Difference between states showcases national divide on gun control
Four months after the elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn., lawmakers banned 115 types of semiautomatic firearms. Four months after the shooting of a congresswoman and a federal judge in Tucson, lawmakers in Arizona declared the Colt Single Action Army Revolver the official state gun.
The similarities in the attacks were striking: Both were carried out by heavily armed young men with histories of mental illness. But in the aftermath of the tragedies, the states took radically different approaches on gun violence.
The differences reflect the wide divide separating Americans from one end of the country to the other in which long-established gun cultures collide with efforts to restrict gun ownership. While Connecticut took extreme measures to muscle through one of the most comprehensive packages of gun laws in the country, Arizona legislators moved to make it easier to carry guns in public.
The two states have long stood apart on the issue of guns. Connecticut – a deep blue state dominated by suburban lawmakers – earns top ratings from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Arizona – a stronghold for conservative Republicans – is praised by Guns & Ammo Magazine.
http://www.nhregister.com/general-news/20140803/difference-between-states-showcases-national-divide-on-gun-control
