Walz mulls tighter gun laws

Published 9:27 am Wednesday, December 19, 2012

By Brett Neely, Minnesota Public Radio News

WASHINGTON — The massacre of 20 students and six teachers at the Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Conn., has once again put gun control on the agenda of Congress.

Tim Walz

The school shooting, the latest in a series of gun massacres over the past several years, has some members of Congress rethinking their stance on guns.

Email newsletter signup

Among them is U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, a Democrat who received the National Rifle Association’s endorsement this year after voting for many of the influential organization’s priorities.

Democrats who represent rural, socially conservative districts like his often vote the same way.

But Walz, a former teacher and father of young children, said he was shocked by the massacre at the Sandy Hook elementary school and is now willing to consider proposals to ban assault-style weapons and large ammunition clips.

Read the rest at Minnesota Public Radio News.