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| Obama under gun control pressure amid new details of Newtown assault | Obama under gun control pressure amid new details of Newtown assault |
| (12 days later) | |
| Barack Obama is under intensifying pressure to take the lead in a campaign for greater gun control following the disclosure by police that the Newtown gunman used a semi-automatic assault rifle equipped with "numerous" high-capacity magazines holding hundreds of bullets to carry out his massacre of young children. | Barack Obama is under intensifying pressure to take the lead in a campaign for greater gun control following the disclosure by police that the Newtown gunman used a semi-automatic assault rifle equipped with "numerous" high-capacity magazines holding hundreds of bullets to carry out his massacre of young children. |
| Connecticut state police confirmed the identity of the killer on Sunday as Adam Lanza, 20, and revealed that he carried out his dreadful killing spree of 20 six- and seven-year-olds and six adults in Sandy Hook elementary school using a Bushmaster semi-automatic assault rifle. Lanza also carried several high-capacity magazines each holding 30 rounds, with police confirming they found hundreds of bullets at the scene. | Connecticut state police confirmed the identity of the killer on Sunday as Adam Lanza, 20, and revealed that he carried out his dreadful killing spree of 20 six- and seven-year-olds and six adults in Sandy Hook elementary school using a Bushmaster semi-automatic assault rifle. Lanza also carried several high-capacity magazines each holding 30 rounds, with police confirming they found hundreds of bullets at the scene. |
| Lanza also carried several high-capacity magazines for the Glock and Sig Sauer handguns that he brought with him to the school, said lieutenant Paul Vance of the Connecticut state police. He used one the handguns to kill himself, said Vance, who also confirmed that he had killed his mother Nancy before going to the school. | Lanza also carried several high-capacity magazines for the Glock and Sig Sauer handguns that he brought with him to the school, said lieutenant Paul Vance of the Connecticut state police. He used one the handguns to kill himself, said Vance, who also confirmed that he had killed his mother Nancy before going to the school. |
| The emerging details explain how Lanza managed to kill so many people in a relatively short period, believed to be under 10 minutes, before police arrived. | The emerging details explain how Lanza managed to kill so many people in a relatively short period, believed to be under 10 minutes, before police arrived. |
| The fact that he was armed with an assault weapon – understood to belong to his mother – and large-capacity magazines adds to the building pressure for action on gun control from Obama, who is due to attend a vigil in Newtown on Sunday night. | The fact that he was armed with an assault weapon – understood to belong to his mother – and large-capacity magazines adds to the building pressure for action on gun control from Obama, who is due to attend a vigil in Newtown on Sunday night. |
| New York mayor Michael Bloomberg and leading US senators pressed the president on Sunday to tell Congress to reinstate a ban on assault weapons which are common to almost all recent mass shootings in the US, including Friday's tragedy in Connecticut. | New York mayor Michael Bloomberg and leading US senators pressed the president on Sunday to tell Congress to reinstate a ban on assault weapons which are common to almost all recent mass shootings in the US, including Friday's tragedy in Connecticut. |
| Bloomberg, while welcoming Obama's tearful reaction to the deaths, called on him to make the issue a priority. The president has faced accusations of political cowardice over his failure to tackle gun control following other massacres. | Bloomberg, while welcoming Obama's tearful reaction to the deaths, called on him to make the issue a priority. The president has faced accusations of political cowardice over his failure to tackle gun control following other massacres. |
| "It's time for the president to stand up and lead and tell the country what we should do. Not go to Congress and say: what do you guys want to do? This should be his number one agenda. He's the president of the United States and if he does nothing during his second term, something like 48,000 Americans will be killed with illegal guns. That's is roughly the number of Americans killed during the whole Vietnam war," said Bloomberg, on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday. | "It's time for the president to stand up and lead and tell the country what we should do. Not go to Congress and say: what do you guys want to do? This should be his number one agenda. He's the president of the United States and if he does nothing during his second term, something like 48,000 Americans will be killed with illegal guns. That's is roughly the number of Americans killed during the whole Vietnam war," said Bloomberg, on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday. |
| The mayor called for a renewal of the assault weapons ban that president Bill Clinton pushed through Congress in 1994, which also included restrictions on the size of bullet magazines. The Bush administration allowed it to lapse a decade later. Police say that the Newtown killer, Adam Lanza, used a semi-automatic rifle and two handguns. | The mayor called for a renewal of the assault weapons ban that president Bill Clinton pushed through Congress in 1994, which also included restrictions on the size of bullet magazines. The Bush administration allowed it to lapse a decade later. Police say that the Newtown killer, Adam Lanza, used a semi-automatic rifle and two handguns. |
| "I don't think the founding fathers had the idea that every man, woman and child could carry an assault weapon," said Bloomberg. "I think the president through his leadership could get a bill like that through Congress, but at least he's got to try." | "I don't think the founding fathers had the idea that every man, woman and child could carry an assault weapon," said Bloomberg. "I think the president through his leadership could get a bill like that through Congress, but at least he's got to try." |
