In response to Joel :
This is a republic and not a democracy precisely to protect the minorty from the majority. But Obama’s premise is flawed: 90% do not support his position.
A Roper poll reports that 39% want to leave guns laws as they are. (38% want to keep working on changes and 20% want to start all over) And while around 90% of people might want to have background checks on gun purchases, it is clear that there ALREADY are background checks on most gun purchases. The only gun purchases that do not require a background check are transactions that take place privately, where the seller is not in the business of selling firearms. Oh, and criminals but no one is addressing that problem.
The Senate gun control bill failed because NYC, Chicago, LA and other population dense cities can not “legislate” for the rest of the country. Everyone of these Senators has to answer to the folks that elected them.