On the morning of December 142012while classes were underway at Sandy Hook Elementary School in NewtownConnecticuttwenty year old Adam Lanza walked into the school and began shooting with assault weapons. Before the shooting at the elementary schoolLanza killed his motherNancy Lanzaat home where he was able to get three weapons – a semiautomatic assault rifleand two handheld pistols. Upon entering Sandy Hookhe first shot and killed the principal and school psychologist. He then opened firekilling twenty first graders and three more faculty membersbefore killing himself.

The Sandy Hook shooting is the second deadliest school shooting in US historyafter the Virginia Tech shooting in April 2007. It is also the second deadliest elementary school massacre after the 1927 Bath School Bombings in Michigan. This shooting was a chilling reminder to the nation of the Columbine shooting in 1999 and sparked controversyrenewing debate over the nation’s gun control laws. President Obama said that during his second termgun control would be a central issue; this statement was affirmed when he named Vice President Joe Biden to lead a Gun Violence Task Force in order to address the causes of gun violence. In CongressSenators Dianne Feinstein and Joe Lieberman called for a bill that banned assault riflescausing outcry from advocates of gun rights. President Obama has also announced other proposals for gun controlin a speech one month after the Sandy Hook shootingwhich included universal background checks on firearms purchasesan assault weapons banand limiting magazines to ten cartridges.

 

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