WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama could reveal the details of how the US will address gun violence as early as Wednesday, while New York's lawmakers agreed to pass the toughest gun control law in the nation and dared other states to do the same. The Obama administration has been moving quickly on the issue before the shock fades over last month's school shooting in Connecticut, which Obama has called the worst day of his presidency. But already, opposition has grown among pro-gun groups and Americans who fear their weapons will be taken away. Obama on Monday acknowledged a tough fight ahead in a deeply divided Congress, whose support would be needed to pass the most sweeping changes under consideration, including a ban on assault weapons, limits on high-capacity ammunition magazines like the ones used in the Connecticut shooting and background checks for anyone seeking to purchase a gun. The gun in last month's shooting was legally purchased. Such changes “make sense,” Obama said. He said lawmakers will have to “examine their own conscience” in the debate ahead. But the gun issue will have to compete for Congress' time in coming weeks with several looming fiscal issues, and Republican leaders have said action on guns will have to wait. Obama also can use his executive powers to make some changes, and congressional officials say he's considering 19 steps that he could enact without approval from Congress. Vice President Joe Biden, who has led a task force to collect proposals, was expected to present them to Obama and they could be unveiled as early as Wednesday. The plan's most contentious elements face intense opposition from the influential National Rifle Association, which enjoys strong support from Republicans as well as several Democrats and is known to punish politicians who stray from its point of view. The assault weapons ban, which Obama has long supported, is expected to face the toughest opposition in Congress, which passed a 10-year ban on the high-grade, military-style weapons in 1994. Supporters didn't have the votes to renew it once it expired. As the president spoke Monday, some parents who lost children in the Connecticut shooting spoke out for the first time, calling for a national dialogue to help prevent similar tragedies. They spoke one month after the shooting. In New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo was poised to sign into the law the most restrictive gun law in the nation, after he delivered a fiery speech last week on the need to make changes. “This is a scourge on society,” Cuomo said Monday. — AP
