Obama backs Feinstein bid to reinstate assault-weapons ban

President Barack Obama supports US Senator Dianne Feinstein's effort to craft legislation to reinstate an assault-weapons ban and would also back any law to close a loophole in gun-show sales, the White House said.

White House spokesman Jay Carney offered some of the first specifics on how Obama intends to make good on his promise to address gun violence in the aftermath of a shooting rampage at a Connecticut elementary school that killed 26 people, including 20 children.

"It's clear that as a nation we haven't done enough to address the scourge of gun violence," Carney told reporters. He reiterated that Obama "wants to move in the coming weeks."