Watch President Obama tear up over Newtown in his gun control speech

President Obama becomes emotional when talking about violent deaths by guns.

(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube, NBCNews.com)

published 5 January 2016

Speaking to an audience that included shooting survivor Gabby Giffords and parents of Sandy Hook Elementary School victims, President Obama grew emotional while announcing his executive action on gun control Tuesday afternoon.

"Second Amendment rights are important, but there are other rights we care about as well," he said in his speech. "Because our right to worship freely and safely, that right was denied to Christians in Charleston, South Carolina, and denied to Jews in Kansas City, and that was denied to Muslims in Chapel Hill and Sikhs in Oak Creek. They had rights too."

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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