Legislative debates over gun rights, up significantly since the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., have spurred alleged death threats resulting in two high-profile arrests and causing lawmakers in one state to declare their legislature was under attack.

"I don't think the general public understands the threats" public officials can get over gun debates," said California state Sen. Leland Yee, a Democrat from San Francisco, who was the recipient of alleged death threats that resulted in the arrest of a Silicon Valley engineer named Everett Basham. The 45-year-old Basham has been charged with 10 felonies and two misdemeanors and has been denied bail.

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Legislators or top state officials in at least six states have been allegedly threatened over the gun issue, and in three cases, arrests have been made. In the wake of the Newtown school shooting in December that resulted in the death of 20 children and six adults, the number of bills to either restrict or expand gun rights in state legislatures has risen from 851 a year ago to 1,159 so far this year, according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

Read More: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/14/threats-gun-legislation/1978683/