The National Rifle Association is holding a press conference on the issue of new gun-control legislation, a topic that has become the focus of the national concern after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, which left 26 people killed among which 20 were children of ages six and seven.
The minute-to-minute update on the proceedings of the conference can be found here.
The NRA is a staunch supporter of lax gun-control legislation owing to the principal that the right to own a gun is right given to every American by the U.S. Constitution's "right to bear arms." Over the past months, the nation has experienced a number of massive shootings - The Aurora Movie Theater shooting in July and the Sikh Temple shooting weeks after, throughout these events, the NRA continued to hold strong on its stance regarding gun-control laws.
However, the recent Newtown, Connecticut massacre has pushed the NRA to acknowledge the need to address the issue since members of both parties have begun to raise questions on the existing laws.
President addressed the White House on the matter on Thursday, announcing his supports for a ban on assault weapons, as well as military style rifles and large ammunition magazines. In the briefing, he said that he wanted legislative recommendations no later than January, which is merely weeks away, stressing the importance of acting without any delay.
"This is not some Washington commission, this is not something where folks are going to be studying the issue for six months and publishing a report that gets read and then pushed aside. This is a team that has a very specific task to pull together real reforms, right now," as reported by Voice of America.
In a speech in Newton on Sunday President Obama offered words of comforts to victims' families and friends, where he also mentioned that, "no single law, no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world, or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society. But that can't be an excuse for inaction. Surely, we can do better than this," as reported by CNN News.
According to reports, the President has trusted the Vice President, Joe Biden, to spearhead the agenda on federal gun control legislation, given Joe Biden's track record in such matters.
Senator Diane Feinstein, judiciary committee chair, also announced that she will work to create a legislation that would ban assault weapons.
According to the White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, the president will support Feinstein's efforts. According to Wall Street Journal, Carney also said, "the president would consider limits on high-capacity magazines and would back efforts to prevent people from buying guns through unlicensed dealers without a background check."
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