Circumstances

In this section of the study guide, we will discuss the circumstances surrounding President Barack Obama’s remarks on common-sense gun safety reforms.

The speech was delivered on 5th of January, 2017, in the East Room in the White House. In his speech, he talks about the urgency of limiting gun violence in the United States, and he condemns Republicans in Congress for opposing common-sense measures like running background checks on people wanting to buy guns.

Obama is introduced by Mark Barden, a parent who lost his son at the Sandy Hook Elementary School during the tragic 2012 shooting. In his speech before introducing Obama, Barden encourages the American audience to do better and prevent such tragic events. He also praises Obama for his determination to not give up in his fight for reducing gun violence in America and for replacing Americans’ feelings of despair with feelings of hope.

An important part of the speech also refers to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, which took place in December 2012. In 2013, a few months after the shooting, Obama and his administration came up with...