Sandy Hook Puts Kids' Thumbprint Painting on Display

Cetronia Elementary School in the Parkland School District creates a peace painting with thumbprints of students and staff as 'healing' gift to Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Cetronia Elementary School's act of "kindness"—a peace painting created with the thumbprints of its students and staff—has made its way to Newtown Public Schools in Connecticut. Cetronia art teacher Susan Hardy, who spearheaded the project, learned in an email last week that the painting is currently being displayed in the Newtown Public Schools Central Office until a decision is made on the future Sandy Hook Elementary School. "I was actually very surprised," said Hardy, who figured the painting might be put in a storage area for some time since Sandy Hook has likely been inundated with cards, paper snowflakes and other symbols of support following the shooting tragedy there. "What a beautiful creation of thumbprints!" wrote Newtown …

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Newtown Residents Launch Kindness Awards

An award named after Charlotte Bacon, who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting, was established to encourage children from around the world to think about and perform simple acts of kindness.

Obama Seeks Sweeping New Gun Laws

President Obama said the laws, including universal background checks and a renewed ban on assault rifles, would lead to "fewer atrocities like the one that happened in Newtown."

Alongside Vice President Joe Biden and a group of children who had written in support, President Barack Obama signed a proposal to Congress Wednesday to strengthen United States gun laws, including universal background checks, limiting the number of bullets in a clip, and renewing a ban on military-grade assault rifles. "If America worked harder to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people, there would be fewer atrocities like the one that occurred in Newtown," Obama said. Check out these related stories He listed some specific measures, including a 10-round limit on magazines for firearms, and asked congress to confirm Todd Jones to fill the long-dormant role of chief for the Bureau of Alchol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) — and briefly…

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Biden's Gun Policy Recommendations Come Today

The vice president has been meeting with parties on both sides of the gun control debate, as well as mental health advocates, as he crafts proposals in response to the Dec. 14 Newtown school shooting. And the NRA responds.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is expected to announce sweeping policy changes to gun laws and mental health care on Tuesday, two weeks earlier than expected. In Pennsylvania, two lawmakers say they want teachers to carry guns. Biden's recommendations, at the request of President Barack Obama, are a response to the Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that claimed the life of 20 first-graders and six educators. According to a report by the Huffington Post, Biden's proposals are likely to address the availability and access to certain types of guns and ammunition, and tackle the issue of data collection and background checks. While Connecticut State Police continue their investigation into the Newtown shooting, authorities have …

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Newtown Requests Halt to Gifts, Says They'll Become 'Sacred Soil'

Officials say it's better to distribute gifts locally, according to a report from the Associated Press.

  Since the Sandy Hook school shooting on Dec. 14, gifts have poured into Newtown from all over the world. In Sandy Hook and on the steps of Edmond Town Hall, piles of candles, teddy bears, letters of well wishing and other memorials have sprouted up. But now town officials are respectfully requesting a halt to the gifts. First Selectman Pat Llodra, Police Chief Michael Kehoe and superintendent Janet Robinson are among those who asked for gifts to stop Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. Additionally, Llodra told residents in a townwide call Saturday that existing gifts -- including signs and teddy bears -- would be "gathered and processed" into soil to serve as the foundation for a future Sandy Hook memorial, according to the …

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In Newtown Debate, Put Everything on the Table

All rights – including the Second Amendment – come with caveats.

  In the wake of the Newtown tragedy, the gun control advocates are calling for restrictions on firearms and some on the pro-gun side are citing the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms. So here’s the thing: Let’s go with the constitutional framers original intent and allow every American to own a musket. But first, let’s stop pretending that the Bill of Rights grants rights – including gun ownership -- that are absolute. We have free speech, but you can’t yell “fire” in a crowded theater. We have freedom of assembly but you’re not allowed to riot. So when gun advocates say they have the right to bear arms, all but the most extreme will acknowledge that like all freedoms in the Bill of Rights, it comes with caveats. For a fascinating look…

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Report: Gunman's Mother Was Target and School's Kindergarten Teacher

A gunman is believed to have shot and killed 27 people, including his mother and 18 children at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

  NEWTOWN, CONNECTICUT - Officials in Newtown say they're trying to reunite parents with their children in the wake of a shocking mass shooting at an elementary school in the town’s Sandy Hook neighborhood. CNN reports that there may be as many as 27 dead. The gunman apparently went to his family’s Hoboken, NJ, home before heading to Newtown, CT, where he fatally shot his mother in her kindergarten classroom of Sandy Hook Elementary School, according to NBC. It is believed the shooting began near the principal’s office before the gunman went to his mother’s kindergarten classroom and killed her and her students, according to the report. Newtown (Conn.) Patch is covering this unfolding news story. First Selectman Pat Llodra told Newtown …

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