Children are led from Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., after a gunman killed 20 first-graders. /Image via AP
Exactly one month after 20 first-graders were shot to death in Newtown, Conn., President Obama foreshadowed his strategy and objectives in the battle ahead over new laws to curb gun violence.
Whether you like Obama or not, he has the admirable quality of generally doing what he says he's going to do. Soon after the Dec. 14 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the nation's chief executive said Vice President Joe Biden was going to lead an effort to review federal guns laws and find more ways to prevent mass shootings.
At a press conference Monday, Jan. 14, Obama said he would be unveiling the fruit of Biden's labor by the end of the week. While careful not to reveal too many details, the president once again called for a "meaningful ban" on assault weapons and large capacity ammunition clips.
In a sign that the national outrage sparked in Newtown continues to burn, a Pew Research Center poll conducted last week found growing support for several gun control measures. There was overwhelming support for new measures to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill and to strengthen background checks. About 55 percent of those polled favored bans on assault weapons and large capacity ammunition clips.
The first big political struggle of 2013 is heating up.
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