Obama urges action against gun violence in New Year message

President Barack Obama made a fresh push for gun control in his first weekly address of the New Year that was released on Friday morning.

Entering his final year in the White House, Obama listed the “progress” made in healthcare, job creation and marriage equality under his two terms as U.S. president, but said the issue of gun violence remained “unfinished business”

He admonished Congress on its failure to act on reforms and said he had directed the White House to take new steps to address what he called the “epidemic of gun violence”

“We know that we can’t stop every act of violence. But what if we tried to stop even one? What if Congress did something – anything – to protect our kids from gun violence?” Obama said.

Obama said he will meet with Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Monday (January 1) to discuss options that his advisers have put together to address the issue, suggesting an announcement on new initiatives is likely soon.

Obama has repeatedly urged Congress to tighten gun laws, with his calls growing louder following the 2012 massacre at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, and again this fall after mass shootings in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and San Bernardino, California.

The day after the San Bernardino attacks, which killed 14 people and injured 21 in December, lawmakers in the U.S. Senate debated gun control but failed to advance any legislation addressing the violence.

Frustrated with little action from Congress, Obama has vowed to use “whatever power this office holds” to put in place gun control measures via executive action.