Obama in emotional plea for gun bill

HARTFORD, Connecticut - Reuters

REUTERS photo

President Barack Obama, his voice rising with emotion, urged Americans on April 8 to pile pressure on a reluctant Congress to approve new gun control legislation that is at risk of falling victim to Washington gridlock.

“We need a vote,” he shouted. Obama took his gun control argument to the University of Hartford, an hour’s drive from the town of Newtown where 20 children and six educators were shot to death in December in a massacre that shocked Americans and spurred a fresh movement to tighten gun regulations.

Obama’s tone grew fiery as he pushed back against the idea that what happens to gun violence legislation in Congress will either be a political victory or defeat for him.
 
“Connecticut, this is not about me,” he said. “This is not about politics. This is about doing the right thing for all the families who are here that have been torn apart by gun violence.” His eyes teared as he described Nicole Hockley, who lost her 6-year-old son, Dylan, saying how she asks him every night to come to her in her dreams so she can see him again.
 
“If there’s even one thing we can do to prevent a father from having to bury his child, isn’t that worth fighting for?” Obama asked.