Obama: I Won’t Support Anyone Who Isn’t For ‘Common-Sense Gun Reform’

President Barack Obama made an emotional speech Tuesday about the need for gun control in America, as mass shootings continue to take lives and bereave families.

“The president’s desire is to engage in a serious conversation, both with people who share his views about common-sense steps we can take to make our community safer and keep guns out of the wrong hands, but also have a conversation with those who disagree”, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said Thursday. View more tweets below. There’s a reason why the NRA is not here. “They’re not going to just because of this executive action”. “And since this is the main reason they exist, you’d think they would be prepared to have a debate with the president”.

“I’d like to have an opportunity to sit down, and be a part of the decision making”, said Ryan Pennock, the owner of Thunderbird Tactical Inc of Wichita, Kansas.

“And by the way, there’s a reason why the NRA is not here”, Obama added, referencing the noticeably absent executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, Chris Cox.

The National Rifle Association, the nation’s most powerful gun lobby, declined an invitation to the event, calling it “a public relations spectacle orchestrated by the White House”. “Listen. Act.” the group railed against Obama’s push to promote gun control through a series of executive orders that would strengthen background checks, provide more funds for mental health treatment and increase gun safety initiatives.

“The notion that we are creating a plot to take everybody’s guns away so that we can impose martial law…”

The American Firearms Retailers Association, another lobby group that represents gun dealers, did participate Thursday.

Obama later appeared on CNN in a town-hall style forum to challenge critics who he said have “mischaracterized” his position.

Donald Trump, addressing a rally in Vermont just as Obama was holding the town hall, said he would eliminate gun-free zones in schools on his first day if elected to the White House. “They’ve gone up. I’ve been very good for gun manufacturers”. The President’s new actions narrow the gun-show loophole but not entirely close it.

The NRA also live-tweeted during Obama’s town hall, according to The Huffington Post.

Following the meeting, the New York Times published an opinion column written by Obama outlining how he will not support any presidential candidate who refuses to back gun reform.

Obama has come under heavy fire from Republicans and Second Amendment advocates for his actions, which they say infringe on Americans’ right to bear arms.