President Obama is "actively supportive" of the gun control legislation Sen. Dianne Feinstein is planning to introduce early next year, the White House announced Tuesday. Press Secretary Jay Carney said the president would support legislation that would resurrect a ban on assault weapons that expired in 2004, and was willing to consider limiting the capacity of ammunition magazines. He also said the president would consider closing the so-called gun show loophole that allows people to buy firearms at gun shows without going through ea background check. Carney's comments offer the first glimpse at what action Obama may pursue with respect to gun control. Over the weekend, he vowed to the community of Newtown, Conn., which was devastated by one of the most deadly school massacres in U.S. history, that he would use "whatever power this office holds" to keep the children of the nation safe. Speaking after other mass shootings during his tenure, Obama has made similar vows, though the issue of gun control has been largely relegated to the back burner. The Sandy Hook shootings, however, have prompted former NRA-backers to revise former views. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called it a "tipping point."
