Obama's emotional plea

  • 06/01/2016
U.S. President Barack Obama wipes away tears while talking about Newtown and other mass killings during an event held to announce new gun control measures, at the White House (Reuters)
U.S. President Barack Obama wipes away tears while talking about Newtown and other mass killings during an event held to announce new gun control measures, at the White House (Reuters)

US President Barack Obama has made an emotional plea in defence of his administration's plan to increase background checks for buyers of firearms over the internet and at gun shows, saying current exceptions do not make sense.

"We've created a system in which dangerous people are allowed to play by a different set of rules," Obama said in address on Tuesday (local time) in the White House East Room.

Obama said the new guidance is "not a plot to take away everyone's guns."

"I believe we can find ways to reduce gun violence in ways consistent with the Second Amendment," he said, referring to the constitutional right to bear arms.

Reuters