海角大神

Most students returned to school in the devastated聽Connecticut聽community of聽Newtown聽on Tuesday for the first time since a gunman's rampage killed 26 people in an elementary school, reviving the gun control debate in Washington.

Breaking its silence for the first time since the shootings, the powerful gun industry lobby, the聽National Rifle Association, said it was "shocked, saddened and heartbroken" and was "prepared to offer meaningful contributions" to prevent such massacres.

Businesses also reacted. One retailer, Dick's Sporting Goods, pulled all guns from its store closest to聽Newtown聽and suspended the sale of certain semi-automatic rifles in its stores nationwide. A private equity firm said it would sell its investments in the company that makes the AR-15 type聽Bushmaster聽rifle used in the shootings after pressure from a major teachers' pension fund.

Sandy Hook聽Elementary, where聽Adam Lanza聽gunned down 20 6- and 7-year-olds and six adults on Friday, remained closed. It was a crime scene on Tuesday, with police coming and going past a line of 26 Christmas trees, one for each victim, decorated with ornaments, stuffed animals and balloons in the school colors of green and white.

The rest of聽Newtown's schools reopened with grief counselors and police present, while two families buried their children.

"It's going to be awful, doing the things we used to do," said聽Miguel, 16, who stopped by a doughnut shop on his way to聽Newtown High School. "There's going to be a lot of tears."聽

The massacre prompted some Republican lawmakers to open the door to a national debate about gun control, a small sign of easing in Washington's entrenched reluctance to seriously consider new federal restrictions.

The NRA uses political pressure against individual lawmakers and others to press for loosening constraints on gun sales and ownership across the聽United States聽while promoting hunting and gun sports.

The group, which said it had not commented until now out of respect for the families and to allow time for mourning and an investigation, planned a news conference on Friday.聽

Newtown buries its children聽

笔谤别蝉颈诲别苍迟听Barack Obama聽called for action at a Sunday night prayer vigil in聽Newtown, and Democratic lawmakers have sought a new push for U.S. gun restrictions, including a ban on assault weapons such as the聽Bushmaster聽AR-15-style assault rifle used by Lanza.

The 20-year-old gunman carried hundreds of rounds of ammunition in extra clips and shot his victims repeatedly, one of them 11 times. He also shot and killed his mother before driving to the school, and then killed himself.

When聽Sandy Hook聽students go back to school, it will be at the unused聽Chalk Hill School聽in nearby Monroe, where a sign across the street read, "Welcome聽Sandy Hook聽Elementary!" There was no immediate word on when that would be.

Police have warned it could take months to wrap up the investigation, which was set back because Lanza smashed his computer's hard drive, preventing police from retrieving any data,聽The New York Times聽reported, citing a senior law enforcement official.

A day after the first two children were buried, funerals took place on Tuesday for聽James Mattioli聽and聽Jessica Rekos. Each was 6 years old. Six funerals were set for Wednesday.

"I just feel its important to be here. I wanted to sit in the back and pay respect. I wanted to cry," said聽Angela Bergen, who drove 90 minutes from聽Elizabeth,聽New Jersey, with her 13-year-old son聽Jack聽to attend the Mattioli funeral.

At聽Newtown High School, three girls hugged each other in the parking lot before starting for the doorway. Counseling was available in the gym for students and staff.

Nanci Wallenta, taking her friend's son to middle school, said she was unworried about security and determined to get back to normal.

"It's an isolated incident," Wallenta said. "You can't go through life being afraid. You can't live in fear. ... We're a strong town."

Assault weapons ban reconsidered聽

White House听蝉辫辞办别蝉尘补苍听Jay Carney聽said Obama would support U.S. Senator聽Dianne Feinstein's effort to craft legislation to reinstate an assault weapons ban that lapsed in 2004, and would also back any law to close a loophole related to gun-show sales.

"People have talked about high-capacity gun ammunition clips, for example, and that is something certainly that he would be interested in looking at," Carney added.

Obama spoke earlier in the day with Democratic Senator Joe Manchin 辞蹿听奥别蝉迟 Virginia, a gun rights advocate who said he would now be open to more regulation of military-style rifles.

Some Republicans have shown signs they too are willing to discuss gun control after聽Newtown.

"You are going to have some people (Republicans) who never, never go there," said Representative聽Steve LaTourette, an聽Ohio聽Republican. "But yes, I think most Republicans are willing to have a very, very serious conversation about what this means and taking a second look at what the Second Amendment means in the 21st century."

That amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right of Americans to bear arms.

In another sign of a possible shift on the issue,聽Michigan's Republican Governor聽Rick Snyder聽vetoed a bill that would have allowed some gun owners to bring concealed weapons into schools.

The U.S. Conference of聽Mayors聽sent an open letter to Obama urging him to act alone by exercising his executive power in addition to working with聽Congress.

U.S. private equity firm聽Cerberus Capital Management聽announced on Tuesday it was selling its investment in gunmaker聽Freedom Group聽after a major investor, the California State Teachers' Retirement System, said it was reviewing its investment with Cerberus.

CalSTRS, the second largest pension fund in the United States, had invested $751.4 million with Cerberus by the end of March 2012, according to its website. Cerberus bought firearms maker聽Bushmaster聽in 2006 and later merged it with other gun companies to create聽Freedom Group.

While Dick's pulled some guns from its shelves,聽Wal-Mart聽Stores Inc took down an informational website about semi-automatic聽Bushmaster聽rifles. Cabela's Inc continued to advertise AR-15-type聽Bushmaster聽rifles on its website, though it said the weapons were not available for sale online or at its聽Connecticut store.