Obama Calls for Rapid Proposal on Gun Law Reform

President Barack Obama on Wednesday called for a new gun control bill to be drawn up by next month and vowed that he would immediately throw his political weight behind it.

Published

5 months ago

Categories

US

Topics

US Politics, Gun Control, United States

People

Barack Obama, Joe Biden

Places

United States of America, Connecticut, Washington, D.C.

Transcript

SHOTLIST: WASHINGTON, DECEMBER 19, 2012, SOURCE: US POOL **NO RESALE for non-editorial purposes** SOUNDBITE 1 Barack Obama (man), President of the United States (English, 26 sec): "We may never know all the reasons why this tragedy happened. We do know that every day since, more Americans have died of gun violence. We know such violence has terrible consequences for our society. And if there is even one thing that we can do to prevent any of these events, we have a deep obligation, all of us, to try." SOUNDBITE 2 Barack Obama (man), President of the United States (English, 17 sec): "That's why I've asked the vice president to lead an effort that includes members of my cabinet and outside organizations to come up with a set of concrete proposals no later than January. Proposals that I then intend to push without delay." - side shot of Obama - zoom in on Obama and Biden - Obama, Biden leaving at the end of briefing --------------------- AFP TEXT STORY US-shooting-guns-law-Obama,lead Obama calls for rapid proposal on gun law reform WASHINGTON, Dec 19, 2012 (AFP) - President Barack Obama on Wednesday called for a new gun control bill to be drawn up by next month and vowed that he would immediately throw his political weight behind it. Speaking five days after a lone gunman slaughtered 20 children and six adults at a Connecticut elementary school, Obama tasked Vice President Joe Biden to study the problem of violence with firearms in America. But he also insisted he supported citizens' right to bear arms. "We may never know all the reasons why this tragedy happened. We do know that every day since, more Americans have died of gun violence," he told reporters, flanked by Biden at a White House news conference. "If there is even one thing that we can do to prevent any of these events, we have a deep obligation, all of us, to try," Obama said. The White House has previously said Obama backs a plan to revive a ban on assault weapons. "We know this is a complex issue that stirs deeply held passions and political divides and, as I said on Sunday night, there's no law or set of laws that can prevent every senseless act of violence in our society. "The fact that we can't prevent every act of violence doesn't mean we can't steadily reduce the violence and prevent the very worst violence. "That's why I've asked the vice president to lead an effort that includes members of my cabinet and outside organizations to come up with a set of concrete proposals no later than January," he said. Obama added he would push such a proposal "without delay," citing as a model a previous ten-year ban on assault weapons -- military-style semi-automatics -- that Congress allowed to expire in 2004. He also called for more stringent criminal record checks to be applied to gun purchases, but added that he did not want to call into question the right of US citizens to own and carry firearms. "Look, like the majority of Americans, I believe that the second amendment guarantees an individual a right to bear arms," he said. "This country has a strong tradition of gun ownership handed down from generation to generation."