Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Lawmakers open to new gun laws

Dec. 18, 2012

Pro-gun Anti-Constituional lawmakers open to new gun laws

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Pro-gun lawmakers said they were open to new gun laws as Newtown, Conn., schools were to reopen, except where 20 first-graders and six adults were killed.

Police separately said 20-year-old Adam Lanza, the alleged gunman who killed himself during the shootings, destroyed a computer in his home, so authorities may not be able to get much or any information from it, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Investigators had considered this action a clue into the killer's state of mind, the Journal said.

The FBI and Connecticut's state forensic laboratory are trying to recover data from the computer, a law enforcement official told The New York Times.

All of Newtown's schools were to reopen Tuesday, except for Sandy Hook Elementary School where the mass killing occurred, school officials said.

The Sandy Hook staff and students will eventually be moved to a school that had been mothballed in Monroe, about 10 miles southeast of Newtown, the Hartford Courant reported.

Newtown police, along with police from surrounding communities and state troopers, were to be present at the Newtown schools when they open, two hours later than usual.

On Capitol Hill, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, called for a commission to study the shootings, but said it should include mental-health issues and "certainly can't be a debate just about guns."

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., called for a "comprehensive study of our laws'' aimed at preventing further shooting tragedies, possibly including measures to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and people with mental illnesses.

Pro-gun Democratic lawmakers saying they were pen to new gun laws included Sen. Joe Manchin and Rep. Nick Rahall of West Virginia, Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia and Rep. Joe Donnelly of Indiana, who will replace retiring GOP Sen. Dick Lugar in the new Congress next month.

Manchin, who has an "A" rating from the National Rifle Association, told MSNBC assault rifles weren't needed for hunting.

"It's time to move beyond rhetoric" on weapons restrictions, he said.

Warner, who also has strong NRA backing, called the school shootings "a game changer" and called for "stricter rules on the books" regarding guns.

Donnelly told CNN: "You know, I'm a Dad too. My kids are a little older now, but I think of when they were 6 and 7 years old, and I think we have a responsibility to make sure this never happens again."

Senate Majority Harry Reid" class="tpstyle">Senator Harry Reid, D-Nev., a longstanding gun-rights supporter, was quoted by The New York Times as saying, "In the coming days and weeks, we will engage in a meaningful conversation and thoughtful debate about how to change laws and culture that allow violence to grow."

NRA leaders have been silent since the shootings and declined many media interview requests.

President Barack Obama met with Vice President Joe Biden and Cabinet officials Attorney General Eric Holder, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Education Secretary Arne Duncan to "begin looking at ways the country can respond to the tragedy in Newtown," the White House said.

The White House offered no details about what they spoke about.

No comments: