President Obama called for a reinstatement in 2013 of the assault weapons ban that restricted high-capacity and high-powered guns and rifles in the wake of the elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn. last week.
Obama also called for background checks prior to any gun sales, and he appointed Vice President Joe Biden to head a task force on gun violence.
"This time, the words need to lead to action," Obama said. "We know this is a complex issue that stirs deeply held passions and political divides. But the fact that this problem is complex can no longer be an excuse for doing nothing."
The ban was first passed during the Clinton administration, but it expired ten years later and was not renewed during the tenure of George W. Bush due to opposition from Republicans and the National Rifle Association, the largest and most influential gun rights lobbying group in the country.
But after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in which a lone gunman armed with semiautomatic pistols and a rifle killed 20 children and 6 adults, renewed calls for stricter gun control measures are finally gathering force.
"There is a big chunk of space between what the Second Amendment means and having no rules at all, and that space is what Joe's going to be working on to try to identify where we'll find some common ground," Obama said.
"If we're going to change things, it's going to take a wave of Americans - mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, pastors, law enforcement, mental health professionals and, yes, gun owners - standing up and saying enough on behalf of our kids."
Indeed, some lawmakers with a history of supporting gun rights are already speaking out.
"Anyone saying they don't want to talk and sit down and have that type of discussion is wrong," said West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, who has received an "A" rating from the NRA for his support of gun rights.
"As a state legislator in Massachusetts I supported an assault weapons ban thinking other states would follow suit," said Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown, a Republican.
"But unfortunately, they have not and innocent people are being killed,'' Brown said. ''As a result, I support a federal assault weapons ban.''
Until now, Obama has avoided the issue of gun control as politically volatile, but now he may have enough leverage and public support to push through changes.
"Because what choice do we have?" Obama said. "We can't accept events like this as routine. Are we really prepared to say that we're powerless in the face of such carnage? That the politics are too hard?