(MCT) — WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama committed himself to placing gun control at the top of his second-term agenda, redoubling his intention to tackle the problem of gun violence in spite of daunting political obstacles that have frustrated similar efforts for years.

Appearing before reporters in the White House briefing room Wednesday, Obama sought to erase any doubts that he is prepared to stake his prestige on combating what he called an “epidemic of gun violence.” Although he spoke in the aftermath of the massacre last Friday at a Connecticut elementary school, he placed the issue in a broader context, specifically mentioning people killed since then in the “lesser-known tragedies that visit small towns and big cities all across America every day.”