Connecticut's governor signed tough new gun ownership rules into law Thursday, four months after a deranged loner opened fire on an elementary school in the state, killing 20 children and six adults. Governor Dannel Malloy put his signature to the bill, noting that the state's ability to reach a bipartisan accord on the issue at a time of rancorous debate in Congress was "something quite different in our nation."

A proposed ban on assault weapons like the one used in an elementary school massacre last year has been removed from a broader gun control package, with Democrats conceding it would not get through Congress. The move by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid does not kill the proposal outright. But separating it from three other measures being strongly pushed by President Barack Obama's Democrats leaves it to wither in today's highly partisan Congress.

US lawmakers approved a Democratic bill Thursday that would ban assault weapons and high-capacity gun magazines, in a party line vote three months to the day after the Newtown school massacre. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 10-8 for the measure. But despite President Barack Obama's backing, the ban is seen by many as the most problematic element in the president's push to reduce weapons violence by tightening up Americans' easy access to firearms.

A US Senate panel on Thursday approved a Democratic bill that would ban assault weapons and high-capacity gun magazines, in a party line vote three months to the day after the school massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 10-8 for the bill, seen by many as the most problematic element of President Barack Obama's push to reduce weapons violence by tightening up Americans' almost unfettered access to firearms.