Pew Research Center is out with a new study that shows support for gun rights has increased since the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School two years ago.  The study released Wednesday by Pew found that 52-percent of survey respondents said it was more important to protect the right to own guns, while 46 percent said it was more important to control gun ownership. 

The Hartford Courant reports that gun control advocates find the Pew survey results misleading because questions about specific policy were not asked.  Southbury resident Stephen Barton, who was injured during the Aurora Colorado movie theater shooting in 2012, is quoted as saying the Pew study sets up a false choice between 'control' and 'rights'.

Barton told the Hartford Courant that background checks on all gun sales has become activists' top priority, as anything more restrictive has little chance of passage. 

According to the poll, 57 percent of Americans think that gun ownership does more to protect people, while 38 percent think that it does more to endanger personal safety.  Since January 2013, support for gun rights has increased by 7 percentage points while support for gun control has fallen by 5 percentage points.