at time of the congresswoman gabrielle giffords shooting, the problem was metaphor was dangerous, if you say you like sarah palin and this particular congressional district is in the crosshairs, did you know meanting violence and now we have actualcy lens and it is not reported on those talking about the use of metaphor at the time of the gabrielle giffords thing. absolutely disgraceful. but entirely predictable. >>neil: in the case of this dust up with the fox contributor, he must have done something to provoke it. i imagine the same is said of rape victims. there is a double standard to the congress of the story. if you are going to be tough on one side, and you are going to rake the tea party over the coals, rake these guys over the coals, i am not surprised. i am wondering what message it sends to folks at home because there are a lot of very savvy p.r. times in the union movement who do not want this image conveyed and i like to think it is a zipping minority but it shows the impression that some can behave like goons. >>guest: it is the opposite, neil, that a lot people are hap

giffords. y otros, blanca rosa vilchez estuvo desde temprano, dando a conocer la informaciÓn, y esto es lo Último que tiene. >>> apoyandose mutuamente, como lo hicieroeo desde el viernes, los residentes en newtown trajeron velas y flores en solidaridad con familias de las vÍctimas. >>> me da mucha tristeza de todo esto. pero hay que seguir adelante. >>> la mayorÍa vino con sus hijos e hijas para compartir los sentimientos con una tragedia que le quitÓ a la inocienca a muchos hijos aquÍ. >>> traje a mi hija y mi primo, para ver a los juntados, y los que acompaÑan a la gente. >>> el motivo que llevÓ a adÁn lanza a cometer la masacre, sigue sin conocerse, no se encontrÓ una carta suya que de pista a autoridad, fue diagnosticado con una forma ligera de autismo, vinculada a un comportamiento social extraÑo. >>> el gobernador de connecticut dijo que se suicidÓ, cuando vio a ingresar a los policÍas a la escuela, y estaba preparado para cometer a una masacre mayor de haberse retrasado la a

in 2010, the shootings in tucson that when did representative gabrielle giffords. and most recently, the movie theater and shooting in aurora, colorado. this tragedy.ring during his radio address, not yesterday president obama said as a nation we have endured far too many of these tragedies the last few years. we will be bringing you his remarks. this is an interfaith service. we will hear scriptures from rabbis, priests in attendance and some of the families of the community gathering here tonight. you are watching live coverage here on c-span. ♪ [song ends] ♪ >> we are bringing you hear a lot of the inside newtown high school's auditorium tonight, the site of tonight's a vigil for the victims of the shootings. we will hear from president obama, who wrote his own remarks. we will also hear from governor dannel malloy. there is a somewhat surreal atmosphere, they are saying. several hundred people attending tonight's. a large number of elementary school-aged kids with their parents. some are bringing their toys in, grieving family members, community members. we

including community outreach director for gabrielle giffords. >> as i was ducking, a bullet went into high wrist and into my chest and traveled down to my hip. when i laid perfectly still on the ground, i didn't know if the gunman would come back. i need to know what our leaders are going to do to stop the gun violence. i demand a plan. >> eliot: thank you for coming on. there was something about the very controlled anger, dare i say, demand for a plan. it's so eloquent. tell us first what happened, and what you hope will happen now. >> well, like many others my life changed forever in just a fraction of a second. i was on the staff of gabrielle giffords, and we had just come out of a very contentious election, it was a narrow victory. this was three days after she was sworn in to the new term, and she was excited to meet her constituents. as community outreach coordinator i was setting up with gabe zimmerman, who lost his life that day. >> eliot: before you worked for the congresswoman, you had done, what? >> i was a junior high teacher for 25 years. i spent my last two years in the

