President Obama said Tuesday that he would support a bill to ban the kind of assault rifle that was used Friday in the Newtown, Conn., school shooting.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said the president would push to reinstate the ban, which was introduced by Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein in 1994 but allowed to lapse by the Bush administration in 2004. Feinstein is expected to reintroduce the bill, which would curb the sales of automatic and semiautomatic weapons, in January.

Support for a gun bill is growing, including among some of Congress’ staunchest opponents of gun control measures. Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, a high-profile member of that group, voiced his support for regulation to Obama on Tuesday.

— Posted by Alexander Reed Kelly.

The Guardian:

Carney went further, saying that Obama was also considering support for the closure of a loophole that allows easy sale at gun shows. Buyers are not subjected to the same background checks and demands for various forms of ID at these shows that they would if buying from a licensed gun store.

In yet another measure, Carney also signalled support for taking action to restrict ammunition clips, reducing the number of bullets to single figures, making mass killings more difficult. Obama is “interested in looking at” this, Carney said.

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