Muscatine

According to the latest Gallup polling, Americans say the best way to stop mass shootings like last week's school rampage in Connecticut is to increase police at schools and focus on mental health issues -- and give lower priority to banning semi-automatic guns.

Eighty seven percent thought putting more police at schools would be at least somewhat effective, and 84 percent thought increasing spending on mental health would help, but only 63 percent thought a ban on semi-automatic firearms would be "very effective" or "somewhat effective," making it fifth on the list of six options Gallup offered. As you might expect, Democrats are substantially more likely to believe an assault gun ban as more effective.

Interestingly, Americans are not overwhelmingly convinced that any of the actions would be highly effective in preventing future school shootings.