U.S. President Barack Obama has again urged Americans to press Congress to pass new gun control legislation.
During a speech Monday at the University of Hartford in (the northeastern state of) Connecticut, Mr. Obama called on citizens to get engaged and get involved in an effort to stem what he called the "misinformation" that is threatening efforts to debate the legislation.
Mr. Obama appeared at the university with Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy, who last week signed sweeping gun control legislation into law after it was passed in the state legislature.
In December, a 20-year-old gunmen fatally shot 20 children and six adult staff members at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. Before the mass shooting, the gunmen had shot and killed his mother. He fatally shot himself after the elementary school killings.
Mr. Obama argued that U.S. lawmakers have an obligation to the 20 children and six adults killed in the mass shooting.
"Now is the time for everybody to make their voices heard from every state house to the corridors of Congress.''
"Newtown, we want you to know that we're here with you. We will not walk away from the promise we've made. We are determined as ever to do what must be done, in fact, I'm here to ask you to help me to show that we can get it done. We're not forgetting."
Senate Democrats need to persuade enough opposition Republicans to support a proposed bill and achieve the required 60 votes to move to a formal debate and a vote. The president is calling for expanded background checks on all gun buyers, re-instating an assault weapons ban and limiting the size of gun magazine clips.
Republican Senator Charles Grassley is one of those opposed to the proposed gun control legislation. Grassley said he and his constituents (in the midwestern state of Iowa) believe the legislation threatens Americans' constitutional rights to own a gun.
"We can't ban any more guns, we can't have gun registration, we can't have the government know where the guns are because a lot of people believe that you can't trust the government."
During a speech Monday at the University of Hartford in (the northeastern state of) Connecticut, Mr. Obama called on citizens to get engaged and get involved in an effort to stem what he called the "misinformation" that is threatening efforts to debate the legislation.
Mr. Obama appeared at the university with Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy, who last week signed sweeping gun control legislation into law after it was passed in the state legislature.
In December, a 20-year-old gunmen fatally shot 20 children and six adult staff members at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. Before the mass shooting, the gunmen had shot and killed his mother. He fatally shot himself after the elementary school killings.
Mr. Obama argued that U.S. lawmakers have an obligation to the 20 children and six adults killed in the mass shooting.
"Now is the time for everybody to make their voices heard from every state house to the corridors of Congress.''
"Newtown, we want you to know that we're here with you. We will not walk away from the promise we've made. We are determined as ever to do what must be done, in fact, I'm here to ask you to help me to show that we can get it done. We're not forgetting."
Senate Democrats need to persuade enough opposition Republicans to support a proposed bill and achieve the required 60 votes to move to a formal debate and a vote. The president is calling for expanded background checks on all gun buyers, re-instating an assault weapons ban and limiting the size of gun magazine clips.
Republican Senator Charles Grassley is one of those opposed to the proposed gun control legislation. Grassley said he and his constituents (in the midwestern state of Iowa) believe the legislation threatens Americans' constitutional rights to own a gun.
"We can't ban any more guns, we can't have gun registration, we can't have the government know where the guns are because a lot of people believe that you can't trust the government."