Abbreviated Pundit Round-up: Immigration, gun violence legislation and more

Jan 29, 2013 front page of Danbury News-Times

The talk of this town is gun control, gun safety and gun rights.

Danbury News-Times:

Father of Newtown victim heckled at hearing

The sometimes boisterous public hearing -- after nearly four hours of testimony from State Police, parents of slain Newtown first-graders and city mayors -- seemed dominated by gun owners, who railed at more than 90 proposed bills.

"The Second Amendment!" was shouted a couple of times by as many as a dozen gun enthusiasts in the meeting room as Neil Heslin, holding a photo of his slain 6-year-old son, Jesse Lewis, asked why Bushmaster assault-style weapons are allowed to be sold in the state.

"There are a lot of things that should be changed to prevent what happened," said Heslin, who said he grew up using guns and was undisturbed by the interruption of his testimony.

"That wasn't just a killing, it was a massacre," said Heslin, who recalled dropping off his son at Sandy Hook Elementary school shortly before Lanza opened fire. "I just hope some good can come out of this."

Danbury News-Times:

Seeking to disarm the next Adam Lanza before it's too late, a key Republican lawmaker and upholder of the Second Amendment wants the state of Connecticut to require gun owners to lock up their weapons if they live with someone who is mentally unstable.

State Sen. L. Scott Frantz, R-36, a gun owner himself who represents all of Greenwich and parts of Stamford and New Canaan, recently introduced a bill that would tighten the law applying to safekeeping of firearms...

Advocates for the mentally ill such as Mattias urged lawmakers to do their homework before racing to enact legislation.
"We certainly support efforts to reduce gun violence," Mattias said. "I would think a gun owner who has a license for a gun should lock it up no matter who they're living with, as there is no evidence that people with mental illnesses are more likely to be violent than someone else. The latest research suggests that they're 11 times more likely to be victims of crime."

Complex issues, with advocates on every side weighing in. We need to act carefully, but we need to act.
Today we hit 1,400 gun deaths since 12/14.
' @KagroX via TweetDeck

Reuters:

A Hispanic Republican, Senator Marco Rubio, complained that Obama's speech neglected border security and left the impression that "he believes reforming immigration quickly is more important than reforming immigration right."

"I am concerned by the president's unwillingness to accept significant enforcement triggers before current undocumented immigrants can apply for a green card," he said. "Without such triggers in place, enforcement systems will never be implemented and we will be back in just a few years dealing with millions of new undocumented people in our country."

Republicans will likely oppose any immigration plan that doesn't put border security first.

Rubio is going to be tossed to the wolves by his nativist party. Just you wait and see.

More Republican infighting stories, even more punditry below the fold...