Of voting among the division. Egyptians headed to the polls on saturday in the sixth National Election in nearly two years. This time, to vote on a referendum and a hotly disputed constitution. All of that and more coming up. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. President obama has vowed to take action against gun violence in the United States following the shooting rampage that left 27 people dead, including 20 young children, in newtown, connecticut. All of the children are aged 6 and 7. The gunman, 20yearold adam lanza, shot his mother dead at their home before driving to the Sandy Hook Elementary School and forcing his way inside. Armed with highpowered rifle, two handguns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, lanza shot up to first grade classrooms before taking his own life as Police Arrived at the scene. Lanza still had hundreds of additional rounds of ammo and another weapon in his car, suggesting he would carry out more shootings had the police not closed again. 12 of the victims were girls, eight were boys. All six of the adult victims were women. The School Victims all appeared to have suffered multiple gunshot wounds. Connecticuts chief medical examiner, dr. Wayne carver, called the crime scene the worst he had ever witnessed. I have been at this for a third of a century, and my sensibilities may not be the average man, but this probably is the worst i have seen or the worst that i know of any of my colleagues having seen. We did not bring the bodies in the families into contact. We took pictures of them, other facial features. It is easier on the families when you do that. The first of the fuel services for the newtown victims begin today, with more of follow throughout the week. At a vigil sunday night, president obama vowed unspecified action to curb gun violence in the United States. In the coming weeks ill use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens from lawenforcement to Mental Health professionals to parents and educators in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this. Because what choice do we have . We cannot accept events like this as routine. Are we really prepared to say we are powerless in the face of such carnage . That the politics are too hard . Are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children year after year after year is somehow the price of our freedom . Among the six adults killed, all women, was the principal and a psychologist, both who lunged at the shooter when he first came into the school, and the teachers protecting their students. As news of the massacre spread friday, a group of demonstrators gathered outside the white house to coffers stricter gun control and Better Services for the mentally ill. I think we have a real problem with identifying Mental Illness in this country. I think we ever problem of treating people with problems. We need to break at the booth and saw that, otherwise, we will be here again and again and again. As our critic for one purpose and one purpose only to kill. Assault weapons are designed to kill as many people as possible as quickly as possible. They have no place in our society, no place in our communities. There is no claim of rights or sport or anything, in my mind, that justifies that. Dianne feinstein of california has already promised to introduce a new assault weapons ban on the first day of the new congress, challenging president obama to back the bill. The New York Times reports the Obama Administration abandoned a series of gun control measures one year ago as the 2012 election approached and House Republicans pushed a probe of the gun sting operation fast and furious. Drafted after the to your 2011 shooting rampage in tucson, arizona, the Justice Department recommendations centered on improving and expanding the National Background check system to reduce access to weapons for criminals and mentally ill. The list included several proposals obama could have enacted by executive order had he chosen to take action at the time. As the nation mourns the newtown victims, a number of additional threats and shootings have been reported since the massacre. A Newtown Church was evacuated sunday after Police Responded to a threat against those inside. In indiana man equipped with a 47gun arsenal was arrested on sunday after allegedly threatening to kill children at a local Elementary School. Oklahoma Police Arrested an 18 Year Old High School student on friday, who allegedly was planning a School Shooting massacre. An alleged gunman was arrested in california reportedly firing 50 shots in a mall parking lot. In san antonio, texas, two men were reportedly injured in shooting at a Movie Theater sunday night. We will have more on u. S. Gun violence in the newtown massacre after headlines. Egyptian voters headed to the polls on saturday in a referendum on a controversial draft constitution. According to unofficial preliminary results, the document passed the first round with 57 of the vote with the turnout of just 31 . A second round scheduled for this saturday in remaining areas. A coalition of human Rights Groups has called for revoked citing thousands of complaints of violations at the polls including a lack of full judicial supervision. At a news conference, the Opposition National salvation front accused authorities of rigging the outcome. [indiscernible] we will have more from egypt with Sharif Abdel Kouddous later in