Obama campaign urging supporters to back gun control push

The Obama campaign is using its vast email list to promote the president’s agenda on gun control, sending out a message to supporters on Thursday directing them to sign a petition backing the measures.

The email, penned by President Obama’s campaign manager, Jim Messina, comes the day after the president released a series of recommendations on gun control, and marks the beginning of what will likely be an uphill battle for Democrats hoping to push expanded control measures through Congress.

{mosads}”Most gun owners use their guns safely and responsibly, and the President believes firmly in protecting our Second Amendment rights,” Messina writes.

He goes on to outline the steps Obama took on Wednesday to unilaterally expand gun controls, including signing “23 executive actions to start moving our country in the right direction.”

“And he’s calling on Congress to act on four legislative measures — closing background check loopholes, banning military-style assault weapons, making our schools safer, and increasing access to mental health services — right away,” he adds.

The email directs supporters to sign a petition backing Obama’s proposals.

Those who signed up for Obama’s campaign email list and are now hoping for a respite from the barrage of fundraising and issue emails will be disappointed, as the White House has shown in previous situations, as well as this one, that it has no plans to abandon the massive email list it amassed over the past five years when it comes to moving on the president’s agenda.

Since the election, the Obama campaign has sent out a handful of similar emails pushing the White House line on issues ranging from the “fiscal cliff” to gun control to the upcoming national “Day of Service” planned before the Inauguration.

The Obama campaign is in the process of deciding its steps forward coming out of what the president said would be his final election. It’s unclear exactly to what use the campaign’s vast voter database will be put, but it’s clear the campaign has no plans to let the list lie fallow.