Obama Responds To Calls For Gun Control

In a direct-to-camera video, the president responded to an appeal for gun control on his petition site, "We the People." Nearly 200,000 signatures.

View this video on YouTube

A petition posted on the White House website on Dec. 14, the day of the Sandy Hook shooting, passed the 25,000 signature mark that night, triggering the administration's response threshold. The petition asks that the Obama administration "immediately" produce "legislation that limits access to guns."

Friday morning, one week after the shooting, President Obama responded with a video and written response by Bruce Reed, chief of staff to Vice President Biden. An excerpt:

In the days since the tragedy in Newtown, Americans from all over the country have called for action to deter mass shootings and reduce gun violence. Hundreds of thousands of you have signed petitions on the White House's We the People petitions platform. I'm writing you today to thank you for speaking up, to update you on an important development, and to encourage you to continue engaging with the White House on this critical issue. First, you should know that President Obama is paying close to attention to the public response to this tragedy. In fact, he sat down to record a message specifically for those of you who have joined the conversation using We the People...

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