WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Tuesday he would continue to work to reduce violence in the United States despite a lack of support in Congress for gun control measures he failed to get passed last year.

"I have seen the courage of parents, students, pastors, and police officers all over this country who say 'we are not afraid,' and I intend to keep trying, with or without Congress, to help stop more tragedies from visiting innocent Americans in our movie theaters, shopping malls, or schools," Obama said, according to the text of his State of the Union address.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Peter Cooney)