we remember the peach speech he made in the aftermath that involved gabrielle giffords the speech that a lot of people praised in which he talked about doing something meaningful to prevent these kinds of things from happening again. almost the same words he used in the remarks he made on friday from the white house. yet, this president has not suggested anything specific what that might mean meaningful. what are white house aides telling you behind the scenes if he is not going to mention anything specific tonight in connecticut, at what point should we dppt him to talk about those meaningful solutions? >> reporter: after the tragic shooting in colorado at the movie theater, president was on the scene and talked again about action that could be taken. he is facing pressure from mayor bloomberg and others. white house aides are saying privately he doesn't think it's time to jump on it immediately. he want to talk about having the nation come together. that pressure is not going to go away especially from democrats that want to see action. i have seen this before with other presidents b

giffords. wayne lapierre is all for having a police officer protect 9-year-old girls in school, but anywhere else a 9-year-old goes in america, a movie theater, a shopping mall, she is on her own. and we know now, she is on her own against the best equipped mass murderers in the history of the human race. that is right, we're number one, usa, usa, we're number one. no country in the world has better equipped mass murderers than the united states of america. and that is thanks to the lifetime work of wayne lapierre. every day since 1977, wayne lapierre has been making sure that mad men in america can fire any gun they want, and any bullet they want. at any children they want, at any teachers, at police officers, at the president. the solution wayne lapierre suggested today to stop school shootings has already been tried in many places across america, including columbine high school, where 13 years ago 12 students and one teacher were shot dead. columbine had an armed sheriff's deputy at the scho

giffords nearly died. you were there. what do you think of this debate? >> there is three points that i think need to be raised. all due respect to the folks we're talking about having more guns, having more guns does not solve the problem. having people that are trained like the police woman who stopped, who didn't even call in s.w.a.t. because she was so trained, that's the difference. in tucson we saw people that would have come up and said i had a gun and i didn't feel like it would have been a good idea to use it. there was so much chaos and confusion. when the people come in and they plan this for a significant amount of time, they are steady and ready to do this deed, but the people in the area are completely in a panic and people are in shock because this is not something that you expect. >> do you want to see the assault rifles just gone? >> i think getting rid of the assault weapons, you know, it is not a perfect bill. we will never be able to legislate against evil. we can close the loopholes to

you were involved in the tucson tragedy with gabrielle giffords. you were there. what do you think of this debate? >> there's three points that i think need to be raised. all due respect to the folks who are talking about having more guns. having more guns does not solve the problem. having people that are trained like the policewoman who stopped and didn't have to call s.w.a.t. because she was trained, that's the difference. in tucson, we saw people who said, i had a gun, but i didn't feel like it was a good idea to use it. there was so much chaos and confusion. when these people come in and planned this for a significant amount of time. they're studied and ready to do this deed. the people in the area are completely in a panic. people are in shock. because this is not something that you expect. >> you want to see these assault rifles gone? >> i think getting rid of the assault weapons, it's not a perfect bill, but we'll never be able to legislate against evil, but we can close loopholes and take weapons off the street. the other thing that's important, the reaso

as for gun control legislation passed after gabrielle giffords was shot, zero. and carol costello joins me live from atlanta. very interesting piece that you put together. i am curious about the history of the nra's reactions after mass shootings. what is the typical m.o. of the nra after these tragedies? >> in a word, nothing. the nra doesn't comment. why should they? you can't win this argument with the specter of 20 dead children hanging in the air. as painful as it sounds right now, memories fade. six months from now people will likely feel very differently about what went down in newtown. the nra probably won't comment then either but it won't need to because roughly half the population still thinks the answers to tragedies is more guns, protection. >> so, carol, what about the power of the nra as a lobby? everyone knows it is significant. you saw some of the campaign pictures. what kind of power are we talking about when it comes to money and numbers? >> it is not so much about the money. the nra has millions of members, 4 million members or more. that is

