Funerals due for two victims of Connecticut mass shootings

The first funerals are being held today for two of the twenty children gunned down in Friday’s mass shooting at a Connecticut primary school. The victims – 27 of them in all – were remembered last night at an emotional memorial at a nearby high school in Newtown. While Noah Pozner and Jack Pinto, who were both six years old, are being laid to rest – a Twitter campaign is urging American schoolchildren to wear green and white – the colours of Sandy Hook Elementary. Many schools have stepped up security following the massacre as the debate on gun control is stoked by the bloodshed. One Senator has vowed to introduce new legislation on assault-weapons this week. But gun rights advocates say Connecticut already has some of the strictest gun laws in America. Henry Brown, a priest and anti-weapons activist is adamant that laws need to be tightened: “We have nine, ten, eleven, twelve, and thirteen year old kids with guns, so the accessibility to guns -anyone can get a gun – so that’s the thing that has to stop, allowing anybody access to guns.” Pupil Grace Hobbart said: “I agree that politics should not play any role in this, but guns don’t kill people. People kill people.” Even in Newtown, many residents say they are not ready to lay down their arms, despite the tragedy. They want a debate on how to protect to the rights of responsible gun owners, while working to prevent another massacre like the one at Sandy Hook Elementary.