the broadcast. At least 25 people have reportedly been killed in the latest Syrian Government bombing of a Palestinian Refugee camp in damascus. The attack on the district comes amidst fears the Syrian Military is preparing a full on ground assault to displace rebels from their positions. During a visit to neighboring lebanon, the u. N. High commissioner for refugees warned the conflict in syria is likely to get worse. It is time for the International Community to understand this is not a conflict like many others. Were witnessing the brutal fighting with tragic humanitarian consequences and things are evolving in a way that make us foresee the possibility of 2013 being much more dramatic than 2012. In iraq, a least 20 people have been killed in a series of car bombings outside shia temples. The violence comes one days after 19 people died in attacks nationwide. The number of People Killed in this months massive typhoon in the southern philippines has surpassed 1020 with the total expected to rise. Eight Officials Say more that 850 people remain missing. The u. S. Has refused to sign on to a new United Nations treaty calling for all countries that equal say in governance of the internet. A u. N. Conference on a new global it smashed a communications treaty ended friday with an agreement to bring the internet under u. S. Auspices but the u. S. Along with key allies, including britain and canada, refused to join, saying u. N. Jurisdiction would hand too much control to unfavorable governments. The treaty is slated to take effect in 2015. Protests were held around the world friday to call attention to labor practices at the retail giant walmart. Workers in the u. S. And nine other countries rallied at Walmart Stores and subsidiaries to denounce the companys alleged attempts to silence workers seeking to unionize and reform workplace conditions. Aside from the u. S. , the demonstrations took place in argentina, brazil, chile, nicaragua, canada, britain, south africa, zambia and india. The Muslim Public Affairs council held its annual gathering at a California Church in california on saturday. The group denounced pasadenas all seems church after became the first church to host a u. S. Muslim groups national convention. Organizers sought the protection of police and private security after the church was flooded the mail. Those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. Funeral services are being held today in connecticut for two of the victims in fridays shooting massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in newtown, connecticut. Noah pozner and jack pinto for 06 years old. They died on friday along with 80 of their classmates and six Staff Members at the school. All of the children killed were six and seven years old. There were all shot multiple times. It was the deadliest rampage at an Elementary School in u. S. History. Police said the gunman, 20year old adam lanza, it used a semiautomatic bushmaster assault rifle, similar to the one used by the u. S. Military. He also had two handguns, a glock 9 millimeter some of mathematics semiautomatics. On sunday, the president spoke. We cannot tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change. We will be told the causes of such violence are complex, and that is true. No single law, no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society. But that cannot be an excuse for inaction. Surely, we can do better than this. If there is even ones that we can take to save another child or another parent or another town from the grief that has visited tucson and aurora and oak creek and newtown and communities from columbine to blacksburg before that, then surely have an obligation to try. In the coming weeks, ill use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens from lawenforcement to Mental Health professionals to parents and educators, in an effort aimed at preventing more tragedies like this. Because what choice do we have . We cannot accept events like this as routine. Are we really prepared to say that were powerless in the face of such carnage, that the politics are too hard . Are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children year after year after year is somehow the price of our freedom . Fridays massacre occurred in newtown, connecticut, home of the National ShootingSports Foundation, a group described as the second most powerful progun lobby in the country after the National Rifle association. On sunday, democratic senator Dianne Feinstein of california about to introduce a new assault weapons ban on the first day of the new congress, challenging president obama to back the bill. Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy told cnn the federal ban should not have been allowed to expire. I think when we talk about the assault weapons ban that was in place in the United States, to allow that to have gone away these are sought weapons. You do not hunt deer with these things. What can only hope we will find a way to limit these weapons that really only have one purpose. In a moment, we will host a debate. First, were joined by paul barrett from bloomberg businessweek. His latest book is called, glock the rise of americas gun. Welcome back to democracy now talk about what happened on friday and put in context of gun violence in this country. What we saw is yet another one of these huge the disturbing mass killings that i think is the almost inevitable outcome of a society that is permeated by firearms, some 300 million guns in private hands right now. The intersection of a society like that with Mental Illness, which is almost inevitable in society. Once again, and that a young man, for reasons we do not yet know and may never know, snapped. Guns are readily at hand. That would be my first cut to the awful thing that happened in connecticut. Just what hours, Something Like that before in china, another mentally disturbed man went into a school and knifed 23 people, 22 of them children. I think one has died. The difference was, he had a knife. Adam lanza had a gun. The United States, for better or for worse, is a gun culture. We are a culture that uniquely in the world sees the value and significance and firearms. It is been the case since the founding of the republic. The Second Amendment is scorned by many people, but it has been there since the beginning and it is very meaningful to millions and millions of people in this country. Farmers represent not something evil to Many Americans firearms represent not something evil to Many Americans, the selfreliance. The american profile. As a result, we end up with a country that is suffused with firearms. And meet the press, the author of the 1994 salt weapons and i and feinstein said she is introducing a bill to reform gun ownership standards in the next congress. Im going to introduce in the senate and the same bill be introduced in the house, a bill to ban assault weapons. It will ban the sale, the transfer, the importation and possession, not retroactively, but prospectively. It will ban the same for big clips, drums, or strips of more than 10 bullets. So there will be with a working on the bill for a year we tried to take my bill from 1994 to 2004 and perfect it. We believe we have. We exempt over 900 specific weapons that will not fall under the bill. 900 specific weapons will not fall under the bill. The last words of senator feinstein. I will read the legislation very closely when it is out. I have to say i am skeptical. The 1994 socalled assault weapons ban was one of the most porous, any effective pieces of legislation i personally have ever had the opportunity to study. It was shot through with loopholes. It had no applicability to weapons that were made and sold on the day before enactment. And the fact it was coming for many years gave gun manufacturers an opportunity to run their factories overtime and build up huge stockpiles of the weapons. So we will see. But if congress is not proposing to ban weapons that are already out there, then that leaves millions and millions of weapons already out there. How many are we looking at . It is believed 300 million . Hand guns, shotguns, tear hunting rifles and his militarystyle assault weapons. Theyre a good millions of these militarystyle assault weapons sold in the last few years. They are not going away unless someone is proposing a confiscation law, which so far i have not heard anyone propose. There are states, including connecticut, that have stricter state level loss for certain guns. That is up to a state to do if it wants to. We have to be very vigilant and separating symbolism from effective legislation. In the past, a lot of gun control laws have been more symbolism. You were the first in the media on friday to point out this Elementary School in newtown is not far from the headquarters of the National ShootingSports Foundation in Newtown Creek explain what that is. It is basically the trade association for the manufacturers and marketers of guns and ammunition. It is a Sister Organization to the better known nra which represents the interests of gun owners. The nra advocates on behalf of the customers and the nssf on behalf of the manufacturers. Of course, their interests intersect on many issues, and the upper hand in hand on many issues. What was striking to me is the nssf is based in this placid exurbs of new york, the san with the nra is based in the bucolic confines of fairfax, virginia. I dont think theres anything particularly remarkable about the geographic proximity between shooting tragedy beyond the fact that it shows us that guns really are normal and routine part of american life. It is not hold up in some castle behind barbed wire and machine guns, but in the building you might think is a medical professional building up on a hill that looks very innocuous. Guns are not exceptional in the United States, they are the norm. Put them in the context globally. Compare canada, germany, australia. Where do we stand when it comes to gun deaths in america . Our gun homicide rates is greater by orders of magnitude compared to all other comparable societies. Which is to say, industrialized democracies. Our overall Violent Crime rate this is a distinction worth making is not as distinct. In other words, youre not necessarily in greater peril of having your car stolen or having some he eu over the head with a baseball bat in the u. S. In fact, nyc is safer than many other big cities around the world in terms of Violent Crime overall. But we have a gun homicide problem. Our crime is more lethal because we have more guns. Talking about Something Like 9000 homicide gun deaths in the United States every year. I think that it has let 150. Germany, 170. And then you would include suicide and what is it in the u. S. . We have roughly something in order of 30,000 gun deaths a year, but the large majority are