Washington (CNN) — President Barack Obama will unveil Wednesday a package of gun control proposals that, according to a source, will include universal background checks and bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will announce the proposals, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters on Tuesday.
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They will be joined by a group of children who wrote letters to the president in the aftermath of the December 14 shooting rampageby a lone gunman who killed 20 students and six adults at a Newtown, Connecticut, elementary school, Carney said.
The families of some Newtown victims will also be at the event, a White House official confirmed.
Obama will propose legislative steps he previously has backed, such as a ban on assault weapons, restrictions on high-capacity ammunition magazines and strengthening federal background checks for people attempting to buy guns, according to Carney.
The president also will push for other steps that could include executive actions on his part that don’t require congressional approval, Carney noted.
More specifically, the source — an official familiar with the process — said the president’s proposal will press for a ban on high-capacity magazines with more than 10 rounds, universal background checks and a request that funds be made available to help treat mental illness and provide schools with support to enhance their safety.