. >> reporter: from the mass shooting in tuscon aimed at gabriel giffords, many shooters suffer mental illness. funding has been slashed for decades, down $2 billion since 2009. maryland's funding down 4%. howard county executive ken hallman critical of the cuts. >> i think that mental health has been something that has not gotten the support and resource it is needs. >> reporter: over the years many institutions for the mentally ill have disappeared leaving more families to deal with sick children at home. >> mental health problems affect 1 in ten children. >> reporter: maryland's first lady say it should be a priority but it needs appropriate funding to prevent another sandy hook. >> what is happening now is going to be rippled throughout our communities for years to come if we don't address it now. >> reporter: despite the cuts in funding, mental health care in maryland is ranked among the best in the country. adam may, wjz eyewitness news. >>> we are always on. you can check in for complete coverage on the tragedy in newtown. we'll bring you the latest on the victims and the invest

giffords. her parents are calling for tougher screenings to keep guns out of people in the wrong hands. and john green is here now, christina's father. our hearts continue to go out to you and your family. the holidays must be really tough? >> holidays are very difficult. obviously... our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to all of those children and the families that were -- that were affected in newtown, connecticut. >> jamie: you know, john, the thing that struckny yesterday among so many other things, it was difficult not to have the tears well up constantly, is the task that a parent has to do in order to confirm -- yes, that was my child. dr. michael bodden says, you know, the kids were supposed to identify our parents, not the other way around. how do you survive that? >> that's going to be very traumatic. i don't know the particulars in which the families were able to identify their children up in newtown -- >> jamie: they used photographs. they did it very considerately. >> that seem

but i got to tell you, ed, i i remember my friend gabrielle giffords was shot down and her constituents were killed. we thought that would stir the nation. apparently we haven't seen any real action in congress since then. there are heroes, though, ed. i don't want you to get the impression that nobody in congress is fighting for change. >> oh, i know. there is just not enough of them. >> carol mccarthy. that's right. i'm going to tell you this, though. we're not afraid of the nra. we're ready to confront them. and we have legislation that we want to see taken up that would ban high capacity clips, stop the gun show loophole, and have mandatory background checks. these are reasonable things. and we need the american people to insist from the white house on down that we take these pieces of legislation up immediately, and that we pass them, and that we confront anyone, these second amendment extremists who think that any kind of a sane, sensible gun legislation is going to take guns away. which is ridiculous. >> and gentlemen, i need to point out. mothers against drunk driving made it un

after gabrielle giffords, there were other different times. i think we've learned our lesson that it can't be a response to any one tragedy. we need to marshal forces and people becoming more and more adamant. just like you said earlier, we need to be more serious. you said you've been covering this for years and every time you're on site it's because someone did this with a gun. let's face the obvious, that there are guns here. in china, apparently the same day as somebody went on a rampage with a knife and i don't remember the exact amount injured, more than 20 people. and so far none of those people have died because it's very hard to kill off a lot of people with a knife. and guns are have the problem. we have a problem with the killers themselves and the guns and we need to stop this conversation of like should we talk about the guns or the killers? guns or killers? it's both. we need to address both and try to shrink both of those and make the guns less available and find out what leads to killers and that's the only hope of reducing thi

zero legislation was passed after gabrielle giffords was shot. what makes this event, what makes this response from the nra different? >> well, you know, if you're going to assign levels of horrific, this has got to top the charts. i think everybody recognizes that. everyone keeps referring to it as a turning point, and it is. of course we need to remember the way our system is structured. the founders established a system that divides power every which way. you cannot get quick change. it takes months and even years to get change and i suppose if you were cynical, you would say that the nra is trying to appear sympathetic at a time when the public is really focused on this and knowing that it is very easy in our system to slow down the process. i think they deserve the benefit of the doubt. >> talking about slowing down the process, the president, assigned all of these people to come together and form some kind of community to talk about gun violence and then you have senator diane feinstein saying she will introduce gun control legislation and

giffords. we do know that this incident started 9:40. this 24-year-old ryan lanza, the gunman in this situation, his mother's name is nancy lanza and also among the dead. that's the connection we heard that he has to the school. right now unconfirmed 27 people are dead, 18 of which are said to be students. now of course we do know that lanza is from new jersey and being searched by a dozen police officers at the time. we also know that his younger brother was also taken into custody at this time. he is said to be a person that is being questioned right now as a possible second gunman in this situation. there are reports that lanza had several weapons on his body at the time including a bullet- proof vest to keep himself safe. we're not sure how he died and we're not sure if it was self- inflicted or hit by officers. sandy hook elementary school is 626 students in a town of 2,000 people and it is about 6 on miles northeast of new york and about an hour drive outside of hartford. now, all of the

