23 Sep 2013

Obama renews appeal for gun reform

10:38 pm on 23 September 2013

United States President Barack Obama has made another appeal for the wholesale reform of American gun laws.

Mr Obama spoke at a memorial service honouring the victims of last Monday's shootings at the Washington Navy Yard, the BBC reported.

Twelve people died when a lone gunman opened fire before he himself was shot dead .

Mr Obama and his wife, Michelle, had met privately with victims' relatives ahead of the shooting memorial.

As well as using the speech to address the issue of gun crime, Mr Obama talked in detail about the victims' lives and families.

He wanted to make sure these people were remembered for who they were, not just gun crime statistics.

Mr Obama said communities were being ripped apart by violence and, referring to continuing opposition in Congress to tightening up US gun ownership laws, that basic commonsense actions were not being taken to keep guns away from dangerous people.