:

"If it were up to you, would you prefer to have stricter firearm laws, looser firearm laws, or would you

keep existing regulations the way they are?"

• Stricter:

All - 50 percent;

Democrats - 65 percent

Republicans - 30 percent

Independents - 51 percent

• Looser:

All - 13 percent;

Democrats - 6 percent

Republicans - 19 percent

Independents - 15 percent

• Keep existing:

All - 27 percent;

Democrats - 18 percent

Republicans - 44 percent

Independents - 31 percent

• Not sure:

All - 10 percent;

Democrats - 10 percent

Republicans - 7 percent

Independents - 4 percent

"Below is a list of weapons. For each one, please say whether this type of weapon should be

available to every American who is eligible to own firearms, or only to the police and other authorized

persons."

• Every American who is eligible to own firearms should have access to these weapons:

Handguns - 70 percent

Rifles/Shotguns - 73 percent

Semi-automatic firearms - 26 percent

• Only the police and other authorized persons should have access to these weapons:

Handguns - 21 percent

Rifles/Shotguns - 18 percent

Semi-automatic firerms - 63 percent

• Unsure:

Handguns - 9 percent

Rifles/Shotguns - 8 percent

Semi-automatic firerms - 10 percent

"Across the U.S, states have different regulations related to how individuals can carry a concealed

weapon in public. Thinking about your own state, which one of these options would you prefer to

implement?"

• Citizens should not be allowed to carry a concealed weapon at all:

All - 24 percent

Democrats - 32 percent

Republicans - 15 percent

Independents - 25 percent

• Citizens should be granted a permit to carry a concealed weapon if local authorities agree to it:

All - 16 percent

Democrats - 17 percent

Republicans - 19 percent

Independents - 16 percent

• Citizens should be granted a permit to carry a concealed weapon if they meet specific criteria laid out in the law:

All - 47 percent

Democrats - 45 percent

Republicans - 54 percent

Independents - 44 percent

• Citizens should be allowed to carry a concealed weapon without any permit.:

All - 9 percent

Democrats - 4 percent

Republicans - 11 percent

Independents - 11 percent

• Not sure:

All - 4 percent

Democrats - 2 percent

Republicans - 2 percent

Independents - 4 percent

Vision Critical did not report whether it found differences between men and women or by race or age.