giffords there was an armed person on that scene who confused giffords aide for the realist assailant and almost shot him while that aide was actually tackling the real assailant jared last night so how are more guns going to increase our safety in a mass shooting situation. people actually being killed. for good believe it or not the military. in the area where the shootings occurred everyone says well the military. allowed. on the military. i live. in georgia i go there all the time our loud. side are a lot of where the shooting occurred those tournaments. are so i have to correct you there was a shooting about two or three days ago in tech that in the movie theater two people kill an off duty police officer into the. by the guy had. also the organ all shooting all right kevin i want to go ahead and get you in here if we're talking about making a lot of gun purchases illegal does that mean that the only criminals that will be able to get their hands on these weapons are people that break the law. personal thank you for having me i just think it's really tragic that we're talking the

giffords there was an armed person on that scene who confused giffords aide for the realest assailant and almost shot him while that aide was actually tackling the real assailant jared last night so how are more guns going to increase our safety in a mass shooting situation. the people actually being killed what you can do is reduce your reports for good believe it or thought the military in the room in the area where the shootings occurred everyone says well the military has. allowed and don't carry. on the military installation i live right outside of george i go there all the time they're not allowed to carry side are on him and the where the shooting occurred those tournaments where are so i have to correct you there was a shooting about two or three days ago and protect the theater two people to kill an off duty to help lead the officer into that real quick by the guy had a chance to shoot. off of the or get all shooting all right kevin i want to try to go ahead and get you in here if we're talking about making a lot of gun purchases illegal does that mean that the only criminals

. >> reporter: after congresswoman gabrielle giffords and 18 others were shot in arizona and 12 were murdered in a colorado movie theater the president offered up words but little else. now words appear to be yielding to action and impatience. >> i will use all the powers of this office to helped advance efforts aimed at preventing more tragedies like this. we won't prevent them all but that can't be execute not to try. >> reporter: biden wrote the 1994 crime bill that imposed the first-ever ban on assault weapons. that ban expired in 2004. mr. obama noted former president ronald reagan supported that ban and said the newtown massacre changed minds. >> the vast majority of responsible, law-abiding gun owners would be some of the first to say that we should be able to keep an irresponsible law-breaking few from buying a weapon of war. >> reporter: the president wants biden to build support for legislation to renew the assault weapons ban, ban the sale of large-capacity ammunition clips, and subject firearm sales at gun shows and through private dealers to a federal background check. >

everybody thought that even after gabrielle giffords was shot. in 2011 is that something would happen and that portion of the law did not go through. >> what would happen if the nra still less political power? >> this is an effluent community in connecticut with and what is a fluent -- and what is one to happen in six months, two months? does the president make this a state of the union. this is something that only grassroots power is going to have a victory. right now, the nra has a lock on a house in the senate. if you look of the contributions of a photo collection, 80 percent of the contributions from the republicans, of the -- republican convention. >> and if you look to the -- contributions of the -- collection. >> they are saying that people kill guns and no guns kill people. there ♪ secondhand smoke affects everyone's health. it's not just irritating. it can cause heart disease and even death. speak up about secondhand smoke. your health and the health of your family depend on it. a fresh-cut tri tip sirloin served with a succulent lobs

giffords all people crying out for at least a dialogue a sensible conversation and national discussion where we are not afraid to culture it like it is and that is that we are not afraid to bring it to the table. and it means cutting down the straw men that are raised up when people get freaked out about this conversation. it is not about the sporting gun or the private protection gun. >> this is about the kinds of things that make killing industrial strength. there will always be these distinctions but you don't have to have industrial strength killing. there is cause and effect. there are other countries that have taken procedures and it has worked. england, scotland, children the same age. >> 16 children. six and seven-year-olds. national handgun ban. australia the same thing >> the president is there. it can be done. the difference in america right now is not enough people are prepared to go and talk about this. >> these may be the moment. >> these are children. >> we asked america's major gun manufactures to come on the show tonight and they didn't reresponsibility. also the nra t

