WASHINGTON — Another mass shooting, another drive for gun control. But will the latest shooting — this time at an elementary school — change the political calculus in Washington and generate more support for tougher gun laws?
“I think the impact of this is going to be inescapable,” said Kristen Rand, legislative director of the Violence Policy Center.
The massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., is among the worst shootings in the nation’s history and comes after a spate of other high-profile episodes of violence, including mass shootings this year at a Colorado movie theater, a Wisconsin temple and an Oregon shopping mall. The rampage in Connecticut left 28 dead, 20 of them children ages 5 to 10. The shooter then killed himself.
But although the tender age of the victims brought tears to President Barack Obama’s eyes and an assertion from him that “We’re going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics,” political observers from both parties were doubtful that anything major would be done.
“You think Social Security is the third rail of politics, try guns,” said a Republican strategist, who spoke on the condition that he not be named because of the sensitivity of the subject.
Congress, far from being inclined to tighten gun laws, allowed an assault weapons ban to lapse in 2004.
“You have Republicans getting a lot of push-back from the base on a number of issues, such as agreeing to tax increases and compromising on immigration. Throwing the Second Amendment and gun rights into the mix would be devastating to the party,” said a congressional Republican staffer, requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the issue.
Opposition comes not just from Republicans. A number of Democrats have been skittish about the issue, contending that Al Gore’s support for gun control cost him votes in rural states in the 2000 presidential election.
White House spokesman Jay Carney steered clear of the issue when asked about it Friday, saying it was a day for mourning, not policy debates. That stance immediately drew criticism from the left, and gun control advocates moved swiftly to ratchet up the pressure on Obama.
“If now is not the time to have a serious discussion about gun control … I don’t know when is,” said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y.
“President Obama rightly sent his heartfelt condolences to the families in Newtown. But the country needs him to send a bill to Congress,” New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said.
About 200 protesters appeared outside the White House, some carrying placards reading “Today: Sandy Hook. Tomorrow?” and calling for immediate action.
“Condolences don’t work,” said Pastor Michael McBridge of Oakland. What will work is “action now,” he said.
“We’ve had enough,” added Ladd Everitt of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., a leading gun control advocate who sponsored the now-lapsed federal ban on assault weapons, has said she plans to make a new effort to revive the measure.
Adam Lanza, whom sources identified as the school shooter, was armed with three semiautomatic weapons, all legally registered to his parents: a Bushmaster .223 rifle — similar to the military’s M-16 rifle — that he left in his mother’s car before the shooting, and a Sig Sauer pistol and a Glock 9-millimeter, according to a federal law enforcement source. The source described both as heavy-firepower weapons with rapid triggers.
“Both are able to inflict heavy damage,” said the source, who asked not to be named because the investigation is ongoing.
Brendan Daly, a former House Democratic leadership aide, was pessimistic that the latest shooting would lead to real change but hopeful it would at least lead to a debate about the nation’s gun laws.
“We have been through this too many times before — Columbine; Virginia Tech; Aurora, Colo., and so many others — and nothing has happened,” he said. “It is so frustrating. If we can’t act after a classroom of kindergartners was mowed down, I don’t know when we will. It will take real leadership from the president and the Congress to oppose the gun lobby.”
Phil English, a former Republican congressman from Pennsylvania, expects Congress to take up the issue of school safety but is more doubtful about major gun control legislation.
“We’ve already passed gun-free school legislation,” he said. “There has got to be a response to these incidents, but it probably should be a response other than putting old wine back in old bottles.”
Still, some advocates are hopeful that Obama will push more aggressively for gun control now that the November election is behind him.
Polls have shown the public divided over the issue. A survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press conducted after the July movie theater shooting in Aurora found no significant change in public opinion, with 47 percent of respondents saying it is more important to control gun ownership and 46% saying it is more important to protect gun rights.
A spokesman for the National Rifle Assn. declined to comment on gun control legislation “until the facts are thoroughly known.”
