Town hall on guns features high-profile questioners

And by the way, there’s a reason why the NRA is not here. “It was one of the worst days of my presidency”, Obama said.

The televised debate featured questions from gun owners, some of whom were wary that Obama planned to revoke the right to ownership of the some 350 million firearms in private hands in the United States.

Rightly billed by the White House as “common sense” measures, they would require, among other things, that all businesses selling guns, including gun show vendors and online businesses, be licensed and conduct complete background checks on their customers.

However, most of the guns used in the seven biggest mass shootings since 2012 were bought legally with the background check completed.

Earlier this week a tearful Obama said he would bypass Congress and take limited measures to tackle US gun violence. Let them know what we really support, not just what President Obama says we support.

Kimberly Corban, an NRA supporter, told Obama she’d been raped by an intruder and now feels that owning a gun “seems like my basic responsibility as a parent …” He also accused the powerful gun lobby group for purveying the myth that he’s interested in taking away Americans’ guns.

The NRA and Obama have been bitter enemies on the issue of new gun regulations – each accusing the other of engaging in politics instead of working to find solutions to end gun violence.

The National Rifle Association turned down CNN’s invitation to Thursday night’s town hall “Guns in America”, but its social media arm and executive director responded to President Obama from the sideline. And since this is the main reason they exist, you’d think that they’d be prepared to have a debate with the President, ‘ he said. “You had siblings, 10-year-olds, eight-year- olds, three-year-olds who in some cases didn’t even understand that their brother or sister weren’t going to be coming home”, he said.

They included Taya Kyle, widow of Christopher Kyle of “American Sniper” fame, rape victim Kimberly Corban, and Arizona Sheriff Paul Babeu, a Republican running for Congress, and Kris Jacob, vice president of the American Firearms Retailers Association. The President will also take questions from the invited audience.

In an editorial in The New York Times published on Thursday evening, Obama stressed the need for “common-sense” gun laws and gave a warning to the next election’s crop of candidates.