Obama Responds to Gun Petitions on YouTube

For some reason, the Death Star petition didn't get this kind of treatment. But President Obama responded personally via YouTube video today to the 32 separate gun control petitions that cropped up on his "We the People" site in the wake of the Newtown school shooting, the Atlantic Wire reports. Obama said he has called for "common sense legislation," including banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. "If there's even one thing we can do as a country to protect our children, we have a responsibility to try," he said.

It wasn't the only personal touch from Pennsylvania Avenue either. Michelle Obama has released a heartfelt open letter to Newtown, which you can read at the Hartford Courant. "As a mother of two young daughters, my heart aches for you and your families. Like so many Americans, I wish there were something—anything—I could do or say to ease your anguish," she writes, promising that her husband will "use all the powers of his office" to try to prevent future tragedies. (More Newtown, Connecticut stories.)