Community Corner

Should Lawmakers Re-examine Gun Laws in Wake of Connecticut Shooting?

All of the 20 children killed Friday were age 6 or 7.

Within hours of Friday’s mass shooting in Newton, Conn., that , gun-control debates began raging across the country.

The shooter, according to Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance. All of the weapons were registered to and legally owned by his mother, Nancy Lanza, who was found dead of multiple gunshot wounds at her home.

In the days since the shootings, some Democrats in Congress have been pushing for more gun restrictions in the United States, including a ban on military-style assault weapons.

Find out what's happening in Plum-Oakmontwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

While President Barack Obama has not specifically mentioned gun control in speeches to the public, he has emphasized that something must be done to prevent more tragedies like the one at Sandy Hook.

Efforts to restrict access to high-powered weapons are likely to be opposed by many Republicans as a violation to the U.S. Constitution's right to bear arms.

Find out what's happening in Plum-Oakmontwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In recent months, there have been mass shootings at a movie house in Aurora, CO, during a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises and at a mall in Oregon.

Locally, two people died and seven people were injured in March after John Shick went on a shooting rampage at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood. Police in turn shot and killed Shick.

We want to know what you think? Should lawmakers re-examine gun laws? Is it fair to blame guns for mass shootings, or should the blame fall to people who opt to fire them?

Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

___________________

Plum-Oakmont Patch is on Facebook and on Twitter. Don't forget to sign up for our daily email newsletter by clicking here.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here