| The issue of high-capacity magazines is also now likely to form a large part of the strengthening debate around gun controls. As with semi-automatic rifles, the magazines have been a feature of virtually all the most horrendous gun rampages in recent times, including the Aurora cinema shooting in July in which the suspect James Holmes carried an extended 100-round magazine drum capable of firing 60 times a minute; the drum jammed, otherwise the death toll of 12 might have been much higher. | The issue of high-capacity magazines is also now likely to form a large part of the strengthening debate around gun controls. As with semi-automatic rifles, the magazines have been a feature of virtually all the most horrendous gun rampages in recent times, including the Aurora cinema shooting in July in which the suspect James Holmes carried an extended 100-round magazine drum capable of firing 60 times a minute; the drum jammed, otherwise the death toll of 12 might have been much higher. |
| Six states – California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey and New York – as well as Washington DC have restrictions in place on high-capacity magazines. Democrats in the US Senate are considering debating a federal ban on any magazines with more than 10 rounds, possibly as early as next week. | Six states – California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey and New York – as well as Washington DC have restrictions in place on high-capacity magazines. Democrats in the US Senate are considering debating a federal ban on any magazines with more than 10 rounds, possibly as early as next week. |
| Senator Dianne Feinstein, an influential Democrat, also said she intended to introduce legislation to reinstate the assault weapons ban on the first day the new Congress sits, in January. | Senator Dianne Feinstein, an influential Democrat, also said she intended to introduce legislation to reinstate the assault weapons ban on the first day the new Congress sits, in January. |
| "It will ban the sale, the transfer, the importation and the possession, not retroactively, but prospectively," she said "The purpose of this bill is to get … weapons of war off the streets." | "It will ban the sale, the transfer, the importation and the possession, not retroactively, but prospectively," she said "The purpose of this bill is to get … weapons of war off the streets." |
| The White House on Sunday said the president supported the reinstatement of a federal ban on assault weapons – a commitment he made during his 2008 election campaign but has not pushed since. Gun control advocates also say Obama has shied away from using the powers he has to restrict the import of semi-automatic weapons and magazines that hold large numbers of bullets. | The White House on Sunday said the president supported the reinstatement of a federal ban on assault weapons – a commitment he made during his 2008 election campaign but has not pushed since. Gun control advocates also say Obama has shied away from using the powers he has to restrict the import of semi-automatic weapons and magazines that hold large numbers of bullets. |
| Connecticut senator Richard Blumenthal, a former federal prosecutor and state attorney general for 20 years, backed Feinstein. | Connecticut senator Richard Blumenthal, a former federal prosecutor and state attorney general for 20 years, backed Feinstein. |
| "I'm hearing from the community, as well as my colleagues in law enforcement, we need to do something," he said. "And I'm hearing from my colleagues in the Senate around the country, some in states like Wisconsin and Colorado, where there have been similar horrific, horrible tragedies, maybe not involving children with this kind of incomprehensible kind of circumstance, but we need to do something, at the very least, perhaps, about the high-capacity magazines that were used in this crime. I intend to talk about it on the floor of the United States Senate perhaps as early as this week." | "I'm hearing from the community, as well as my colleagues in law enforcement, we need to do something," he said. "And I'm hearing from my colleagues in the Senate around the country, some in states like Wisconsin and Colorado, where there have been similar horrific, horrible tragedies, maybe not involving children with this kind of incomprehensible kind of circumstance, but we need to do something, at the very least, perhaps, about the high-capacity magazines that were used in this crime. I intend to talk about it on the floor of the United States Senate perhaps as early as this week." |
| The debate has also widened to include questions about treatment of the mentally ill, another factor common to most recent mass killings in America. Joe Lieberman, another Connecticut senator, called for a national commission to examine America's gun laws and mental health system as well as the role violent video games and movies have in mass shootings. | The debate has also widened to include questions about treatment of the mentally ill, another factor common to most recent mass killings in America. Joe Lieberman, another Connecticut senator, called for a national commission to examine America's gun laws and mental health system as well as the role violent video games and movies have in mass shootings. |
| "We've got to hear the screams of these kids and see their blood to keep this from happening again," he said. | "We've got to hear the screams of these kids and see their blood to keep this from happening again," he said. |
| Pro-gun rights politicians have gone to ground. NBC's Meet the Press said it had invited the 31 senators, Republican and Democrat, who openly oppose stricter gun control laws to appear on the programme with Bloomberg and Feinstein. None accepted. | Pro-gun rights politicians have gone to ground. NBC's Meet the Press said it had invited the 31 senators, Republican and Democrat, who openly oppose stricter gun control laws to appear on the programme with Bloomberg and Feinstein. None accepted. |
| The National Rifle Association, the largest and most influential of the gun rights lobby groups, has been similarly silent since the massacre. But others in the movement are pushing back. | The National Rifle Association, the largest and most influential of the gun rights lobby groups, has been similarly silent since the massacre. But others in the movement are pushing back. |
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