By Ben Werschkul
Obama Renews Plea on Gun Control: Standing with gun victims' mothers, President Obama made a push to lawmakers to pass his gun-control legislation next month.
WASHINGTON — With resistance to tougher gun laws stiffening in Congress, a visibly frustrated President Obama on Thursday implored lawmakers and the nation not to lose sight of the horrors of the school massacre in Newtown, Conn.
"The notion that two months or three months after something as horrific as what happened in Newtown happens and we've moved on to other things?" Mr. Obama said in remarks at the White House, surrounded by relatives and friends of victims of gun violence, including some from Newtown. "That's not who we are. That's not who we are. And I want to make sure every American is listening today."
The president has just a small window in which to persuade Congress to back a series of gun control measures that will come up for a vote in the Senate early next month. And his remarks, delivered in an impassioned and off-script manner, were aimed at reviving the impetus that gun-control advocates fear they are losing as more time passes since the shootings.
A filibuster threat is growing in the Senate. Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, has said a ban on certain styles of semiautomatic weapons is virtually assured of defeat. And a senior Republican senator who opposes the president's efforts, Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, is now floating a competing gun bill.
These complications only add to the strain surrounding negotiations over a bipartisan bill that would strengthen the background check system for gun purchases — talks that have so far drawn the support of only one Republican, Mark Kirk of Illinois.
As senators at the heart of those negotiations returned to their home states this week, their staffs continued to try to reach consensus back in Washington. But they have yet to produce anything more than an outline of what legislation might look like.
Mr. Obama's appearance, from the East Room of the White House, suggested just how delicate the situation had become. Rather than read from teleprompters, he seemed to speak extemporaneously much of the time and expressed irritation in a way that he generally does not. At some moments, he paused and took a breath as if collecting himself and circled back to some of his points for emphasis.
"Shame on us if we've forgotten," he said."I haven't forgotten those kids. Shame on us if we've forgotten."
The renewed push by the president, who will travel to Colorado next week to rally support for new gun measures, is just one piece in a broader nationwide effort, timed to coincide with the two-week Congressional recess, by gun control groups like the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's coalition.
At the same time, the National Rifle Association is activating its base, ensuring that Congressional offices and town hall meetings over the next week will be swamped with competing agendas on how to combat gun violence.
"What we face right now is the most dire threat to the association and to our freedom," said Andrew Arulanandam, an N.R.A. spokesman.
Indeed, gun rights activists are being challenged by a highly coordinated and expensive effort to defeat them, not to mention a galvanized group of voters who were outraged by the Newtown shooting and have pledged to volunteer.
The Brady Campaign this week began a campaign to call and e-mail thousands of supporters, urging them to attend more than 150 Congressional town hall meetings, many in Republican-leaning states where Democrats are up for re-election.
"Basically we're saying, 'Drop everything. There's a town hall tonight,' " said Brian Malte, the director of mobilization for the Brady Campaign.
People will be equipped with talking points like poll numbers that show 9 out of 10 Americans support universal background checks, including 7 out of 10 N.R.A. members. And they will be encouraged to ask their senators and representatives direct questions like, "Do you support universal background checks?" Mr. Bloomberg's group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, said it was convening 120 events across the nation in support of gun measures, including in Columbus, Ohio; Durham, N.C.; and Golden, Colo. The group began a $12 million ad campaign aimed at 15 senators this week.
"Americans want this, and today Americans are making their voices heard," said the group's chairman, John Feinblatt.
Michael Cooper contributed reporting from New York, and Elizabeth Maker from Connecticut.
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