The call for stricter gun control has waned since the Newtown, Conn., school shooting at the end of 2012, a Gallup poll released Friday found.

In the days following the school shooting, which killed 20 children and six staff members, 58 percent of those polled wanted stricter gun control. Now, almost a year after the December shooting, that number has dropped to 49 percent.

The drop also means the country now is split nearly evenly on whether gun control laws need to be stricter. On the other side of the 49 percent who want stricter laws, 50 percent want laws to either be less strict or kept the same.

The poll also found that 74 percent of respondents are opposed to a law that would ban handguns, except for use by police and other law enforcement. Only about a quarter think the use of handguns should be limited only to authorized personnel.

The results are from phone interviews Oct. 3-6 with 1,028 adults in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.