(Times staff writer Richard A. Serrano in Washington contributed to this report.)
Distributed by MCT Information Services
Gun control will do nothing to prevent this kind of tragedy. It is a knee jerk reaction to a horrific crime. There are thousands of ways to kill, guns are but just one. If a nut job is determined to kill kids, there is only so much we can do to protect them.
Agreed. No less horrific while numerically less tragic, it appears four people were sprayed with a flammable liquid and lit on fire in Denver yesterday. Gun control will not solve evil.
I’ve said it before, and I guess I’ll say it again: While gun control in it’s strictest form will not solve this issue, greater accountability of firearms will make it more difficult for some to obtain them.
I’m sorry to break the news to my 2nd Amendment Rights buddies, but some form of registration is the answer as with every tragedy the all out bans become far more palatable to the masses. Those who think registration will lead to “gun grabbing” need to come back to reality. Even if that was the case, registration is a step between today and the day “Big Brother” comes to collect your weapons (won’t ever come to be).
This senseless tragedy proves how vulnerable we are and how much faith we put in others for the protection of our loved ones. I guarantee that the person you saw this morning while brushing your teeth is the one most responsible for your personal safety and likely that of your family.
the guns used in this latest tragedy were legally owned and registered.
My comment was not specific to this tragedy alone. Would the shooter intent on murder have feared the legalities of possessing an illegal firearm? This possibly would have made them harder to obtain, but far from impossible. We must find a way to better assess people and ensure they’re receiving the care or treatment necessary to ensure their safety and that of the rest of the country.
If you are going to write some civilian prohibitions on gun ownership into law, how about curtailing some of the government’s firepower? We have by far, the largest military on the planet. Our police have far more military equipment and weaponry than any other country I dare say. One of the largest obstacles to your plan is that people on the right won’t go for it, mainly because they fear not having guns to use against a government gone crazy. Maybe, if on the other hand, gun grabbers like you took most of the government’s guns too. Gun grabbers think that guns belong in the hands of government. Okay, well tell that to the people of the Middle East countries Obama’s drones and guns, and Bush’s before him, have decimated.
There’s a reason Lanza was wearing military garb…..Our own government sets the example to follow.
Yes, the right to own weapons to accommodate a possible need for US citizens to take back our government is ridiculous in the extreme! The last time this was attempted, 1861-1865, it didn’t go very well for the rebels and today such action would be unthinkable in the extreme. Pondering such an idea is so ridiculous that it makes one laugh. I don’t care how many AK’s the militia has they aren’t going to come out on top. The only way to accomplish a major political change is through the democratic process of voting, not through civil war. Good grief! That said, I personally I have neither a pro nor con attitude towards gun ownership. I just wish people would be honest about why they own guns. Just as some other comments have suggested, I also wish potential and current owners were vetted more thoroughly before being allowed to exercise this perceived “right” to own guns. As far as I am concerned, gun owners who say they need their guns to take back Rights for Americans should be second only to mental and criminal reasons for losing this Right.
If you think I’m a gun grabber or remotely believe our government will ever be, you are sadly mistaken. I firmly believe that every law-abiding mentally stable American has the right to own as many firearms as they can afford and safely be responsible for. I also fear not my government taking my guns, for I’m certain if any of them are used to harm a soul, it’ll be completely justified. I know lots of police officers, soldiers and employees of all levels of government and am certain that thinking we will never be a police state where government personnel are used to disarm the citizens is totally irrational, as they too are American citizens. I am certain that it is I that has the ultimate responsibility for my safety. Not only does this include responsible firearms ownership, but smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, first aid equipment and training, etc…
would a person intent on murder fear the legalities of illegal possession? that statement renders your comment moot.criminals don’t care about laws.curtailing gun rights and creating new laws will accomplish nothing
My point is that if we as responsible gun owners do not submit to some reasonable measures that will make it more difficult to obtain firearms as freely, we will be forced to submit to far greater infringements on our rights. The days of not meeting anyone near the middle have begun to bite us in many facets of our lives.
