President Barack Obama wipes tears from his eyes as he announces new gun control measures

Laura Proto5 January 2016

An emotional Barack Obama wiped tears from his eyes as he announced plans to tighten gun controls in the United States.

The US president became visibly upset as he recalled the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut in 2012, in which 20 young children were killed.

He paid tribute to the parents of the youngsters who he said had never imagined their child’s life would be cut short by a bullet.

He said: “Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad.”

President Obama plans to introduce a more sweeping definition of gun dealers, with all sellers signing up to a register and running background checks on all prospective purchasers.

Mr Obama said: “This is not a plot to take away everybody's guns.

"You pass a background check, you purchase a firearm. The problem is some gun sellers have been operating under a different set of rules."

Under current American law, only federally licensed gun dealers must conduct background checks on buyers. But at gun shows, websites and flea markets, sellers often skirt that requirement by declining to register as licensed dealers.

Mr Obama said his proposal would not solve every violent crime but could “potentially save lives and spare families the pain of these extraordinary losses.”

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