Emotional Obama calls for 'sense of urgency' to fight gun violence

CNN)President Barack Obama grew emotional Tuesday as he made a passionate call for a national "sense of urgency" to limit gun violence.

He was introduced by Mark Barden, whose son Daniel was killed in the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. Obama circled back to that shooting in the final moments of his speech.

"Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad," Obama said, pausing to wipe away tears.

He added: "And by the way, it happens on the streets of Chicago every day," referring to his hometown where he began his political career.

The White House is introducing a new requirement that would expand background checks for buyers. The measure mandates that individuals "in the business of selling firearms" register as licensed gun dealers, effectively narrowing the so-called "gun show loophole," which exempts most small sellers from keeping formal sales records.

Former Congresswoman and gun control advocate Gabby Giffords, who was seriously injured in a 2011 mass shooting, was also in attendance at Tuesday's event and was greeted with a standing ovation from the White House audience.

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The Oregon occupiers’ land dispute, explained in 9 maps

The decision by a group of activists to seize a small, remote federal building in a corner of Oregon has roots that burrow into a lot of political and social threads. There are gun rights issues, religious overtones, broad strains of anti-government sentiment and even the tactics of the Occupy Wall Street movement.

But there's also the very particular question of how much land the government controls in the state -- the same question that animated the dispute with rancher Cliven Bundy in Nevada two years ago -- and that helped motivate Bundy's son Ammon to take a lead role in the Oregon standoff.

As we noted Sunday, the Oregon dispute began with the government's push to ensure that Dwight and Steven Hammond, a father and son who were convicted of arson in 2012, served the minimum sentences that their convictions mandated. (Both already have served time, but less than the five-year minimum.) The Hammonds set a fire in 2001 that spread out of control on federal land. The government argued that the two were trying to cover up an illegal deer hunt.

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