giffords was shot like we saw at the midnight show in colorado. there is a strain running through all of these things. people say gosh it's so awful but then you don't hear much about it afterward. >> o'donnell: that's an important point, bob. the president will be appearing in the brady press briefing room which is named after james brady who took one of the bullets that was directed at president ronald reagan. that briefing room was named after him then james brady and his wife became life long advocates of gun control. but we have heard from the press briefing that jay carney says now is not the time to talk about the assault weapons ban. >> schieffer: i guess the follow-up is when will be the time? but my guess is the president probably won't take questions today. but it will be interesting to see what happens here and what's going to happen after this. how bad does it have to be for people to say this is as far as we're going to let this go. i think that's the question we as americans have to confront now. >> o'donnell: bob schieffer, stay wi

. >> the man who shot congressman gabrielle giffords pleaded guilty. >> he was sentenced to seven consecutive life terms. he will avoid the death penalty. >> chicago's murder rate surged this year to levels not seen in almost a decade. by december, close to five hundred people were killed in the city. >> right now innocent kids and women are being shot on a daily basis. >> averaging more than a murder a day, most of the crime happened in a few specific areas. >> the entire city suffers. this idea not in my backyard is not okay. >> we start this morning with breaking news from italy. >> a massive cruise ship turned on its side after running aground in january. thirty-two passengers and crew were killed. the captain says it was an accident, not a crime. the ship's captain is being investigated. he claims he tripped and fell into a lifeboat. >> the sentencing of jerry sandusky. >> jerry sandusky will die in jail. >> a judge sentenced the sixty-eight-year-old to at least thirty years in jail after convicted of forty-five counts of child sex abuse. sandusky continues to proclaim his innocence. he

the guy who shot gabrielle giffords was and institutionalized. he was in a state and local data base that was not shared with the federal background system. he was able to purchase a gun and killed six people that nearly killed gabrielle giffords. if you go to a gun show there will also not to a back room check. and the supreme court held in 2008 that the second amendment means that an individual has the right to own a gun. with a severe crimp on what the feds can do. if you have a constitutional right to own a gun and what the government can do to restrict that is very, very limited. >> when you limit the ammunition was there a downturn and violence? was that from dianne feinstein? >> that was in " high- capacity " magazine. that was in part of the assault weapons ban and a high- capacity magazine. that is will offer used to kill the group in tucson. one would think that one that would think that congress could do something but that did not happen. right now, what you hear from some people is that it is not even a high- capacity magazines. it is

giffords. each team he reacts not as a president but as a parent. flags were lowered to half staff at the white house and the capitol. politicians from all parts of the country and both partied con condemned the shooting but some pressed the argument for more restrictive gun laws. president obama to hold back the tears in the press briefing room yesterday, a room named after the white house press secretary who was shot and permanently disabled in the assassination attempt on president obama three decades ago. >> as a country we have been through this too many times, whether it is elementary school in newtown or a temple in wisconsin or a neighborhood in chicago, these neighborhoods are our neighbors and the children are our children. we have to come together to take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies. >> what that meaningful action might be, the president did not say. he did add, though, while nothing can fill the space of a lost child or loved one, all of us can extend a hand to those

>> yeah -- >> i want to ask -- we had this lecture after the gabrielle giffords shooting and colorado, we have to be responsible with the way we talk about guns. but steny heuer decides to equate holding your kids hostage and murder to theic fiscal cliff. >> it is somewhat like taking your child hostage and saying to somebody else, i am going to shoot my child if you don't do what i want done. you don't want to shoot your child. there is no republican leader that wants to default on our debt. >> that's a different story. not the fiscal cliff. that's the debt ceiling debate we were talking about. what he is saying is, give us the free checkbook, the additional trillions we want to spend, it has to happen through the house. he's taking a shot at the republicans. that's different from the fiscal cliff. >> well, they are intertwined. i mean, they are not separate entities and the issue here is the language that he used. he conflated republicans holding their own children hostage and then murdering them. imagine if a republican had said something like that. but you don't hear about it. you

