President Barack Obama is actively supporting and throwing all his political weight behind a campaign to reinstate a ban on assault weapons after the mass killings in Connecticut school shooting.
The move would be most significant in tightening of US gun laws in almost two decades.
Obama's decision to publicly support new legislation being proposed by a senior Democrat senator came two days after he called for unspecified 'change' at a memorial service for the 20 child victims of the shooting in Newtown.
Democrat senator Dianne Feinstein, one of the principal authors of the gun control law that expired in 2004, announced that she has been working on an updated bill for the past year and will introduce it on the first day of next year's Senate session.
Jay Carney, the White House spokesman, said, "The president was actively supportive of the legislation being proposed by Senator Dianne Feinstein that would ban weapons like the Bushmaster .223 that coroners said had claimed the majority of the young victims' lives.
"Obama would also support addressing the problem of the so-called gun show loophole, which enables buyers at gun shows to avoid background-checks, as well as curbs on ammunition clips larger than 10 rounds, he added.
"He is actively supportive of, Senator Feinstein's stated intent to revive a piece of legislation that would reinstate the assault weapons ban," Carney said.
"He supports - and would support legislation that addresses the problem of the so-called gun show loophole," he added.
26 people, including 20 children died in a shooting in Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.
Families of the victims and survivors of recent gun massacres gathered for a rally in front of Congress demanding new gun laws, in a bid to keep pressure on Republicans and not allow the anger to fade, as it has following other recent mass-shootings.
(with inputs from IANS and ANI)
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