Obama: 'Shame on Us' If We Forget Newtown

President pushes Congress for stricter gun laws
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 28, 2013 1:16 PM CDT

President Obama surrounded himself with mothers who lost their children to gun violence today and urged Congress to tighten the nation's laws. He called special attention to the Newtown school massacre, reports the Hill. "Shame on us if we've forgotten," he said. “I haven't forgotten those kids. Shame on us if we've forgotten.” This quote in particular is getting attention:

  • "Tears aren't enough. Expressions of sympathy aren't enough. Speeches aren't enough. We've cried enough. We've known enough heartbreak. What we're proposing is not radical. It's not taking away anybody's gun rights. It's something that, if we are serious, we will do."

Time seems to be working against him, though. A CBS poll taken immediately after the Sandy Hook shooting showed that 57% of Americans favored stricter gun laws. A new one out this week has the percentage at 47%. The Senate plans to vote soon on gun legislation, though a ban on assault weapons is all but dead and a proposal for national background checks is looking iffier by the day, reports CBS. The biggest prize might end up being tougher penalties on illegal gun trafficking. (More President Obama stories.)

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