i still think the speech he gave for the memorial for gabrielle giffords was the bet speech -- best speech of his presidency and it took courage to avoid the pressure to get political quickly. like charles said i am glad to hear it sounds like he will not do that. it is fine to have a commission and look into this. if we didn't as a nation ask tough questions after an events like this i don't think we would be much of a nation. you have to have those discussions. i hope he does what he has done in the past and play the role as consoler-in-chief and talk to those who are grieving in the community and the nation. we are all telling personal stories and everyone you talk to has a story or a connection or a way to identify with this. >>bret: every single person has reacted in the way we have been talking about. we are awaiting president obama's remarks and a service and a prayer vigil there for the victims of the elementary school shooting. next, police release new details what they found in their investigation. sometimes what we suffer from is bigger than we think ... like the flu. with aches

former astraunt, and husband of congresswoman gabriel giffords, mark kelly said today that "this time our response must consist of more than regret, sorrow, and condolence. the children of sandy hook elementary school and all victims of gun violence deserve leaders who have the courage to participate in a meaningful discussion about our gun laws we have to stand up as a nation and say enough is enough. what is wrong with our society? and again. there's not one right answer." coming up later in this newscast, we'll have more reaction from the president on today's events and dig a control issue. but for now, in the newsroom... charles clifford kron 4 news. >>pam: in bay area news. three people are dead tonight. after a horrific crash on a south bay freeway. this is video of the scene courtesy of sky-7- h-d from a-b-c-7- news. the c-h-p says, a vehicle slammed into a disabled car that was pulled over to the side of northbound 280 near redwood city. all lanes were re-opened just about a half hour ago. kron-4's philippe djegal is there. with more. there were two women and one man is dead.

. >> andrea: we had a lecture by the white house after the gabrielle giffords shooting. bee way we talk about guns. but hoyer says holding your children hostage to fiscal cliff. >> this is like taking your child hostage and saying to somebody else i'm going shoot my child if you don't do what i want done. there is no republican lead they're wants to default on our debt. >> eric: that is a different story. not the fiscal cliff. that is debt ceiling debate we were talking about. he says give us a checkbook and taking a shot at republicans. that is different from the fiscal cliff. >> andrea: they are intertwined. not separate entities. i point out is the language he used. con plaited republicans holding their children hostage and murdering them. imagine if the republicans said that. you have don't hear about it. you hear about it here. >> kimberly: because we put it on fox news. i like to play a game called seal a new deal. go around the table. >> andrea: taken. >> kimberly: it has? >> andrea: yeah, sorry. >> kimberly: we play this and begin with you. let me know what you t

>> yeah -- >> i want to ask -- we had this lecture after the gabrielle giffords shooting and colorado, we have to be responsible with the way we talk about guns. but steny heuer decides to equate holding your kids hostage and murder to theic fiscal cliff. >> it is somewhat like taking your child hostage and saying to somebody else, i am going to shoot my child if you don't do what i want done. you don't want to shoot your child. there is no republican leader that wants to default on our debt. >> that's a different story. not the fiscal cliff. that's the debt ceiling debate we were talking about. what he is saying is, give us the free checkbook, the additional trillions we want to spend, it has to happen through the house. he's taking a shot at the republicans. that's different from the fiscal cliff. >> well, they are intertwined. i mean, they are not separate entities and the issue here is the language that he used. he conflated republicans holding their own children hostage and then murdering them. imagine if a republican had said something like that. but you don't hear about it. you

