Obama: I won't put off gun legislation

David Jackson, USA TODAY | USATODAY

Asked this weekend about priorities for a second term, President Obama rattled off an ambitious list -- but did not initially include gun control.

The president first cited economic growth, deficit reduction, immigration and energy during a taped interview aired Sunday on NBC's Meet The Press.

When host David Gregory mentioned gun legislation in the wake of this month's school shooting in Connecticut, Obama said he is awaiting a January report from Vice President Biden on how best to proceed.

"I'd like to get it done in the first year," Obama said. "This is not something I will be putting off."

Obama said the nation needs to address the gun issue in light of the attack that took the lives of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

"I think anybody who was up in Newtown, who talked to the parents, who talked to the families understands that something fundamental in America has to change," Obama said. "And all of us have to do some soul searching -- including me as president -- that we allow a situation in which 20 precious small children are getting gunned down in a classroom."

Obama called the elementary school killings "the worst day of my presidency -- and it's not something that I want to see repeated."

The president did he say he would continue to support renewal of an assault weapons ban, restrictions on the size of ammunition clips, and improved background checks on gun owners. He also questioned the National Rifle Association's proposal for armed guards at every school.

"I am skeptical that the only answer is putting more guns in schools," Obama said.

The NRA and other gun rights groups have challenged the effectiveness and constitutionality of many gun control proposals.

As for other goals, Obama listed "fixing our broken immigration system" and developing an energy plan that increases domestic production while dealing with "environmental challenges" at the same time.

The president also pledged "to stabilize the economy and make sure it's growing — part of that is deficit reduction. Part of it is also making sure that we're investing, for example, in rebuilding our infrastructure, which is broken."