A system that ensures all firearms sales are vetted through the national background check system would prevent transfer from legal owners to those not allowed to possess. A system that holds the owner accountable for the whereabouts of their firearms would make people more likely to ensure their safety. We will never stop the under the radar law abiding citizen that suddenly snaps.
If you hadn’t noticed these incidents are changing many minds. Those who were once ambivalent are more likely to be pro-ban. Those who are not gun owners are likely to vote pro-ban. Please explain to me in rational terms how registration and closed gun show loopholes adversely affects law abiding gunowners?
So we are to just sit back and be slaughtered because it’s all legal?
Legal or not it’s becoming a weekly event that nuts with guns are killing us and our families. I guess it’s good to know is all due to legally owned and registered assault weapons. I feel better now.
it is the nuts that kill people,twisting what i said does not change the fact that the crime was committed by a person,not an object. society is crumbling morals and values becoming quaint notions this is where our problem lies,a gasoline bomb or crude chemical weapon could have just as easily killed as many. if you think the weapon is the problem and not the symptom think again
I’m not twisting anything just stating a fact, I’m a gun owner and love target shooting.
I think the entire SYSTEM IS DOWN. Lets take the NRA crap out of the argument ….. whats left? Look at from that perspective, we gota be able to do better than this.
I find it highly unlikely that any new gun control measures will result from this tragedy. What I hope to see is significant movement in treating, monitoring and controlling the mentally ill, to prevent them from inflicting such tragedies in the future.
the murderer who perpetrated this tragedy would have had access to the weapons because his mother did everything right but she did not secure them from the mentally unstable/undeveloped son.they were registered they were legal they still were used to murder babies.we have to look deeper into our culture,not the weapons.registration only allows us to trace the weapons not deter the crime
We love everything military in this country. Our government, with its military budget that outspends the next 14 countries combined, our use of indefinite detainment of people without charges, our new ways of spying, our endless bombing and occupation of other lands, even using robotic aircraft to destroy the huts of women and children all to get one possible “enemy combatant”, our militarization of police departments nationwide with paramilitary weapons, uniforms, and even vehicles. Our government sets an example that young people, already living in a fantasy world of electronics, games, and whatnot, but denied real community because most all of our communities are no longer communities with real civic ties, cannot help but be impressed by the government’s military example. It’s no accident Lanza was wearing military garb as he sees it all around him thanks to our government, video games, and Hollywood. Now toss in some mental illness…..
Wow! Sounds like you would be happier somewhere else. All that crap about;
“our use of indefinite detainment of people without charges, our new ways
of spying, our endless bombing and occupation of other lands, even
using robotic aircraft to destroy the huts of women and children”
Where have I heard this drivel before……hmmmm, oh, I remember, al qaeda propagandist’s thats where…
Time to face the music …… whatever system that is supposed to be in place is completely broken and we’ll continue to be slaughtered by nuts with assault weapons until someone with any brains still left in their heads does something about it.
A federal law making ‘gun-free zones’ illegal might save a few lives. Almost all of these mass shootings happen in such zones of opportunity.
I’m a mother and a concealed carry permit holder. They just didn’t give me a gun and premitt, it cost me a lot of money & took homeland secuirity training class. I carry a .380 semi-auto pistol everyday. I don’t go around shooting up schools or threating other people. But if i am out with my family at a mall and some wacko attacks. I like the fact I have a option to protect my family and myself. Sick people don’t need guns to kill people. yesterday in China a madman with a knife hurt 22 children and killed a teacher its on the CBS dot com web site, Perhaps we need to ban knifes too. there is a reason our forefathers put in the 2 amendment rights in our constitution to own and bare arms. Because its important for citizens to protect themselves. from foreign and domestic threats. its not the 10th amendment or the 5th amendment But it’s our second amendment right, right after freedom of speech, our rights and freedoms have been slowly eroded away with the excuse because its to protect us from terrorism and domestic violence, which is even more reason for responsible citizens need to own and bare arms. Please people don’t be info fed sheep, learn your history before wanting to take guns from law abiding citizens and not go by some over inflated statistics, from some politician from another country . This is a different age than it was 50 years ago. We need to have things to protect our children now that we didn’t , such as armed security guards & teachers in school, and greater police presence. and better mental health treatments, Ben Franklin stated once
“Those who give up freedom for security , deserves neither freedom nor security” ~
So I say to those who want to control or take guns from law abiding Americans, please MOVE to a country that is not allowed their citizens to have guns.
