• Pro-gun Dems warm to tighter laws, but GOP stays silent

    On Monday several members of Congress have said they are open to restrictions on assault weapons, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg insisted it's time to take action. NBC's Tom Costello reports.

    By Michael O'Brien, NBC News

     

    Updated 4:36 p.m. - A handful of pro-gun Democrats showed signs of willingness to consider strengthening regulations on firearms in the aftermath of last week’s elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn.

    But that might not mean anything without the cooperation of Republicans, whose senior leaders and rank-and-file members have been mute about their interest in cooperating in a legislative effort to curb gun violence, making the prospects for any new, federal gun law unclear.

    After President Barack Obama vowed at a vigil Sunday evening in Newtown to lead “an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this,” several Democrats with long track records of supporting gun rights said they would be willing to consider new proposals, like renewing the ban on assault weapons or limiting the capacity of ammunition magazines that are available for sale.

    "Anyone saying they don't want to talk and sit down and have that type of dialogue is wrong," West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, D, said Monday morning on MSNBC. "Everything should be on the table."

    If gun laws are going to be changed, advocates will have to overcome past opposition from strong NRA supporters in Congress. Sen. Joe Manchin, a lifelong member of the National Rifle Association, D-W.V., discusses.

    That pronouncement carries a degree of weight, considering the source. Manchin has won endorsements and support from the National Rifle Association during his career, and even appeared in a 2010 campaign ad shooting a copy of the cap-and-trade environmental regulatory bill.

    Another West Virginia Democrat, Rep. Nick Rahall, also suggested he was interested in action.

    "As a lifelong defender of the Second Amendment, I believe that gun safety is essential, but, so is addressing the gaps in our mental health system and the issue of drugs and violence in our culture and prayer in our schools," he said in a statement. "Let us act deliberately, but, for the sake of too many already lost, let us act."

    A Kentucky Democrat, Rep. John Yarmouth, a prior proponent of an assault weapons ban who hails from a Republican-leaning state, went so far as to apologize to the 27 victims of the Newtown shooting on Monday for not having pushed harder for new laws.

    “I have been largely silent on the issue of gun violence over the past six years, and I am now as sorry for that as I am for what happened to the families who lost so much in this most recent, but sadly not isolated, tragedy,” he said in a statement.

    NBC News' Chuck Todd joins a conversation on the Newtown shooting and what the political response may be. Will the president tackle gun reform in a second term? Todd thinks it could be possible.

    And Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat who has had an “A” rating from the NRA, called the Connecticut shooting a “game changer” in terms of gun control.

    “I join with the president – and, I think reasonable people in both parties and the overwhelming majority of Americans who are gun owners who believe that we’ve got to put stricter rules on the books,” he told a CBS affiliate in Richmond.

    One of the reasons major gun legislation hasn’t advanced through Congress in recent years is the increased number of gun-friendly Democrats elected from swing districts and more culturally conservative states. The influx of these pro-gun Democrats made new gun control regulations a virtual impossibility.

    But no Republican leader – so far – has joined this Democratic chorus in calling for stricter control of guns in the aftermath of the Newtown massacre. And a new poll, conducted in the aftermath of the Connecticut incident and released on Monday, showed that opinion on gun laws had only shifted marginally in the days following this most recent mass shooting.

    Fifty-four percent of Americans said in a Washington Post/ABC News poll released Monday that they favor stricter gun control laws – a slight uptick in the poll numbers preceding Newtown, but hardly near the 67 percent who favored tighter gun control in May 1999, following the massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado. And more Americans – 49 percent – said the most effective way to curb gun violence is through enforcing existing laws, versus 32 percent who favor passing new laws.

    That said, 52 percent of Americans now believe that the recent shootings are emblematic of larger problems in society, a sea change from July 2012, when 67 percent of Americans, in the aftermath of the movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colo., said recent mass shootings were more likely the isolated acts of troubled individuals.

    In the meanwhile, Democrats are girding for a potential fight in Congress next year over guns after California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D, said will introduce new legislation on the first day of the next Congress to reinstate the assault weapons ban, which lapsed in 2004. Other Democrats have discussed including rules to limit the capacity of ammunition magazines, or to address mental health.

    One pro-gun Democrat who faces re-election in 2014, Alaska Sen. Mark Begich, emphasized mental health in a statement Monday and sidestepped any mention of guns. 

    "After multiple tragedies across the country, there is no doubt that we must do more to keep our families and communities safe and that is why I believe we must start with the ever-pressing issue of mental health services in this country," he said.

    Feinstein said Monday on MSNBC that she had called the president this morning to enlist his support for her bill, but hadn’t heard back.

    "I'd like to talk to him about his help in moving forward with this,” she said.

  • Obama vows action on gun violence: 'These tragedies must end'

    Speaking at a vigil for families of the victims and other students from Sandy Hook Elementary, President Obama says, "God has called them all home. For those of us who remain, let us find the strength to carry on." Watch his entire speech.

    By Michael O'Brien, NBC News

     

    President Barack Obama vowed to marshal the power of his office behind a nationwide effort to curb gun violence following an elementary school massacre last week in Newtown, Conn.

    The president, speaking Sunday evening at an interfaith vigil in Newtown, said that the United States is "left with some hard questions" following the mass shooting, which left 20 children, seven adults and the suspected shooter dead.

    He used the speech to lay down a marker, vowing to take action to address gun violence amid yet another high-profile mass shooting in his presidency.

    "We can't tolerate this anymore," Obama said. "These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change."

    "In the coming weeks I'll use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens … in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this," he said.

    Obama offered no specifics as to what type action he might take or legislation he might seek to address these incidences of violence. A top Senate Democrat said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" that she would introduce legislation on the first day of the new Congress next year to re-institute a ban on assault weapons, something which Obama has previously endorsed but not actively sought. 

    Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W. Va, says that while he's a proud gun-owner and NRA member, there needs to be a "sensible" and "reasonable" dialogue about gun legislation.

    The call-to-action was weaved together with words from the president meant to console mourners in Newtown, with whom Obama met earlier in the day.

    "This is our first task, caring for our children. It's our first job. If we don't get that right, we don't get anything right. That's how, as a society, we will be judged," Obama asked. "And by that measure, can we truly say that, as a nation, we're meeting our obligations?"

    The president added: "I've been reflecting on this the past few days, and if we're honest with ourselves, the answer's no. We're not doing enough. And we will have to change."

    Obama's comments came in response to yet another mass casualty incident in America over the past few years. The most high-profile attacks include one against Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Arizona, a shooting at a movie theater this past summer in Colorado and another shooting at a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin in August.

    Stephen Dunn / AP

    President Barack Obama greets Gov. Dannel Malloy during his arrival at the start of an interfaith vigil for the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on Dec. 16, 2012 at Newtown High School in Newtown, Conn.

    None of those events managed to prompt a groundswell for political action to address gun rights and other underlying causes of these attacks.

    An effort to address mass casualty events might also involve less politically touchy efforts, like boosting support for mental health. 

    If Obama were to lead an effort to push gun control, though, he could meet resistance from the politically influential National Rifle Association and other gun rights' groups. Advocates of gun control, though, have urged Obama to throw political caution to the wind; New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Sunday that gun control should be Obama's "No. 1 agenda."