Days after what is being called the second worst school shooting in U.S. history in Connecticut, the move for new legislation on gun control has begun.
The White House and members of Congress are calling for stricter gun control on assault-style weapons and large ammunition magazines after 20 children and six adults were killed in a mass shooting Friday by a gunman who forced his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., armed with a .223 caliber semiautomatic weapon and opened fire on students and faculty.
While the federal government banned assault weapons in 1994, the ban expired in 2004 and was never renewed. And politicians have been unwilling to touch the topic, one staunchly fought over by gun-rights special interest groups.
During a memorial service for the victims at Newtown High School in Newtown on Sunday, President Obama renewed the call for gun control.
"As a country, we have been through this too many times," said the president at a memorial service for the victims the evening of Dec. 16 at the Newtown High School in Newtown. "Whether it's an elementary school in Newtown, or a shopping mall in Oregon, or a temple in Wisconsin, or a movie theater in Aurora, or a street corner in Chicago -- these neighborhoods are our neighborhoods, and these children are our children. And we're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics."
President Obama vowed Sunday that his office would work with his law enforcement officials, mental health professionals, parents and educators in the coming weeks to prevent a similar tragedy from occurring.
Several other legislators have come forward this week with similar feelings.
"I think we could be at a tipping point ... a tipping point where we might actually get something done," said New York Senator Chuck Schumer on CBS' "Face the Nation."
Connectict Senator Joe Lieberman said Sunday that it was time for the nation to take a deeper look at al the mass shootings in order to see what could be done to prevent similar things from happening again. One possibility, he said, could be forming a new commission that examines gun laws, violence in movies and video games, and the mental health system.
"Assault weapons were developed for the U.S. military, not commercial gun manufacturers," Lieberman said Sunday, adding that this was the time for the country to have a "very serious national conversation about violence in our society, particularly about these acts of mass violence."
California Senator Dianne Feinstein is also planning to re-propose her plan to ban assault weapons, considered useless for hunting or self-defense, once the Senate reconvenes.
Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy noted that the guns used by the shooter were all purchased by the shooter's mother, Nancy Lanza, who was believed to be among the first victims of the gunman's rampage.
"These are assault weapons. You don't hunt deer with these things," he said in an interview on CNN.
"Connecticut has a pretty aggressive law - probably of the 50 states I think we're ranked 4th most aggressive in trying to limit access to these kinds of weapons," he said.
While pro-gun groups such as the National Rifle Association have been mostly silent since the shooting, some opponents of gun control have come out suggesting that restrictions on assault rifles were not the option, and that the shooting in Connecticut could have in fact been avoided if school personnel were armed.
In an interview with Fox News Sunday, Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, said that Sandy Hook Elementary School principal Dawn Hochsprung, who authorities say was killed in a struggle with the shooter, should have been armed with a gun herself at the time.
"Chris, I wish to God she had had an m-4 in her office, locked up so when she heard gunfire, she pulls it out ... and takes him out and takes his head off before he can kill those precious kids," Gohmert said.
"The facts are that every time guns have been allowed - conceal-carry (gun laws) have been allowed - the crime rate has gone down," Gohmert added.
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