President vows to bring in new gun controls

As well as action to avoid the fiscal cliff, Barack Obama used his appearance on NBC's Meet The Press yesterday to stress the urgency of passing gun control measures next year.

The President pledged to put his "full weight" behind a legislative package aimed at containing gun violence, and voiced scepticism about the proposal the National Rifle Association, the leading gun-rights lobbying group, to place armed guards at schools.

It follows a public outcry over the deadly shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.