By Matthew DeLuca, Staff Writer, NBC News
Support among Americans for tougher gun laws has spiked in the past year to 38 percent, the highest level since 2001, according to a Gallup survey released Monday.
That's up from 25 percent just one year ago -- before the mass shootings at a Batman screening in Aurora, Colo., and en elementary school in Newtown, Conn.
Despite the increase, a larger percentage of Americans, 43 percent, remain content with the current regulations on guns, and 5 percent of respondents said they would like to see gun laws loosened.
Released a month after the Connecticut school shooting that left 26 dead, the survey comes as debate rages about whether or not there should be more regulations on the purchase and possession of firearms.
Prominent politicians, including Conn. Gov. Dan Malloy and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, have urged legislators in their states to pass new or tougher bans on assault weapons.
On Tuesday, Vice President Biden is expected to deliver proposals from the White House?s gun control task force to President Obama.
Gun-rights groups: Our 'backs are against the wall'
Male respondents and Democrats were among the groups that showed the most change in their views in the latest poll: 35 percent of men nationally now say they are dissatisfied with current gun laws, up from 18 percent a year ago.
Women showed a 10 point increase over the last year, with 41 percent now saying they are unhappy with current gun laws and want to see them strengthened.
Support for stricter gun laws spiked among nonwhites, as well, jumping from 32 percent to 49 percent.
Gov. Cuomo proposes nation's 'toughest' ban on assault weapons
The survey showed a widening partisan rift over guns. Democrats are now far more likely than Republicans to favor new gun laws: 64 percent of Democrats surveyed said they were dissatisfied with current gun policy, compared to 18 percent of Republicans.
The questions on guns were asked in Gallup?s ?Mood of the Nation? survey conducted between January 7 and 10. The survey sampled 1,011 adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus four points.
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