President Barack Obama spoke at the White House with rows of grieving mothers behind him and publicly implored Congress to pass gun reform legislation 100 days after the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in Newtown, Conn.
"If we are serious, we will do it," Obama said, Vice President Joe Biden at his side. "We have cried enough. We have known enough heartbreak. Now, it?s time to turn that heartbreak into something real."
As the mothers of the children killed by gun violence wiped away tears, the president went on to urge the passage of background checks for gun buyers, and for loopholes to be closed for buyers who turn around and sell guns to criminals. He said 90 percent of Americans support background checks, as well as 80 percent of gun owners and 80 percent of Republicans.
The president also implored Americans to talk to their representatives in Congress if their lawmakers oppose the measures. "None of these ideas should be controversial,? Obama said.
Perhaps the most controversial proposed gun reform legislation, an assault weapons ban, was absent from the president's remarks Thursday.
Senate Democrats working on gun reform legislation recently announced that they would drop an assault weapons ban from an overall package of reform measures and put it to a separate vote as an amendment. That action is designed to boost the chances a reform package will pass, as it's expected that the ban is too unpalatable for some members, especially Democrats in gun rights states and the multitude of Republican opponents.
On Wednesday, the White House cast a positive spin on that decision, suggesting that offering the ban up as an amendment still forces lawmakers to choose sides on the issue, even if it doesn't win passage.
"I can't stand here and guarantee that it?s going to pass," White House principal deputy press secretary Josh Earnest said at Wednesday's press briefing, "but it is a question that 100 senators are going to ask themselves when they wake up in the morning and look themselves in the mirror about whether or not they are going to?about which side they're going to be on when it comes to voting on a ban on military-style assault weapons." He added that the president will continue to advocate for the ban.
Democrats in Congress concede separating the ban from the overall package is the best way forward.
"We want to come out with the best, the boldest common denominator that we can get," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said at a news conference on Wednesday when asked about the decision to separate out an assault weapons ban.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has stated plans to introduce a gun reform bill next month.
In addition to the president's talk, activities related to gun reform are taking place across the country Thursday, a day gun reform advocates have marked the "National Day to Demand Action" to end gun violence.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg?s anti-gun group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, released two television ads Thursday featuring family members of those killed in Newtown.
Court documents released Thursday revealed, among other things, that police investigating the Sandy Hook massacre seized Samurai swords, as well as a massive amount of ammunitions, and books on guns and mental health from the home of gunman Adam Lanza.
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