Gun control advocates introduced legislation on the first day of the new Congress to ban high-capacity ammunition magazines used in recent massacres, including the one at Sandy Hook Elementary last month. Democratic Rep. Carolyn McCarthy of New York said in a statement: “These assault magazines help put the 'mass' in 'mass shooting' and anything we can do to stop their proliferation will save lives in America.” McCarthy, who lost her husband in a shooting on the Long Island Rail Road — her son was also severely injured — introduced the ammunition ban with fellow Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette of Colorado. Gun control supporters are hoping an apparent shift in attitudes after 20 children and six adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary, as well as the shooter’s mother who was killed first in her home, might pave the way for reform. In the latest potential sign of that shift, Republican Rep. Peter King of New York questioned ownership of assault weapons during an appearance on MSNBC.

Peter King: “I really don’t know why people need assault weapons. I’m not a hunter, but I understand people who want. I understand people who live in rough neighborhoods or have a small business and want to maintain a pistol to protect themselves, so long as they’re properly vetted and licensed. But an assault weapon? Listen, I’m sure 99 percent of people with assault weapons are good Americans. But to give that potential to a mass murderer who would be able to out-arm the police, who, as we saw, could carry out the worst devastation?”