So armed security guards & teachers in school, and greater police presence is going to maker us freer? And when the same thing starts to happen in the big box stores and 7-11s do the same thing there? Better rethink who the fed sheep are as we move to your total police state of freedom.
I rather have my kids protected in school with a armed security guard or a trained teacher with a concealed gun permit in their schoolsm Rather than a wacko gun man with nothing in place to stop him. Having trained people to use a tool(like a gun) doesn’t not mean you loose your freedom. it means it secures that others with ill intent to harm others can’t.
No body just give you a gun & a permit to carry it in public places, if you think that then try to go buy one and carry it in the State of Maine. Maine has one of the stricter gun controls laws in the nation 2nd to California, for conceal carry permit holder. and we DO NOT honor any other states CCW’s But other states honor ours
But I got one for you though, if you don’t like our constitution and the second amendment rights, please by all means MOVE to the UK or France. and see if you like it there better where only the criminals & terrorist have guns and everyone else is screwed.
I happen to like our constitution they way it is, and the ability to have the option to protect my children and myself from crazy people, the world is not getting any safer. what are you going to do when a gun man attacks you throw marshmallows at him….lol
That’s nice ….. now’s when the twilight zone music queues up.
In my experience the people that fear a “total police state” really just have a reason to fear the police. Lots of cops does not a “police state” make. But no matter how many we have, they’ll always be reactive in overall nature, in that someone must commit the crime before they can make the arrest. Locking schools to keep out people who are not there for legitimate school business is not an infringement on rights, but in fact a reasonable method to limiting access to those whom are most vulnerable. Arming teachers seems to fly in the face of the types of people I know who are teachers, so that’s not really even an idea with much merit.
We the people of this country have always own and used firearms. This is not a gun problems, as some want to believe. This is a society problem that we have spent the last thirty years developing.
SO sit back and let the slaughter continue? It is a gun problem when a nut gets hold of an assault weapon .
And your answer to the problem is? A gallon of gas and a match could have done the same thing. Do we take away the alcohol(we now how that worked) or maybe the cars to stop drunken drives who kill thousands each year.
I’m not pretending to have the answer as you guys are pretending to. All I know is a lot of Innocent people are getting slaughtered and and it seems to be ok as long as the guns are legally registered everything is good. Instead of addressing the problem of nuts having assault weapons.
No one said it was OK. What being said is the problem is much bigger then just guns. But some people want to go with what they think is the simple answer.
I’ve yet to see someone say they have an answer. Most everyone understand there is no one answer, yet many ideas that may improve the situation, most of which cost money and loss of levels of freedom, neither of which most of us are willing to part with readily.
With every argument that pits American’s against each other, we as a country get a little weaker. Religion, politics, fiscal responsibility, world politics, wars, guns, mental health, healthcare, welfare, same sex marriage, you name it, we can’t agree or even remotely entertain the other point of view. This doesn’t bode well for us in the future.
I disagree about the answers, many are saying if we arm teachers and put police in schools we’ll be moving in the right direction, delusional thinking.
It’s a no win situation and you are right we’re hosed whatever we do, which makes me think it’s designed that way on purpose. Mention the 2nd amendment or NRA a war starts or put police at every door and corner to stem the shooting and welcome to our police state of freedom.
I am somewhat fearful that the targets will become the mentally ill after reading the profile of the gunman. As always a balanced approach to solving the gun violence issue will have to be used to get beyond all of the political rhetoric.