President Barack Obama confronted his critics — both in the gun lobby and his own party — on Thursday night as he made the case for stiffening some gun controls in a televised town hall.



Publicly parrying with political opponents in a way he has not done since his re-election campaign three years ago, Obama took questions from gun rights supporters while calling out the gun lobby for trafficking in misinformation and conspiracy theories.



“What I’ve said consistently throughout my presidency is, I respect the Second Amendment, I respect the right to bear arms, I respect people who want to have guns for self-protection, for hunting.” Obama said. However, he added, "everybody agrees that it makes sense to keep guns out of the hands of people who want to do others harm — or do themselves harm.”



Obama criticized the National Rifle Association for declining CNN's invitation to the event, hosted by anchor Anderson Cooper, saying they'd been invited "repeatedly" to speak to the administration.



“Since this is the reason they exist, you’d think they’d be ready to have a debate with the president," Obama said, noting that their headquarters is just a few miles away from the event site on George Mason University's campus in Virginia.





Chris Cox, the executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, told Fox News’ Megyn Kelly that he has no interest in going to the White House because he has nothing to discuss with Obama.


“And talk about what Megyn? This president can talk about background checks all day long, but that’s nothing more than a distraction that he can’t keep us safe, and he’s supported every gun control proposal that’s ever been made,” Cox said during his appearance on Fox News’ “The Kelly File.” “What are we gonna talk about -- basketball? I’m not really interested in going over and talking to the president who doesn’t have a basic level of respect or understanding of the Second Amendment and law-abiding gun owners in this country,” he continued.

Cox said the NRA didn’t participate in the town hall because the organization was offered one pre-screened question.

Obama's exasperation was evident as he confronted the deeply held fear among some Americans that his actions are a slippery slope toward banning or confiscating guns. He accused his opponents of spreading a "false notion that I believe is circulated for either political reasons or commercial reasons in order to prevent a coming together of people of good will.”



When Cooper questioned the president's use of the term "conspiracy" theory, Obama snapped: “I am sorry Cooper, it is fair to call it a conspiracy. What are you saying?”



He continued, “Are you suggesting we are creating a plot to take people’s guns away so we can have martial law? I’m only going to be here for another year, when would I have started on this enterprise, right?"

Obama also attacked Republicans in Congress for cutting funding for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms even as they urged him to enforce the law rather than imposing new laws.

The town-hall is one part of the White House's weeklong push on gun control. Obama announced new executive actions on Tuesday, frustrated by lack of action in Congress.

Obama has urged those who agree with him to become "single-issue voters" on guns in the wake of recent mass shootings, and he clarified how he would live up to that himself in a New York Times op-ed published shortly before the event.

"I will not campaign for, vote for or support any candidate, even in my own party, who does not support common-sense gun reform," Obama wrote in the op-ed.

It's unclear if pro-gun Democrats would even want Obama's support. The president is unpopular in North Dakota, the home state of Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, the only one of four Democrats who voted against background check legislation in 2013 who is still in office.

High-profile advocates of new gun restrictions, including former Rep. Gabby Giffords and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, had a chance to ask Obama questions. Gun-rights defenders also challenged Obama's approach to preventing gun violence, including Taya Kyle, widow of the "American Sniper" Chris Kyle; Sheriff Paul Babeu, a Congressional candidate in Arizona; and Kris Jacob of the National Firearms Retailers Association.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation, a top industry trade group, also declined CNN's invitation to participate. That wasn't because they refuse to engage with the administration, a top executive said.

It was "clear this would be a White House-scripted 'made for TV moment' and not an opportunity for a genuine dialogue," said NSSF general counsel Lawrence G. Keane. That's in contrast to meetings the industry trade group had with the Department of Justice after the 2011 Giffords shooting in Tucson and with Vice President Joe Biden in 2013, after the Newtown massacre.

If the president "wants to have a real conversation," Keane said, "he knows my telephone number. We remain disappointed by his failure to provide presidential leadership to forge common ground on legislation, Rep. Tim Murphy's bipartisan bill that addresses mental health issues, which is the common denominator in these tragic mass shootings."