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 A series of mass shootings has punctuated Obama's time in office,
and after he failed to convince Congress to toughen up gun laws, the
president said he wanted to have a national debate about guns in his
final year in office.
Obama, who said he had never owned a gun, has blamed Congress for
being beholden to the National Rifle Association, a powerful lobby
group that fights any action that might infringe on Americans'
constitutional right to bear arms.
Guns are a potent issue in U.S. politics. The NRA is feared and
respected in Washington for its ability to mobilize gun owners.
Congress has not approved major gun-control legislation since the
1990s.
The NRA sat out the town hall, aired live on CNN from a university
just miles (km) from the group's Virginia headquarters, calling it a
"public relations spectacle."
 But several gun owners peppered Obama with arguments against his gun
rule proposals.
Taya Kyle, widow of U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle who was killed at a
gun range and portrayed in the film "American Sniper," said laws
would not stop people with criminal intent.
"The problem is that they want to murder," Kyle said.
Kimberly Corban, a survivor of a sexual assault who said she carried
a gun to protect herself and her two young children, told Obama that
she felt his changes infringed on her rights.
"I have been unspeakably victimized once already, and I refuse to
let that happen again to myself or my kids," Corban said.
Obama told Corban his proposals would not make it harder for
law-abiding people like her to buy a gun, but could stop some
criminals. "You certainly would like to make it a little harder for
that assailant to have also had a gun," he said.
Obama announced his latest strategy earlier this week to try to
boost background checks for gun buyers, wiping away tears as he
remembered the 20 children and six adults gunned down at an
elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012.
"It continues to haunt me, it was one of the worst days of my
presidency," Obama said on CNN. 'GUN LOBBY'S LIES'
Obama sought tougher laws after the Newtown massacre, but said he
was foiled by the NRA.
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He has made his changes using his executive powers, enraging
Republicans who say he has overstepped his authority.
The White House has said the actions are lawful, although legal
challenges are expected.
Obama, who will devote time this year to campaigning for Democrats
running for November elections, vowed he would not campaign for any
candidate who did not back gun reforms.
"All of us need to demand leaders brave enough to stand up to the
gun lobby’s lies," Obama wrote in column in the New York Times that
was published on Thursday.
He scoffed at the NRA for skipping the televised forum and said the
White House had invited the group to meetings many times, to no
avail.
"I'm happy to talk to them, but the conversation has to be based on
facts and truth, and what we're actually proposing, not some ...
imaginary fiction in which 'Obama's trying to take away your guns,'"
Obama said.
Chris Cox, the NRA's chief lobbyist, said he was "not really
interested" in talking to Obama.
"He doesn't support the individual right to own a firearm. That's
been the position of his Supreme Court nominees, that's been the
position of his administration," Cox said on Fox News after the CNN
debate.
"So what are we going to talk about - basketball?"
(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Additional reporting by Eric Walsh;
Writing by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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