Obama Looks to Sway Public as Gun Control Stalls in Congress

  • Obama announced new background check requirements on Tuesday
  • National Rifle Association not part of CNN-Obama town hall

President Barack Obama speaks at a town hall meeting with CNN's Anderson Cooper.

Photographer: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Rebuffed repeatedly by Congress on gun control, President Barack Obama tried once again to sway a somewhat skeptical and ambivalent public.

Two days after unveiling executive actions intended to expand criminal background checks for firearms transactions and streamline rules for reporting mental-health issues that would block a gun purchase, Obama answered questions from gun control supporters and opponents at a town hall-style event Thursday night.