Obama Unveils Biggest Gun Control Push in Generations

US President Barack Obama announced new gun control measures including mandatory criminal background checks for sales and a ban on military style assault weapons. Deborah Gembara reports.

Published

5 months ago

Categories

US

Topics

Gun Control, United States

People

Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Deborah Gembara

Places

United States of America

Transcript

It's the biggest push for gun control in generations. President Obama unveiled the new measures, which include criminal background checks on all gun purchases and a ban on military style assault weapons, in Washington. SOUNDBITE: U.S. President Barack Obama saying: "In the month since 20 precious children and six brave adults were violently taken from us at Sandy Hook Elementary, more than 900 of our fellow Americans have reportedly dide at the end of a gun -- 900 in the past month. And every day we wait, that number will keep growing." Also at the event were children who have written the President about their concerns about gun violence. The president' plan includes criminal background checks for gun purchases. More controversial is his call for Congress to renew a ban on military style assault weapons. SOUNDBITE: U.S. President Barack Obama saying: "The type of assault rifle used in Aurora, for example, when paired with high capacity magazines has one purpose: to pump out as many bullets as possible as quickly as possible, to do as much damage using bullets often designed to inflict maximum damage. Weapons designed for the theater of war have no place in a movie theater." Republicans are expected to oppose the measure and the National Rifle Association rolled out this commercial in anticipation. NRA COMMERCIAL The president's proposals were based on the findings of a task force headed by Vice President Joe Biden and set up after the Sandy Hook school massacre.