Killings put pressure on Obama to act on gun laws

The shooting spree in a Connecticut school that left 20 small children and six adults dead capped a tragic year for the US, which saw similar massacres in a Colorado theatre and Wisconsin gurdwara, putting pressure on the Obama administration to take action on the country's gun laws.
After the massacre, an online petition addressed to the White House, which calls for addressing the issue of gun control immediately through legislation in US Congress, secured over 43,000 signatures in the aftermath of the tragic shooting at the elementary school.
The shooting drew sharp criticism from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
"We need immediate action. We have heard all the rhetoric before. What we have not seen is leadership - not from the White House and not from Congress. That must end today. This is a national tragedy and it demands a national response."
But officials said it was too early to plunge into an immediate debate about whether Obama would back more stringent gun control legislation -- a bitterly contested issue in Washington.