Americans are only slightly more eager for gun control now than they were before the horrific Colorado theater shootings, according to a new poll.

The Pew Research Center survey shows 47 percent of respondents now think it's more important to control gun ownership, while 46 percent believe it's more important to protect the rights of Americans to own guns. The survey has a 3.6 percentage point margin of error.

The current numbers are little changed from April, when 49 percent of Americans thought gun rights were the biggest concern, and 45 percent chose gun control.

The same lack of change shone through in surveys after other recent shootings, including the January 2011 episode in Tucson, Ariz., and the shooting spree at Virginia Tech in April 2007.