Obama issues urgent, emotional address on gun control measures

During a gun control speech today, President Barack Obama was moved to tears.

Obama—who is often criticized for his cool, even aloof, demeanor—spoke with great empathy for Mark Barden and others who have been affected by gun violence. Barden, who lost a son in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, also spoke at today’s address.

Of the victims’ families, Obama said:

That’s why we’re here today. Not to debate the last mass shooting, but to do something to try to prevent the next one. To prove that the vast majority of Americans, even if our voices aren’t always the loudest or most extreme, care enough about a little boy like Daniel to come together and take commonsense steps to save lives and protect more of our children.

Emotional, yes, but the general urgency behind Obama’s words is worth noting.

Obama called out the apathy he sees in Congress when it comes to gun control, and he upbraided those on Capitol Hill by saying they were not aligned with the mindset of the “majority of Americans.”