ATLANTA — The slaying of five dozen people in Las Vegas did little to change Americans’ opinions about gun laws.

The nation is closely divided on whether restricting firearms would reduce such mass shootings or homicides, though a majority favor tighter laws as they have for several years, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

The massive divide on stricter limits remains firmly in place.

The survey was conducted from Oct. 12-16, about two weeks after 64-year-old Stephen Paddock fired on a crowded musical festival taking place on across the street from his hotel room, killing 58 and wounding more than 540 before killing himself. It’s the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

In this latest survey, 61 percent said the country’s gun laws should be tougher, while 27 percent would rather see them remain the same and 11 percent want them to be less strict. That’s similar to the results of an AP-GfK poll in July 2016.

Nearly 9 in 10 Democrats, but just a third of Republicans, want to see gun laws made stricter.

David Becker, Getty Images People run for cover at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after apparent gun fire was heard on Oct. 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. There are reports of an active shooter around the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

David Becker, Getty Images People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after apparent gun fire was heard on Oct. 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. There are reports of an active shooter around the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

Las Vegas police stand guard along the streets outside the festival grounds of the Route 91 Harvest on Oct. 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. There are reports of an active shooter around the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.



John Locher, The Associated Press Police officers advise people to take cover near the scene of a shooting near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas.

David Becker, Getty Images People take cover at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after apparent gun fire was heard on Oct. 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. There are reports of an active shooter around the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

David Becker, Getty Images A man lays on top of a woman as others flee the Route 91 Harvest country music festival grounds after a active shooter was reported on Oct. 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The photographer witnessed the man help the woman up and they walked away. Injuries are unknown.



David Becker, Getty Images A person lies on the ground covered with blood at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after apparent gun fire was heard on Oct. 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Chase Stevens, Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP People run from the New York New York during an active shooter situation on the Las Vegas Stirp in Las Vegas Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Multiple victims were being transported to hospitals after a shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip.

John Locher, The Associated Press Police run to cover at the scene of a shooting near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas. Multiple victims were being transported to hospitals after a shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip.



David Becker, Getty Images People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after apparent gun fire was heard on Oct. 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. There are reports of an active shooter around the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

David Becker, Getty Images People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after apparent gun fire was heard on Oct. 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. There are reports of an active shooter around the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

John Locher, The Associated Press A police officer takes cover behind a truck at the scene of a shooting near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas. Multiple victims were being transported to hospitals after a shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip.



John Locher, The Associated Press A police officer takes cover behind a police vehicle during a shooting near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas.

John Locher, The Associated Press Police stand at the scene of a shooting along the Las Vegas Strip, Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. Multiple victims were being transported to hospitals after a shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip.

Chase Stevens, Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP A wounded person is walked in on a wheelbarrow as Las Vegas police respond during an active shooter situation on the Las Vegas Stirp in Las Vegas Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Multiple victims were being transported to hospitals after a shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip.



John Locher, The Associated Press Police officers and medical personnel stand at the scene of a shooting near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. Multiple victims were being transported to hospitals after a shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip.

John Locher, The Associated Press A woman sits on a curb at the scene of a shooting outside of a music festival along the Las Vegas Strip, Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. Multiple victims were being transported to hospitals after a shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip.

Chase Stevens, Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP A man waits during lockdown at the Tropicana Las Vegas during an active shooter situation on the Las Vegas Strip Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Multiple victims were being transported to hospitals after a shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip.



Chase Stevens, Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP People assist a wounded woman at the Tropicana during an active shooter situation on the Las Vegas Stirp in Las Vegas Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Multiple victims were being transported to hospitals after a shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip.

Chase Stevens, Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP Las Vegas police sweep through a convention center area during a lockdown Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, at the Tropicana Las Vegas following an active shooter situation on the Las Vegas Strip. Multiple victims were transported to hospitals after a deadly shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip.

Chase Stevens, Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP People are searched by Las Vegas police at the Tropicana Las Vegas during an active shooter situation on the Las Vegas Strip on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. Multiple victims were being transported to hospitals after a shooting late Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip.



Steve Marcus, Las Vegas Sun via AP A body is covered with a sheet after a mass shooting in which dozens were killed at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017.

Ethan Miller, Getty Images People hug and cry outside the Thomas and Mack Center after a mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival on Oct. 2, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. A gunman, identified as Stephen Paddock, 64, of Mesquite, Nevada, opened fire from the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on the music festival, leaving at least 50 people dead and hundreds injured. Police have confirmed that one suspect has been shot. The investigation is ongoing.

Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images The U.S. flag flies at half-staff over the White House Oct. 2, 2017 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump ordered the flags on all federal buildings to fly at half-staff following the mass shooting that left more than 50 dead in Las Vegas. The gunman, identified as Stephen Paddock, 64, of Mesquite, Nevada, opened fire from the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on an outdoor music festival. Police have confirmed that one suspect has been shot. The investigation is ongoing.



Alex Wong, Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump makes a statement on the Las Vegas mass shooting at the Diplomatic Room of the White House October 2, 2017 in Washington, DC. The gunman, identified as Stephen Paddock, 64, of Mesquite, Nevada, opened fire from the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on the music festival, leaving at least 50 people dead and hundreds injured. Police have confirmed that one suspect is dead. The investigation is ongoing.

Evan Vucci, The Associated Press President Donald Trump makes a statement about the mass shooting in Las Vegas, Monday, Oct. 2, 2017 at the White House in Washington.

