Obama takes on the NRA

President Obama unveiled sweeping gun-control legislation to stem “the epidemic of gun violence.”

What happened

President Obama this week unveiled sweeping gun-control legislation to stem “the epidemic of gun violence,” setting up a fierce clash with pro-gun lobbyists and congressional legislators. Flanked by children who wrote to him in the wake of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., the president called on Congress to swiftly implement universal background checks on all gun buyers, reinstate an expired ban on military-style assault rifles, and restore a 10-round limit on ammunition magazines. Obama also outlined 23 executive orders he would sign immediately, including ending a freeze on research into gun violence and improving mental-health and school-safety programs. “If there is even one thing we can do to reduce this violence, if there’s even one life that can be saved, then we’ve got an obligation to try,” Obama said.

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