Coming up Wednesday
President Obama, Newtown families reiterate call to action on stricter gun control
Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama tried to shame the nation and Congress into action against gun violence Thursday, saying it is time to pass new laws after the tears and grief of tragedies like the Newtown massacre in December that killed 20 first-graders.
"We need everybody to remember how we felt 100 days ago and make sure that what we said at that time wasn't just a bunch of platitudes, that we meant it," Obama said at a White House event on a national day of action by supporters of tougher gun laws.
Victoria Soto was among the teachers who lost their lives in the Sandy Hook massacre. Her younger sister Jillian appeared in a new ad from Mayors Against Illegal Guns. She talks with Soledad on "Starting Point" this morning about the push for stricter gun control laws.
PBS documentary sheds new light on Newtown shooter Adam Lanza – Producer Frank Koughan explains
A new PBS documentary is shedding light Adam Lanza, the man behind the horrific shooting massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut. Frank Koughan, writer and producer of "Raising Adam Lanza," talks with Soledad on "Starting Point" this morning to talk about what he learned from interviews with family and friend, and shares some of the biggest revelations of Lanza's life.
Newtown school superintendent discusses the children's return to school
After being relocated to a new building, the children of Sandy Hook elementary school have been back in class for the past eleven days.
Teachers have been trying to make the new location feel as familiar as possible, bringing in belongings that the children left behind when they fled the scene of the mass shooting on December 14th.
"By and large, we are doing everything we can to supply normalcy to their lives," Newtown Superintendent Janet Robinson says on Starting Point this morning. "I think it's a good thing to have the kids back in school. They like the routine and the structure."
Robinson says that there will be "community action to determine what the public community wants to do with the Sandy Hook school."
"It's been there for fifty years and it's become a part of the fabric of our community," Robinson explains.
The Superintendent has been working to make sure that what happens in Newtown never happens again, and she took her message to Washington this week.
Testifying before a Congressional hearing on gun violence, Robinson read a letter from a Sandy Hook fourth grader, who argues for a ban on semi-automatic and large capacity magazines "to help prevent individuals, families and communities from suffering the way we are now in Newtown."
"We want to be able to guarantee that children are safe when they get on the bus and come to school," Robinson says. "We want support in terms of knowing that we aren't going to have intruders that will infringe upon [the kids'] safety."
Fmr. Rep. Mack: Problems we're seeing in Washington is because there's no trust
One month ago today, a gunman killed 20 young children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut.
As a result of that tragedy, the White House put Vice President Joe Biden in charge of a commission to find ways to stop gun violence. On Tuesday, Biden is expected to deliver recommendations from his task force to President Barack Obama.
But the biggest question is whether lawmakers will be able to come together to pass any of the recommendations from the Vice President's office.
This morning former Congressman Connie Mack (R-FL) joins “Starting Point” to discuss the latest on gun politics.
Families gather to support Newtown residents on one month anniversary after Sandy Hook Elementary shooting
On Tuesday, Vice President Joe Biden's gun violence task force is expected to make its recommendations to President Barack Obama. This will come a day after the one month mark after the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in Newtown, CT.
Today, a group of Newtown residents called "Sandy Hook Promise" plan to unveil a national grass-roots initiative to reduce gun violence. The group will be joined by families of victims and survivors of other shootings.
This includes the parents of Christina-Taylor Green who was killed while attending Fmr. Congresswoman Gabby Gifford's "Congress on Your Corner" event. Her mother Roxanna Green started a foundation to honor her daughter's memory and has also done some work with the group “Mayors Against Illegal Guns.”
This morning, Green joins “Starting Point” to discuss the one-month marking of the Newtown shooting and what can be done to reduce gun violence.
Brownstein: Gun control 'divides the country exactly in half'
Vice President Joe Biden is preparing his final recommendations for President Obama on reducing gun violence that he will deliver Tuesday.
Biden is expected to recommend universal background checks and limiting high-capacity magazines as well as encouraging more research into the links between violent media and gun violence. The Vice President is also likely to suggest stronger mental health checks.
CNN's Senior Political Analyst and Editorial Director of The "National Journal" Ron Brownstein joins “Starting Point” to discuss the politics of gun regulations.
