(We begin tonight with)revelations in the Sandy Hook Elementary killings that claimed the lives of twenty young students and six brave educators. We should mention that we do as much as we can on this program to honor the lives of those children and those adults, as little as possible, to give their killer any kind of attention at all.
However, tonight, there is a new information about that young man, that has bearing on the story until some changes in gun policy now being discussed. And with that in mind, authorities under pressure from the families released new documents today, showing that the killer had an Arsenal, more than 16 hundred rounds of ammunition in the home he shared with the mother, who became his first victim, he killed her with a 22.
They also found two rifles, a handgun, a BB gun, three Samurai swords, a bayonet and seven other knives. In his rooms, photos of dead bodies and an article about the 2008 school shooting that left five students dead in northern Illinois.
Also in the home, a Christmas card with a check written out by his mother, earmarked, "for yet another fire arm". In addition to the inventory at the home, other documents revealed that 154 spent casings were found at Sandy Hook Elementary from that bushmaster military style rifle that used to kill all 26 people there, 26 dead in less than five minutes. The shooter carried nine 30 round magazines, police also recovered a loaded shotgun from his car and nearly six dozen 12-gauge shell. And with that as a backdrop, Newtown parents and survivors of other school tragedy gathered today at the White House. The president declaring this is the moment for Congress to act.
"This is our best chance in more than a decade to take common sense steps that will save lives. I haven't forgotten most kids, shame on us if we have forgotten them."
The Congress debating a number of gun control measures, the president underscored how uncontroversial he believes they are. New polling from CBS news shows 90% want federal legislation requiring background checks and all potential gun buyers. And that's largely a non-partisan view, according to these poll, support from 96% of Democrats, 89% of independents and 86% of Republicans.
However that same polling shows more general support for stricter gun laws fading since Newtown, with 47%, now favoring tougher legislation, which is down 10 percentage points from December shortly after the Sandy Hook tragedy. So there's mixed messages there.
Let's talk about it with Democratic strategist and former Obama 2012 pollster, Cornell Belcher. Also want to welcome Emily Miller to 360s, she's senior opinion editor at the "Washington Times".
Emily what do you make of president Obama saying shame on us if we've forgotten Newtown?
I would say the only person should be ashamed is president Obama, we haven't heard him talk about gun control in weeks, and suddenly on the day which everyone knew in advance that the Conneticut was releasing all this information about what happend at Sandy Hook, he suddenly has a press conference at the White House and starts calling for more of his political agenda, it's just, it's just, I think it's disgusting, that's you know, what he's been pushing for since before he got reelected and he's going to keep continue to push for it.