Mark Wilson, Getty Images A Park Service employee lowers the U.S. flags on the grounds of the Washington Monument to half-staff, on Oct. 2, 2017 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump ordered the flags on all federal buildings to fly at half-staff following the mass shooting that left more than 50 dead in Las Vegas. The gunman, identified as Stephen Paddock, 64, of Mesquite, Nevada, allegedly opened fire from the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on an outdoor music festival. Police have confirmed that one suspect has been shot. The investigation is ongoing.



John Locher, The Associated Press MGM Resorts announced Friday that it does not plan to rent out room No. 32135 at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, the perch from which Stephen Paddock shot and killed 58 people and injured more than 500.

Ronda Churchill, The Associated Press People walk near the Las Vegas Strip shortly after sunrise Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. A deadly shooting occurred Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip.

Ronda Churchill, The Associated Press A woman speaks on the phone while walking along the Las Vegas Strip near Mandalay Bay hotel and casino Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas. A mass shooting occurred late night Sunday at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill)



Ethan Miller, Getty Images Concert-goers wait for a ride outside the Thomas & Mack Center after a mass shooting at a country music festival on Oct. 2, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. People who could not go to hotel-casinos that were closed after the shooting temporarily stayed at the center. The gunman, identified as Stephen Paddock, 64, of Mesquite, Nevada, opened fire from the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on the music festival, leaving at least 50 people dead and hundreds injured. Police have confirmed that one suspect has been shot. The investigation is ongoing.

Al Powers, Invision/AP Women make phone calls while taking shelter inside the Sands Corporation plane hangar after a mass shooting in which dozens were killed at Route 91 Harvest Festival on Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas.

Ethan Miller, Getty Images United Blood Services phlebotomist Sha-Na Hill (L) takes blood from Richard Williams of Nevada at a special United Blood Services drive at a University Medical Center facility to help victims of a mass shooting on Oct. 2, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. A lone gunman opened fired on the Route 91 Harvest country music festival on October 1 leaving more than 50 dead and hundreds wounded.



Mark Ralston, AFP/Getty Images Crime scene tape surrounds the Mandalay Hotel after a gunman killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 200 others when he opened fire on a country music concert in Las Vegas, Nevada on Oct. 2, 2017. Police said the gunman, a 64-year-old local resident named as Stephen Paddock, had been killed after a SWAT team responded to reports of multiple gunfire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay, a hotel-casino next to the concert venue.

David Becker, Getty Images Las Vegas police investigate a side street near the Las Vegas Village after a lone gunman opened fired on the Route 91 Harvest country music festival on Oct. 2, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The gunman, identified as Stephen Paddock, 64, of Mesquite, Nevada, allegedly opened fire from a room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on the music festival, leaving at least 58 people dead and over 500 injured. According to reports, Paddock killed himself at the scene.

Kenny Garcia, a 31-year-old resident of Stockton, California, and a former gun owner, said he’s torn about whether tighter gun laws would lead to a reduction in mass shootings.

“That’s the hard part,” Garcia said. “How do you control something like that when you have no idea where it’s coming from, whether you control the guns or not?”

Still, he’s frustrated by easy availability of some devices — such as the “bump stocks” used by the Las Vegas shooter to make his semi-automatic guns mimic the more rapid fire of automatic weapons.

“They give people access to these things, then they question after something horrible happens, but yet the answer is right there,” he said. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

About half of Americans said they think making it more difficult to buy a gun would reduce the number of mass shootings in the country, and slightly under half said it would reduce the number of homicides.

About half felt it would reduce the number of accidental shootings, 4 in 10 that it would reduce the number of suicides and only about a third felt it would reduce gang violence.

Alea Leonard, a 21-year-old data analyst and full-time student, said she’s torn about whether the nation’s gun laws should be more strict, in part because different parts of the country have different experiences with crime.

“Here, I feel like everyone should be able to carry a .22 (caliber handgun) on them,” said Leonard, who lives in Orange County, California. Her neighborhood, she said, has a high crime rate and in the five months since she moved there, a 14-year-old was shot in the back of the head.

She grew up in California, but spent some summers in Wyoming. She never before felt the need to have a gun but is now researching what it would take to carry a firearm.

There are indications of a generational divide on the issue. Most of those in the survey who are younger than 30 said they believe stricter gun laws would result in fewer mass shootings, homicides and accidental shootings.

The poll also found that a majority of Americans disapprove of how President Donald Trump is handling gun control. Trump is the first president since Ronald Reagan to address the annual meeting of the National Rifle Association. One of his sons has voiced strong support for easing the restrictions on gun silencers.

Some 59 percent voiced disapproval with Trump’s handling of the issue, while 40 percent said they approved. About half of Americans age 60 and over approve of how he is handling the issue, compared with fewer than 4 in 10 of those under 60. Politically, 79 percent of people who identify as Republican approve of Trump’s handling of gun issues, while 61 percent of independents and 89 percent of Democrats disapprove. Sixty percent of gun owners approve of Trump on the issue.

The poll also showed Americans divided over which party, if any, they trust to handle gun control. Close to a third give Democrats the edge while 28 percent prefer Republicans, and 31 percent say they don’t trust either party.

The AP-NORC poll of 1,054 adults was conducted Oct. 12-16 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.

Respondents were first selected randomly using address-based sampling methods, and later interviewed online or by phone.