STREAM EXCLUSIVE ORIGINALS

Obama on Gun Control: 'We All Have a Responsibility'

President Obama has had many wins as president, such as establishing health care reform, supporting the call for same-sex marriages to be legal and stabilizing an economy post recession. But one issue that has haunted him is gun control reform, as there have been several mass shootings that have taken the lives of innocent adults and children under his presidency.

President Obama has had many wins as president, such as establishing health care reform, supporting the call for same-sex marriages to be legal and stabilizing an economy post recession. But one issue that has haunted him is gun control reform, as there have been several mass shootings that have taken the lives of innocent adults and children under his presidency.

"Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad," Obama said, referencing the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, during a speech in which he unveiled his latest plans. He broke into tears as he expressed his frustration with how much control gun lobbyists have had on Congress when it comes to passing tighter restrictions on American's access to firearms.  

He spoke on his failure to make changes in this area as president during a town hall with CNN's Anderson Cooper Thursday night. Additionally he wrote a New York Times op-ed stating that he can not accomplish this effort alone.
Obama wrote:

Even as I continue to take every action possible as president, I will also take every action I can as a citizen. I will not campaign for, vote for or support any candidate, even in my own party, who does not support common-sense gun reform. And if the 90 percent of Americans who do support common-sense gun reforms join me, we will elect the leadership we deserve.

All of us have a role to play — including gun owners. We need the vast majority of responsible gun owners who grieve with us after every mass shooting, who support common-sense gun safety and who feel that their views are not being properly represented, to stand with us and demand that leaders heed the voices of the people they are supposed to represent.

Read the full op-ed here.
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(Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo)

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