Conn. Gov.: We need to "question" assault weapons
(CBS News) In the wake of the elementary school massacre in Newtown, Conn., Gov. Dan Malloy, D-Conn., said the country needs to think about its gun laws.
"You have to start to question whether assault weapons should allowed to be distributed the way they are," Malloy said on CBS News' "Face the Nation" today.
Malloy described the gun used by Adam Lanza, the gunman who killed 20 children, his mother and school employees before taking his own life Friday, as an assault weapon with "clips of up to 30 rounds."
The guns Lanza used and had on his possession were registered to his mother, whom Malloy called a gun collector.
While he said Connecticut has stricter gun laws that many places around the country, he said they laws "didn't prevent that woman from acquiring that weapon."
Lt. Paul Vance with the Connecticut State Police said law enforcement officials are analyzing "a significant amount of evidence" that has been collected from the Lanza home and the elementary school. He noted that the guns were obtained legally, and they are looking at the permits, the dates and places of purchase as well as a host of other pieces of the puzzle.
CBS News Senior Correspondent John Miller said authorities have subpoenaed the email accounts of the gunman and his mother, Nancy Lanza. And CBS News Justice Correspondent Bob Orr said the Lanza home was kept immaculately clean but two computers had been found smashed to pieces. The parts have been collected and handed over to forensic experts. "It could be very important to finding out the motive," Orr said.
Malloy said schools in the area plan to open on Tuesday, and Sandy Creek Elementary School, the location of the massacre, is set to reopen on Wednesday. "It's our obligation to open a school and that's what we'll do," he said.
Malloy said the tragedy "overwhelms a nation" but he hasn't had time to think about national implications.
He noted that one church will hold eight funerals in the coming days.
"[T]his is mental illness, you know, dressed in evil, I suppose," Malloy said.