White House official: Obama will tackle ‘very important issue’ of gun control

A White House senior adviser said Tuesday night that President Obama is “going to address [gun control].”

In
an interview with NBC’s Brian Williams, David Plouffe responded to
criticism that the president did not mention gun control in his State of
the Union address. Some Democrats on Capitol Hill and gun-control
advocates have called for new legislation in the wake of the deadly
shooting that killed six and injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.)
earlier this month.

{mosads}Plouffe said Obama’s speech on Tuesday was focused on the economy.
He added that the president has been clear on his views on gun control,
citing Obama’s position of reinstating the expired assault weapons ban.

“He’s going to address this,” Plouffe said. “It’s a very important
issue and I know there’s going to be a lot of debate on the Hill.”

It’s
not clear what legislation Obama will urge Congress to pass. Despite
his support for reauthorizing the assault weapons ban, he has not made
the issue a priority and has been lambasted by gun-control groups during
the first two years of his presidency.

Williams said he was told by a senior administration official that
Obama will take on gun control at a different venue and later date.