Obama: 'This was a pretty shameful day in Washington'
(CNN) - President Barack Obama lashed out Wednesday at those in the U.S. Senate who voted against a compromise proposal to expand background checks on firearms sales, saying those who defeated the legislation "decided it wasn't worth it."
He blamed the defeat of the deal on "the gun lobby and its allies," saying those against the legislation "willfully lied" about its provisions.
"All in in all, this was a pretty shameful day in Washington," he said, as families who lost loved ones in the Newtown school shooting stood around him. Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head in a mass shooting, also stood by his side.
He said "we can do more" to impose stricter gun laws and warned that "if this Congress refuses to listen to the American people ... the real impact is going to have to come from the voters."
He urged people to tell their senators they were disappointed by the vote.
"Those who care deeply about preventing more and more gun violence will have to be as passionate and as organized and as vocal as those who blocked these common sense proposals to keep our kids safe," he said.
"I see this as just Round One," he added.
Mark Barden, the father of a Newtown school massacre victim, said he and others will return home "disappointed but not defeated." He appeared before Obama spoke in the White House Rose Garden.
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"willfully lied"
More please. Do not mince words about these cowards. And please, stop mincing words about the GOP/Teatrolls in general.
Guess you'll have to get back to the economy now.
the gun lobby has been lying from the beginning. Vote these spineless wonders out of office.
Sorry Obama but the 2A is not up for debate.
Of course they lied. A clause prohibiting a national gun registry was put in the bill specifically to allay such fears, but the NRA and it's thugs kept saying the bill would lead to gun registration. I'd call them weasels, but it would be an insult to weasels.
This speech was the first I have ever enjoyed from The Big O.
Would expanded background checks stopped the kid in Newtown from killing people ? NO ! Hmmm go figure.
Obama is mad cause he didnt get his way. Pretty plain to see.
The Gun Lobby willfully lied!!!!! What a crock of cow droppings!!! Obama willfully lied. The 40% of gun are not bought with a background check figure.... it came from a survey of 200 people that happened before the 1994 Brady Bill. The Brady Bill is the law that created the current Background Check system. So he knowingly used a survey from before the law went into effect to convince the uneducated that the law is bad!
In the words of the immortal Nelson Muntz: Ha, Ha!
Obama is wrong and the country is uninformed. The 2nd amendment expressly says "the right to bear arms shall not be infringed". Regulation, especially of the law abiding is infringement. Enforcement of existing laws is inept. Do that first. Allowing abortion is far worse than guns. 50,000,000 dead from abortion. Where is the outcry?
My heart cries for Obama. His intentions were good, it's the American citizens who are idiots.
If the current president really cared about saving lives, he would focus his energy on enforcing the current gun laws, not punishing law-abiding gun owners. He's a statist and in his mind, gov't always knows what's best for you, even if you're too *stupid* to realize their superiority.
These animals need replacement in next election. Simple. Very sad. More sad than Boston Bombing. True. We need term-limits. Pass gun-ban laws. Period.
Pres.Obama just said on CNN that his side needs to be more organized. He had all the TV networks on his side. He admitted that the bill was not going to stop the violence. It was a feel good bill designed to give himself a victory. It did nothing to stop the violence.
Oh, please! The "gun lobbey" represented the will of the vast majority of firearms owners. As for lies, the President himself should be ashamed for trying to tell Americans that more anti-freedom, hostile regulation is necessary because 0.00001% of firearms owners commit a crime at some time during their lives.
vote all four democrats out that voted against this bill. Lets replace them with some progressives. And then vote all repos out. They are a dead party who serve only themselves.
So it's the NRA who lied, hu? Projection at it's finest.
The only liar, and fool, is Obama.
He wanted a vote. He got his vote.
Our Congress is an absolute disgrace! Of course they can not Stand up and do the right thing because their pockets are so lined with NRA blood money....Tell me how, it is possible when the majority of the country wants backround checks and it is denied!!!!! What can my small voice ever do against such a powerful and arrogant monster like the NRA lobby....never felt so small in our great country as I do now...
This president willfully lies every time he opens his mouth.
We expect Republicans to vote against anything supported by 90% of Americans – because their base is fearful, hateful and bigoted. However, the Democrats who lacked the courage to go against the N.R.A. must not receive one dime towards their re-election efforts. Let a Republican have those Senate seats! What's the difference?
Not a proud American today, for shame on us all
wahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! i didnt get my wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!
Jesus gave up so much that we might live.... Yet we can't give a little that others might live longer