President Obama on Tuesday teared up as he spoke about the Newtown, Conn., shooting in 2012 that killed 20 young students.
Obama, at the White House to explain his new gun control actions, listed the victims and locations of recent mass shootings, and said their assailants denied them their liberties and constitutional rights.
President Obama tears up thinking about Sandy Hook, “every time I think about those kids…” https://t.co/dYzU6tBa3E https://t.co/ZHLMieWtFB
— The Situation Room (@CNNSitRoom) January 5, 2016
“And from first graders in Newtown. First graders,” Obama said as his eyes welled with tears.
“Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad,” he said after taking a moment to collect himself. “And by the way, it happens on the streets of Chicago every day.”
Obama said gun-safety advocates need to pressure politicians as much as the National Rifle Association does.
“We have to be as passionate in defense of our kids,” he said. “This is not complicated. The reason they block laws is because they want to win elections,” he said, urging voters to exact a political price on recalcitrant lawmakers.
