I wonder how this social experiment will work out. One state bans guns, one makes them easier to get.

One of the disagreements I have with gun control advocates is their measures focus on disarming law abiding citizen, not stopping criminals who will always get weapons even if they are prohibited from doing so, e.g. felons. In case you don't know it, that's one of the reasons they are called criminals.
Now we have two states, soon after mass shooting, are taking very different paths.

After gun tragedies, Connecticut and Arizona take different paths 

Four months after the elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn., lawmakers banned at least 115 types of semiautomatic firearms. 

Four months after the shooting of a congresswoman and a federal judge in Arizona, lawmakers there named the Colt Army Action Revolver the official state gun. 

The similarities in the attacks were striking: Both were carried out by heavily armed young men with histories of mental illness. But in their aftermaths, the states took radically different ­approaches to gun violence. 

The differences reflect the wide divide separating Americans, with long-established gun cultures colliding with efforts to restrict gun ownership. Connecticut muscled through one of the most comprehensive packages of gun laws in the country. Arizona moved to make it easier to carry guns in public. 

After both shootings, background checks and weapons bans consumed political debates across the country. Families of victims pleaded for stronger regulation, while gun rights advocates stocked up on ammunition, fearing impending restrictions.... 

...Shortly after the Dec. 14, 2012, shooting, Connecticut’s six ­highest-ranked lawmakers decided to write new laws instead of allowing committees to take control.

Then-House Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz, a Democrat trained with an M16 in the Army, took a month to “brush up” on everything related to gun policy. He took a tour of the nearby Colt factory; aides went to a local firearms dealer to run through a background check in person. 

“It was a painstaking process, but I think our reaction was indicative of the types of things that Connecticut needed to do after the tragedy,” he said.

It's really worked seeing Colt is likely leaving your state. Mr. Aresimowicz, learn something from this, business doesn't like hostile state governments that blame them for the actions of deranged individual. I don't blame Budweiser or Miller for DWIs, Ford or Chevy for DOA accidents and I don't hold Glock or Colt accountable for people who use their pistols for already illegal acts like murder!

The six men — four Democrats, two Republicans — discussed gun policy almost exclusively for weeks. They debated whether features such as thumbholes and pistol grips would qualify a gun as an assault weapon. They made calls to state police officers and held up photographs of different types of guns and asked each other, “Would this be one? Would that be one?”

In addition to the millions of dollars budgeted for mental health and school security, the final bill banned 115 types of semiautomatic weapons and all magazines larger than 10 rounds.

Although Connecticut’s legislation passed with bipartisan support, the 48 Republicans who opposed it said they largely were ignored.

State Rep. Craig Miner, who earned an A grade from the National Rifle Association, said most of his Democratic colleagues had already made up their minds when he was appointed the Republican leader of a statewide committee on safer gun policy.

When he read the final bill — packed with new restrictions that he opposed — he said he never felt more out of place in his 23 years as an elected official.

“There wasn’t one piece of that bill that I couldn’t find something to point to and think, ‘Boy, oh boy, I must be on Mars,’ ” Miner said.

Lawmakers in Arizona, the No. 1 state for gun owners according to Guns & Ammo magazine, have introduced more than 100 firearms-related bills since 2011.

Most had a similar aim: self-defense and security.

One bill would have required armed guards and metal detectors at the entrance of public buildings that ban guns. Each of the three times it cleared the legislature, Republican Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed it as an unfunded mandate for cities and towns.

A few days ago I posted on how 20 lawsuits are moving forward against Cinemark. One of the main factors was the theater had "Gun Free Zone" (aka "Unarmed Target Zone") signs posted and also had no armed security. A similar issue came up in College Station TX at a McDonalds next to Texas A&M University. The manager allowed "rap artist" thugs in the store and did not have security on site. They beat an 18 year old student to death and his 20 year old girlfriend was killed trying to get him to a hospital.

...Daniel Hernandez Jr. crossed paths with gunman Jared Loughner as he ran through the havoc toward his boss, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D), who was choking on her own blood.

Hernandez, a new intern, administered aid to Giffords until first responders arrived. He is credited with saving her life.

For two years after the shooting that killed six, Hernandez didn’t talk about guns. A native Arizonan who grew up hunting, he didn’t want to politicize the contentious issue.

That changed when he was elected as a board member of the Sunnyside Unified School District, and Adam Lanza killed 26 at Sandy Hook.

“I had a new responsibility,” Hernandez said. “I wasn’t just Daniel the individual, I was responsible for 17,000 students and 2,000 staff members.”

Hernandez immediately teamed with New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns and helped develop an informal coalition of about 40 groups working toward gun violence prevention in the state.

This year, they met with the governor’s office, the first gun-control group to do so in 14 years, he said.

“For whatever reason, we have put guns on this very different level,” Hernandez said. “It’s a sacred thing to many people, which forbids us from having reasonable conversations.”

He believes change is coming. Democrats and Republicans overwhelmingly passed a bill to increase the mental health records that Arizona submits to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

Hernandez has made the two-hour drive to the State Capitol 39 times to push for other measures, most notably universal background checks.

“This is not a flash in the pan,” Hernandez said, “and unfortunately our network of survivors is growing every single day.”

...Mr. Hernandez, if you are worried about the safety of your kids and staff members I suggest armed security on your locations. In spite of everything Mayor Bloomberg says behind his vast waves of bodyguards with guns, the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. If you want example of this, I suggest you read The Armed Citizen, which shows how firearms are used daily across this country to stop criminals.

Again, a question, Shall we look in 3-5 years and see which state has a higher crim rate? I'll bet it is Connecticut.