Obama considers broad arms sales restrictions

The administration of President Barack Obama is considering a broad array of measures to curb the nation's gun violence, including more than just a reinstatement of a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition, The Washington Post reported Sunday. Citing multiple people involved in the administration's discussions, the newspaper said a working group led by Vice President Biden is seriously considering several measures: universal background checks for firearm buyers, tracking the movement and sale of weapons through a national database, strengthening mental health checks, and stiffening penalties for carrying guns near schools or giving them to minors. To push these measures through Congress, the White House is developing strategies to work around the National Rifle Association, the report said. According to the paper, they could include rallying support from Wal-Mart and other gun retailers as well as regular contact with advisers to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an outspoken gun-control advocate. The proposals are a response to last month's tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, the site of one of the worst school shootings in US history. On December 14, a disturbed local man, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, killed his mother in their Newtown home before embarking on a horrific shooting spree at a local elementary school. He blasted his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School and shot dead 20 six- and seven-year-old children and six adults with a military-style assault rifle before taking his own life with a handgun as police closed in. However, the NRA, the most powerful gun lobby in the United States, stands firm against any additional restraints on firearms and ammunition sales -- despite a national outcry in the wake of the Sandy Hook school massacre.