so much so when gabrielle giffords was shot the civilian doctor called dr. armanda for advice. >> the biggest thing we do differently is not trying to remove every fragment of bone or piece of metal in the cranial vault compared to previous conflicts. we're doing larger incision. we typically will leave half the skull off for anywhere from four to six months. we have other problems to deal with, with the infection and swelling. >> in the 12 years the limb prosthetics improved dramatically, so have the skull prosthetics, going from plast tic to new and improved tie tainian that resists infection and allows better facial reconstruction for the patient. one of the dr. armanda's patient works for him. lieutenant colonel holt is a special operator medic, who was blown up by an antitank mine in afghanistan in january of 2009. his skull was smashed when thrown in a concrete wall. >> swimming with a full suit of clothing on. >> you can do it but you're not as efficient. you are slower and takes a hard time to get there and you're awkward. until the brain catches up

jared loughner who tried to assassinate gabriel giffords had long been suspected of being unstable. when he was arrested and put on trial he was deemed at first unfit to stand trial. dr. lee vinocur, board certified physician, adjunct assistant professor at lieutenant state university medical school? shreveport. doctor, at times like this i think back to what my high school principal once taught me which the brain is organ like any other in the body. just like any other it can get sick. >> yeah. absolutely, it is just terrible that we have to have tragedies like this we have a mental health crisis today in the united states. in the last decade services have shrunk, psychiatric hospitals have closed. and the e.r. unfortunately knows very well that when there's a crisis related to mental health, everybody ends up in the e.r. and it backs up the e.r. because we have no place to send these people for more definitive help after the crisis. it is a big problem. jon: why is that, as a society we have closed down so many of these mental health centers and so forth? >> well, i think, you kno

. >> captain mark kelly, husband of former congresswoman gabrielle giffords said today that she sends her prayers from tucson, and he added a meaningful discussion of the nation's gun laws can no longer wait. bret? >> bret: ed henry live on the north lawn. thank you. this was one of the worst school shootings in american history. we will have the latest on historic and tragic shootings in connecticut. when we come back. >> the children obviously were very shaken. they were crying in the closet, in the closet of the art room. eventually, they were leaving and when they were leaving the police made them hold hands, the police told them to close their eyes. ♪ stop! stop! stop! come back here! humans -- we are beautifully imperfect creatures living in an imperfect world. that's why liberty mutual insurance has your back with great ideas like our optional better car replacement. if your car is totaled, we give you the money to buy one a model year newer. call... and ask one of our insurance experts about it today. hello?! we believe our customers do their best out there in the world, and

. >> the man who shot congresswoman gabrielle giffords pleaded guilty to 19 charges. >> jared loughner was sentenced to seven consecutive life terms and 140 years. his guilty plea means he will avoid the death penalty. chicago's death rate surged to levels not seen in almost a decade. >> it's just not the gang baggers, right now innocent kids and women are being shot on a daily basis. >> averaging more than a murder a day, most of the crime happened in a few specific areas. >> the entire city suffers, when violence happens. and this idea of not in my backyard is not okay. >> we start this morning with breaking news from italy. a massive cruise ship the costa concordia turned on its side after running aground in january. 32 passengers and crew were killed. the captain says it was an accident not a crime. he now faces charges. the ship's captain is being investigated for manslaughter and abandoning ship. he claims he tripped and fell into a life boat. the sentencing of jerry sandusky. >> carol, jerry sandusky will die in jail. >> a judge sentenced the 68-year-old former penn state assist

and for me, when you look at 2012, it would be congresswoman gabrielle giffords, she resigned this year after a heroic battle dealing with the gunshot wounds that she experienced. we obviously keep her in our thoughts and our prayers. but she was also a leader, and believed in public policy. and we're going to have to look as we go forward into the next year over how we deal with this enduring problem of gun violence in our country. >> joy reed, your person of the year? >> i picked for the person of the year, the american voter. >> it does sound corny. >> it is corny, you know, the reason i said it -- >> you said a group, you didn't say the country. >> it is a group. >> it is very "time magazine". >> i know, it is, never in my lifetime have i seen people have to endure so many hoops, obstruction. seven hours in line. i have never seen it so obvert, you know, whether it was in ohio -- >> all right. you won me over. >> you know, people literally fought against the right to vote this term, this cycle, more than i have ever seen in my life. i felt like i was back in the '60s, or '50s, and i

