Obama to defend gun executive actions on CNN

President Barack Obama rejected the conservative talking point on Thursday that his administration is out to strip guns away from their owners. Kelly and Giffords became prominent gun control advocates after Giffords was shot in 2011. Roughly 100 people were invited to attend.

It began with Tuesday’s press conference during which Obama announced he would use his executive actions to circumvent Congress and close certain loopholes that allow easy access to guns. “I only have another year!” “They’re just down the street”, Obama said, referring to the group’s nearby headquarters in suburban Virginia.

But the group did respond on Twitter during the forum, claiming that “none of the president’s orders would have stopped any of the recent mass shootings”. Several NRA members were in the audience for the event, which was organised and hosted by CNN.

“It is a conspiracy!” he said, seemingly miffed by the question. He called on Congress to set up a system that is “efficient” and doesn’t inconvenience lawful gun owners to create a background check system that would stem at least some illegal gun activity.

Obama sought tougher laws after the Newtown massacre, but said he was foiled by the NRA. “I mean, a lot of people really believe this, deep down – that they just don’t trust you”.

An hour before the broadcast, the New York Times published an op-ed written by Obama, in which he outlines the rationale behind his changes, and adding that he will only campaign a presidential candidate who supports “common-sense gun reform”.

That massacre, though, crystallized the gun battle in Obama’s mind – and shows why he’ll never drop it, no matter the politics.

In a prime-time, televised town-hall meeting, Obama dismissed what he called a conspiracy alleging that the federal government – and Obama in particular – wants to seize all firearms, then impose martial law.

NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said the group saw “no reason to participate in a public-relations spectacle orchestrated by the White House”.

During the CNN event, Obama stood by his policy on gun control with the assertion that if the country can reduce gun fatalities from 30,000 to 28,000, “well that’s 2,000 families that won’t have to suffer”. But 57 percent of those polled also said that the measures would not be effective in reducing the number of people killed by guns.