With the U.S. Senate ready to start debate later this week on legislation designed to deal with gun violence, the White House will use a variety of tools this week to put the heat on Senators in both parties.
"If we're going to tackle this problem seriously, then we really have to get Congress to take the next step," the President said last week in a speech on gun control in Denver.
The White House has set a series of events this week on gun controls:
+ On Monday, President Obama will meet with families of those killed in the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut and then speak on guns at the University of Hartford
+ Tuesday, Vice President Biden will have a White House event on gun legislation with law enforcement officials at the White House
+ Wednesday, First Lady Michelle Obama will travel to Chicago and speak there about the importance of "safe, violence-free communities"
+ Thursday, Vice President Biden will appear on MSNBC to discuss the gun control debate
In recent speeches, the President has focused most of his talk on the issue of background checks for gun sales, in what is basically an effort that was once described as closing the "gun show loophole."
The plan is to make almost all gun sales - between neighbors, friends, or any private sale, subject to a background check.
Background checks are already mandatory when you buy a weapon from a gun store or a licensed gun dealer; but the private sales are what Democrats are focusing on.
There have been talks continuing to try to reach some sort of bipartisan deal - we'll see if that can get ironed out in coming days or not.