giffords shot and others lost their libs. she thankfully survived. you could tell the emotional trillion on this president from all the tragedies but this in particular with all the children. >> well put. thank you so much. back to the white house as we get more news. a few different points of what the president had to say, and i note that the president gave us more information than we previously had. the president noted that as a victim, it included children 5 to 10 years old. if you are just gypping, we have been reporting over the last several hours we have heard of the shooting taking place in a few different locations including the principal's office, the elementary classroom, and the first grade from a parent. the president narrowed that down, 5 to 10 years old. the question is, what happened inside the school? we don't know. we do know that this is the murder of some of our most innocent. that is the big headline of the day as we continue to look through the other details. now is child psychologist and associate profes

giffords was shot along with so many others. more than a year ago. but that didn't happen. in fact, congressional leaders today and the president were so reluctant to bring up this issue that their aides said today was not the day to discuss it. that infuriated gun control advocates, scott, who said if today isn't the day, what is? >> pelley: nancy, thanks very much. today's shooting in connecticut is painfully familiar to people today's shooting in connecticut is painfully familiar to people in little ton, colorado.,,,,,,,, >> >> pelley: one of the parents of a sand ree hook, elementary student said today that he always thought newtown, connecticut, was the safest place in america. folks in littleton, colorado, once thought the same about their town. until the shooting at columbine. 13 years later, barry petersen reports the wounds there have still not healed. >> reporter: it was april 20, 1999. two heavily armed columbine students walked into their school and opened fire. they killed 12 students and one teacher before killing

giffords nearly lost her life and others did lose their lives. i imagine, following an attack on a congresswoman there would be such an outcry in america. there would be new gun controls then. but there weren't. then the aurora theater shooting, the worst in american history, there had to be some kind of change. but as the relatives of those who died who told me last night on the show, the president came and saw them and nothing happened. now, we have the worst school shooting in american history, is it ever going to change? or is the gun rights argument that was espoused to me earlier in tonight's show in that extraordinary way is always going to win the argument? or are other americans going to rise up and say enough is enough? >> well, i believe this terrible tragedy, taking the lives of 20 little people, the same age as my two youngest granddaughters, has affected america in such a deep way, that we're in a position to have, not just a discussion, but the action that i think is necessary to prevent a reoccurrence. for me, it has to do with tw

and for me, when you look at 2012, it would be congresswoman gabrielle giffords, she resigned this year after a heroic battle dealing with the gunshot wounds that she experienced. we obviously keep her in our thoughts and our prayers. but she was also a leader, and believed in public policy. and we're going to have to look as we go forward into the next year over how we deal with this enduring problem of gun violence in our country. >> joy reed, your person of the year? >> i picked for the person of the year, the american voter. >> it does sound corny. >> it is corny, you know, the reason i said it -- >> you said a group, you didn't say the country. >> it is a group. >> it is very "time magazine". >> i know, it is, never in my lifetime have i seen people have to endure so many hoops, obstruction. seven hours in line. i have never seen it so obvert, you know, people literally fought against the right to vote this term, this cycle, more than i have ever seen in my life. i felt like i was back in the '60s, or '50s, and in florida, when they passed legislation specifically getting black vot

. >> every time one of these things happens, gabrielle giffords last year, this shooting here, there's an outrage and then very quickly it dissipates. the american quick people quite quickly go back to their normal lives and they don't demand action in the way i would expect them to. why do so many americans not feel angry enough to demand further gun control? >> i would take it one step further. i don't understand why the police officers across this country don't stand up collectively and say we're going to go on strike, we're not going to protect you unless you, the public, through your legislature do what's required to keep us safe. after all, police officers want to go home to their families and we're doing everything we can to make their job more difficult but more importantly more dangerous by leaving guns in the hands of people who shouldn't have them. >> our big story tonight, trayvon martin shot at close range. >> from everything that you have seen, that you've read, that you've heard, what do you believe is the most likely set of circumstances that led to your son being kille