'Gun Appreciation Day' planned to coincide with Obama inauguration

Tuesday, January 8, 2013 | Julie Pace | The Ithaca Journal

Conservative groups planned a “Gun Appreciation Day” to coincide with President Barack Obama’s inauguration later this month as the vice president opened a high-profile round of meetings Wednesday in an urgent search for new policies to address gun violence after last month’s Connecticut school shooting.

While Vice President Joe Biden was meeting at the White House with victims groups and gun safety organizations ahead of this month’s deadline to send proposals to Congress, very different stances on the issue were emerging.

In New York, the state with some of the country’s strictest gun laws, the governor on Wednesday was proposing bans on all assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. The outspoken Republican governor of neighboring New Jersey, Chris Christie, said policymakers also must address the mental health system, improve access to drug treatment and look at the impact of violent video games.