Obama rallies anti-gun support

US President Barack Obama has taken his anti-gun campaign to Minneapolis, Minnesota, saying people’s actions are “the only way” to stop the rising gun violence in the country.

“The only way we can reduce gun violence in this county is if the American people decide it’s important, if you decide it’s important – parents and teachers, police officers and pastors, hunters and sportsmen, Americans of every background stand up and say, ‘This time, it’s got to be different,” Obama said on Monday.

Obama gave a brief speech to build support for a ban on assault weapons and a limit of 10-bullets per magazine that Democratic lawmakers in the White House say has little chance of passing in Congress.

“We should restore the ban on military-style assault weapons and a 10-round limit for magazines,” Obama said.

Lawmakers and gun lobbyists say the most likely proposal to pass in Congress is to increase background checks and prohibitions against gun trafficking.

Lobbyists say a potential measure to succeed in Congress is to improve record keeping on gun sales that would make access to guns harder for mentally-ill people.

Obama said he understands that lawmakers may not “agree on everything” on the proposed measures, but wants to “do something” to change gun control laws.

Since December 14, when a man used an assault weapon to kill 20 children and six school staff in Connecticut, Obama has discussed the renewal of the Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act, which had banned the domestic manufacture for civilian use of 19 types of semi-automatic firearms until it expired in 2004.

Obama’s stance against gun crime took a step back on Saturday, after White House officials released a photo of him firing a shotgun he owned.

A new report in February says every month since 2009 there has been a mass shooting taking place in the US.