AUSTIN, Texas -- Thousands of gun advocates have gathered peacefully at state capitals across the U.S. to rally against stricter limits on firearms. The size of crowds at each location varied -- from dozens of people in South Dakota to 2,000 in New York. The other largest crowds appeared to be in Tennessee and Texas.
In Arizona and Oregon, some demonstrators came with holstered handguns or rifles on their backs.
Activists promoted the "Guns Across America" rallies primarily through social media. They were being held just after President Barack Obama unveiled a sweeping package of federal gun-control proposals.
Police in Connecticut said about 1,000 people showed up on the capitol grounds in Hartford, about 50 miles from the site of last month's mass shooting at Newtown's Sandy Hook Elementary School. Demonstrators there urged state and federal authorities not to introduce new restrictions on gun ownership as task forces created by the Legislature and Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy consider changes to state gun laws.
Authorities reported no problems at early rallies Saturday afternoon.
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