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Around midday, Maureen Gard took a break from watching the political process play out on closed-circuit television nearby to remember growing up in Chicago as the daughter of a police officer. Her father, she says, instilled in her at an early age a tremendous respect for guns. “In my household, a gun was a protection unit,” she said. “He drove it home so much that it was a form of protection when used properly.”

That message was further reinforced several years later when, after joining the Marines out of high school, Gard said she was sexually assaulted on a base in Virginia.

“If I would have had (a gun) with me I would have had even better control of the situation,” she said, guardedly.

Years later, after moving to New Haven, she says that she slept with her fiance’s gun by her side when he was away. According to Gard, who is a member of the NRA but doesn’t own a gun, she was gripped in fear whenever she stepped out the door.

On Wednesday, with the gun debate raging two floors above her, she said the biggest problem with the bill is that it fails to distinguish between responsible gun owners and criminals, though she concedes that she doesn’t “have a better solution.”

“I just think it’s too extreme. It makes you almost not want to live out your rights.”

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For one gun enthusiast, the seed was planted in the mid-90s.

That was around the time that Josh’s family moved to Goshen (like most of his cohorts, he did not want his last name used). He says that he was a senior in high school and he was trying to help a female friend who was being stalked.

When the stalker showed up unannounced at Josh’s house one day, he said they feared for their safety. The incident escalated when the man pulled out a bat from his car, said Josh, a Torrington resident who points out that he has voted Democrat the past few years.

“You know when somebody’s on the edge. They’re beet red…he could have killed us,” he said. The 34-year-old says he ran inside to retrieve his BB rifle when the man started toward the house.

“I’m convinced to this day that that was the only thing that could have saved our lives,” he said.

He bought his first gun shortly after the incident.

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Theodore Antonities is more tempered in his critique of the impending legislation than most card-carrying NRA members. A former naval radar intercept officer, was raised in a gun-friendly household in New York state.

For Antonities, of Ridgefield, preserving the right to bear arms is tantamount to adequately protecting one’s family. Or as he put it: “The important of never allowing myself or my family or loved ones to be victims of a violent crime.”

“Carrying a gun is not a license to hurt someone,” he said. “It is a means of last resort in a desperate situation.”

Unlike some of his cohorts, Antonities said that he has taken the other’s sides arguments into consideration in forming his opinion about the proposed gun control measures.

“Although the anti-gun (movement) is full of many well-intentioned individuals…many of them are misguided,” he said.

While he admitted that “whatever laws they pass here I’m going to abide by them – I’m not a rebel – but that’s an disadvantage to my community.”

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“The bad guy ain’t going to give up his guns,” said Rick, a refrain that was echoed throughout the early morning. “And if you don’t believe me watch ‘Gangland’ on Spike TV.”

As an example, he pointed to Chicago where gun violence has precipitously risen despite some of the country’s most stringent gun laws. The Bristol resident declined to give his last name because he did not want his neighbors to know that he’s a gun owner.

He said that he’s been a member of the National Rifle Association since the age of 12, and he believes fervently in starting gun safety training at an early age.

How early?

He claims that he took his six-year-old grandson shooting last week.

“This kid’s gonna be safe,” he said proudly. “That’s one sentence, I’ve never finished to a kid: ‘don’t point that gun at anyone.’”

As with other gun enthusiasts, he defended his right to bear arms by citing the Second Amendment.

“This is our heritage; we’re free because we have guns,” he said. “I was born free and I’m going to die that way.”

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Members of the Westboro Baptist Church, who regularly protest military funerals (and often show up in the wake of similarly tragic events) announced Saturday that they plan to protest President Obama’s scheduled visit to Newtown today.

Several members of the church took to Twitter to broadcast their intentions, including one who posted that she will “sing praise to God for the glory of his work in executing his judgment,” during the President’s visit, Buzzfeed reported.

And local authorities may be powerless to stop them: The U.S. Supreme Court previously ruled that their hateful protests are protected under the First Amendment.

However, a number of Redditors (members of the popular – and occasionally philanthropic – website Reddit) have declared that they plan on traveling to Newtown to form “a silent blockade during the funeral processions…” As of 10 a.m. Sunday morning, hundreds of people had commented on the thread, many of them expressing interest in taking part in the proposed actions.

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UPDATE, 12:09 a.m.: In his press briefing this morning, Vance said that Lanza “was not voluntarily let into the school,” indicating that the shooter forcibly made his way inside. Parents and community members have said that the school does have a security system in place, so the question remains about how (and where) the shooter managed to enter the building.

Here is a layout of the building itself:

Contributed photo

UPDATE, 10:50 a.m.: The press conference has wrapped up and the next briefing won’t be for another hour. Here are a few of Vance’s comments:

He also urged reporters respect victims’ families’ privacy:

“They have asked for you to please respect their privacy. They’re going through, as I know you understand, a very difficult and trying time.”

Vance said that no other arrests were made:

“There were no other arrests that were associated with this investigation that occurred.”

However, he failed to address what became of the man that police held for questioning shortly after the shooting took place. Witnesses said that the man was led out in handcuffs from the woods adjacent to the school. He was later placed into the front-seat of a nearby state police cruiser and questioned.

Vance also pointed out that a Crisis Intervention Team from Yale-New Haven Hospital to support grieving families. They can be reached at 203-270-4283.

UPDATE, 10:36 a.m.: Shortly before the press conference started, state police released a news release detailing a few fresh details.

Most notable:

“A second crime scene was located by investigators at a residence on Yogananda Street. A female was located deceased inside the residence. This scene was secured and an additional State Police Major Crime Squad responded to this scene to investigate this incident. Preliminary information determined that the deceased was a relative of the “shooter” at the Elementary School.”

UPDATE, 10:23 a.m.: Lt. Paul Vance is currently addressing the media:

“The minute the medical examiner is done, I mean that sincerely, he is coming here and we will provide the detailed information, as much of the detailed information as we can, relative to the work he did overnight.”

UPDATE, 9:51 a.m.: The Hour co-managing editor Jerrod Ferrari is tweeting that the list of the victims’ names will be released to The Associated Press before they are announced to the public. The presser’s been pushed back again to 10 a.m.

UPDATE, 9:23 a.m.: Even as the grisly details have begun to emerge, they are being interspersed with tales of heroism: here and here.

UPDATE, 8:57 a.m.: The presser has yet to start. Media are still standing by.

Michael Duffy/Staff Photographer

UPDATE, 8:47 a.m.: As WTNH pointed out, United Way of Western Connecticut has started accepting donations to benefit the families affected by yesterday’s shooting. For more details, call 800-461-0672.

UPDATE, 8:27 a.m.: A press conference is set to begin shortly at Treadwell Park, where authorities are expected to update the media on the progress of their investigation.

The presser was initially scheduled for 8 a.m., but has been pushed back several times as reporters await the arrival of Lt. Paul Vance, a state police spokesman.

Vance told reporters at a similar briefing yesterday that authorities also hoped to release the names of the shooting victims. Their family members were notified overnight.