Obama unveils sweeping gun-control push amid differences (2)

BACKLASH AND RESISTANCE

The school mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut on Dec. 14 shocked the nation and triggered fresh public calls for gun control efforts. But the National Rifle Association (NRA), the country's leading gun rights organization and lobby group, has so far refused to budge from its grip on gun rights, which it says are protected by the Second Amendment.

In a statement issued immediately after Obama announced his plans, the NRA said the new steps will affect "honest, law-abiding gun owners" and continue to put children in a vulnerable situation prone to further violence.

Previously, the powerful organization had called for armed guards for every school in the country, as the response of the gun industry to the Newtown mass shooting.

In the NBC's interview at the year end, Obama voiced skepticism about the NRA's proposal of "putting more guns in schools" as "the only answer" to prevent future mass shooting tragedies at campus.

Much of the extensive federal agenda is expected to meet resistance on Capitol Hill, where hearings will be held in the next two weeks to consider those proposals, first in the Democratic-controlled Senate and then the GOP-controlled House.

Obama acknowledged that "the most important changes we can make depend on congressional action," asking Americans to urge their lawmakers to move.

"These are a few of the 23 executive actions that I'm announcing today, but as important as these steps are, they are in no way a substitute for action from members of Congress," said Obama. "To make a real and lasting difference, Congress, too, must act, and Congress must act soon."

With fierce fights over fiscal problems and immigrations reforms looming, it remains to be a question that how much muscle the president would like to put into the fight against gun violence in the precious first year of his second term.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell argued last week that " spending and debt" is going to dominate the Congress in the first quarter of 2013, which will hardly spare enough time for lawmakers to take on controversial issues like gun violence in the country.

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