CT Sen. Murphy: NRA 'fundamentally out of step' with Americans, Newtown will never be the same
It has been exactly one-month since the massacre in Newtown, CT where 20 children and six adults were gunned down at the Sandy Hook Elementary school. The fate of the school building itself is a delicate subject which was debated at a public forum last night.
The shooting has also sparked a national debate over guns and gun violence, with Vice President Joe Biden vowing to deliver recommendations by Tuesday to President Obama on curbing gun violence. Newtown was part of the district of then Congressman Chris Murphy.
This morning, Murphy, a newly-elected Connecticut Democratic Senator joins “Starting Point” to explain how Newtown residents are coping since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. He also explains why he thinks the National Rifle Association is out of step with American opinion on guns.
VA Tech, Tucson shooting survivors support Newtown residents in 'Sandy Hook Promise' initiative to reduce gun violence
Vice President Joe Biden will meet with members of the House of Representatives as part of the task force he is heading up on reducing gun violence. The task force is expected to make its recommendations to President Barack Obama on Tuesday, a day after the one month mark of the Newtown School Shooting.
Today a group of Newtown residents called "Sandy Hook Promise" plan to unveil a national grass-roots initiative to reduce gun violence. The group will be joined by families of victims and survivors of other shootings including Colin Goddard and Pam Simon.
Goddard, who was shot during the Virginia Tech massacre, now works for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Simon was shot during the "Congress on Your Corner" event in Tucson, Arizona and is involved with "Demand a Plan," a gun reform advocacy group.
Goddard and Simon join “Starting Point” this morning to discuss their plan for curbing gun violence.
Newtown one month later: Searching for healing, answers while the investigation continues
EDITOR'S NOTE: Soledad reports from Newtown, CT on Monday, Jan. 14th, to report on how residents are coping one month after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. Starting Point 7aET.
From CNN National Correspondent Susan Candiotti and Ross Levitt
One month after the Sandy Hook tragedy, investigators remain hard at work analyzing evidence and looking for a possible motive.
It will be May at the earliest before a final report is complete, according to police.
Adam Lanza was wearing ear plugs when he shot and killed 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary last December 14th.
"We have no idea why," Connecticut State Police Lieutenant Paul Vance told CNN. Investigators may never know, he added.
Shooters at gun ranges often wear ear protection to muffle noise. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says the shooter and his mother did target shooting at gun ranges over the course of several years and went to at least one range together. Lanza fatally shot his mother, Nancy Lanza, at their home before he went to the school that day.
Vance also confirmed the shooter used "several" high capacity magazines, each carrying 30-rounds during the course of the mass murder. Each magazine for the AR-15 style semi-automatic made by Bushmaster was only partially used. Vance says the killer reloaded time and again. Investigators have been working to determine whether the gun jammed or whether Lanza had another reason to reload repeatedly.
Investigators would not say how many bullets were fired or exactly how many magazines were used.
About a week ago, authorities returned control of Sandy Hook Elementary school to Newtown. A barricade prevents outside traffic from driving past the school.
It remains shuttered.
Vance told CNN the shooter's home also is no longer an active crime scene.
Blogger publishes journalists’ home addresses after N.Y. paper posts map of gun permit owners' addresses
A New York based newspaper has sparked outrage this morning after its decision to publish a map pinpointing the addresses of people with gun permits. Published in The Journal News, which is based in White Plains, New York, the map shows homes where public records indicate someone living there holds a gun permit. It was part of an article called "The Gun Owner Next Door," and the newspaper says the information shown came from public records. It has readers online furious. Blogger Christopher Fountain is one of those readers, and he decided to strike back by posting the home address of most of the leadership and staff of The Journal News.
Fountain, who is a gun owner, says that The Journal News defended publishing the gun permit owners' addresses for safety purposes, but Fountain disagrees with the correlation between gun ownership and gun violence. He tells "Starting Point" that he decided to post the journalists' information because he felt that the newspaper "was bullying gun owners by conflating ... West Chester County gun owners with a horrible incident in Newtown, Connecticut ... one has nothing to do with the other." He adds, "I felt that they were using this to harass gun owners ... so I harassed them back."
Fountain's blog, "For What It's Worth", can be found at christopherfountain.wordpress.com
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