(MCT) — WASHINGTON — Manufacturers of the popular AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, the type of weapon used last week in the Newtown, Conn., killings, girded for the worst Tuesday as gun control moved to the forefront of the legislative agenda in the nation’s capital and retailers pulled the weapon from store sales floors and websites.

Republicans and Democrats were in rare lockstep, with prominent figures in each party calling Tuesday for a special commission to look into the tragic shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School and recommend changes in gun control laws and the nation’s mental health system.