Obama Promises Gun Action 'Without Delay'

President Obama took a big public step on gun control today, telling a press conference that he would act on gun control "without delay." As expected, Obama announced that Joe Biden would head up a group to explore ways to reduce gun violence, but this won't be a "typical Washington commission," he said, promising that it would have concrete proposals before the end of January, USA Today reports. "This is a complex issue," he said. But that "can no longer be an excuse for doing nothing."

Obama said the proposals would almost certainly include restrictions on assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, and that Biden was the perfect person to lead the commission, given that he spearheaded the 1994 effort to ban assault weapons, the Washington Post reports. But the commission will also look at mental health initiatives, and possibly violence in popular culture as well. "We can't tolerate this anymore. These tragedies must end," he said. "And to end them, we must change." (More Barack Obama stories.)