In a CNN town tall special on Thursday, President Obama said that there are some neighborhoods in America where it is easier and cheaper for kids to purchase guns than books.
"Part of the reason, I think, that this ends up being such a difficult issue, is because people occupy different realities," he said. "There are a whole bunch of law-abiding citizens who have grown up hunting with their dad or going to the shooting range, and are responsible gun owners, and then there is the reality that there are neighborhoods around the country where it is easier for a 12 or 13-year-old to purchase a gun, and cheaper, than it is for them to get a book."
The denunciation comes on the heels of Obama’s decision to enact gun control measures through executive action . The order would require those "in the business of selling firearms" to register as gun dealers and run background checks on potential buyers.
While many question whether it is within Obama’s legal authority to enact the executive order, he has said that he is "confident" that the gun control measures are "well within [his] legal authority."
He also quipped this week that as someone who once taught Constitutional law, he knows a little bit about the Second Amendment.