Obama: There will be 'more opportunity' to talk guns

July 26th, 2012,

President Obama suggested Thursday that he isn't backing away from talking about gun policy.

"I'm sure we'll have more opportunity to talk about this," he said to a reporter's question after he made brief remarks pressuring the House of Representatives to pass the middle class tax cut extension that cleared the Senate on Wednesday.

The president's response came to a question about whether last week's shooting in Aurora, Colo., has prompted him to consider whether new gun control laws are needed if it's found that everything the shooter did up until the shooting was legal.

Obama spoke about guns and the country's culture of violence in the speech he gave Wednesday night to the National Urban League's conference in New Orleans. He discussed wanting to improve enforcement of existing gun laws but didn't say whether new legislation is necessary.

Earlier Thursday, White House press secretary Jay Carney said the president was focused on gun control measures "short of legislation."