Just hours after the carnage at Newtown, Conn., President Barack Obama spoke with raw emotion of the need for action to prevent more tragedies like the December massacre of 20 schoolchildren and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary. Three months later, members of Congress are poised to cast their first votes in answer to that summons.
The hard-fought politics of gun control guarantee that a long, tortuous legislative journey lies ahead. One proposal that's not even on the table: the National Rifle Association's call for every school to have armed guards. Plenty of school districts already do that on their own, though.
A look at what's being considered Thursday by the Senate Judiciary Committee as Obama and the Republican-controlled House let the Senate take the lead on where to go after Newtown.
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ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN
WHAT: Ban 157 specific military-style assault weapons. Ban ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. More than 2,200 specific hunting and sporting rifles and shotguns, listed by make and model, would be exempt from the ban, as would any weapons that people already legally own.
KEY PLAYER: Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who also sponsored the 1994-2004 assault weapons ban.
PRO: Assault weapons and high-capacity magazines have been used at a number of recent mass shootings, including Newtown and the movie theater shooting last summer in Aurora, Colo. The weapons allow a shooter to fire a large number of rounds quickly and without having to reload. Supporters of the proposed ban say that while it wouldn't guarantee an end to such attacks, it could make such attacks less deadly and less likely. They cite a study showing that gun crimes using assault weapons declined by 17 percent to 72 percent across an assortment of cities from 1995 to 2003, during the last assault weapons ban.
CON: Opponents say the last assault weapons ban didn't work and this one wouldn't either. They argue that people should be allowed to buy the firearms they want. They say assault weapons were used in just 2 percent to 8 percent of gun crimes before the last ban took effect, so a ban wouldn't make much difference. And they point to the millions of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines already legally in private hands that would not be affected by the ban.
ODDS: The bill may advance out of the committee, but it has virtually no chance of passing the full Senate.
