In the aftermath of the Newtown massacre, a number of pro-gun lawmakers are signaling a new willingness to soften their opposition to restrictions on weapons. On Monday, Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a longtime advocate of so-called “gun rights,” said when it comes to gun control, “everything should be on the table.” Senator Mark Warner of Virginia also said he would back “stricter rules,” calling the massacre a “game changer.” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, also a pro-gun lawmaker, said the massacre will prompt a “meaningful conversation and thoughtful debate about how to change laws and culture that allow violence to grow.” In a statement, Democratic Rep. John Yarmuth of Kentucky apologized for being “largely silent on the issue of gun violence,” adding, “I am now as sorry for that as I am for what happened to the families who lost so much.” At a news conference, New York Mayor and gun control advocate Michael Bloomberg urged meaningful action from Washington.

Mayor Bloomberg: “Gun violence is a national epidemic and a national tragedy that demands more than words. We are the only industrialized country that has this problem — in the whole world, the only one — and that’s why we need immediate national action from the president and from Congress. It should be at the top of their agenda, because what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School was, sadly, no aberration.”