police remain at scene of an accident involving a pedestrian and a bus on old georgetown road in bethesda. i'm barbara harrison with what we're learning from the scene. i'm melissa mollet following breaking news out of afghanistan. american forces dead or wounded. and freezing temperatures in the region. a look at warming trend on the way. i'm aaron gilchrest, within the hour we expect to hear from president obama. we'll tell you what we learned about new gun control measures ahead of that speech. news4 midday begins right now.

we got the blue sky. we have bright sunshine, live view of the storm team 4 city camera zoomed in on the capitol. the capitol camera showing sun pouring down, lighting everything up. and if your car is parked outside, the interior of the car is warm. the sun acting nicely on interior surfaces, but exterior it's still below freezing. temperatures nows in the mid 20s metro area. mid 20s around the bay. it's warmed up about ten degrees from where it was earlier this morning in the low teens. shenandoah valley in the low to mid 20s. just near 20 degrees near the pennsylvania border. still cold there. around the bay, mid to upper 20s. windchill now beginning to abate a bit. now in the mid teens. i'm melissa mollet at the live desk just into the newsroom there are reports out that u.s. special operations forces may have been hurt in southern

afghanistan. this during a counterterrorism operation earlier this morning. defense officials saying a medevac was called in to help pull casualties out of that area in the southern province when it came under fire. right now we hear that helicopter is on the ground at a landing zone in a rebel controlled area. aaron will be following this for you throughout the morning. >> we'll check back in with you. a big story at the white house this morning where president obama is outlining some new rules for gun control reform. here's what we know right now. starting with the -- with his plan to get more gun dealers to run background checks. the president plans to make dealers who accept credit cards, in other words, online dealers, as well as anyone who rents a table at a gun show to get an atf license. all those people will have to start giving background checks if they didn't do that before. another change we're learning about, the president plans to ask the social security administration to disclose beneficiaries who are not allowed to own a gun if somebody has a documented mental health

issue, their record will be included in the background check system now. and the president is asking congress for money to hire 200 new atf investigators. he says they'll be able to enforce existing gun laws and his new provisions. house speaker paul ryan says this is all subverting congress and some republicans are calling this action illegal. the president's address happening this hour. you can watch it here at 11:40 this morning. we'll stream is live on your smartphone or tablet. right now greenbelt police are working to find out how a man died. police say an officer on patrol found the man's body in a car at schrom hills park last night. police told us they were still working to identify him. also right now the dc council is meeting. they are expected to consider one part of mayor muriel bowser's crime legislation today. it is expected to help small businesses in the district get surveillance cameras. this week marks a year since

two gun member stormed a sta satirical newspaper in par ras. french president hollande unveiled three plaques this morning. a fourth plaque will be unveiled on saturday. a list of the safest airlines and a quick look at the big board for you at the new york stock exchange, this after yesterday's big losses. right now the dow down just a bit. a few

i'm eun yang, here are some stories lighting up social media. transformer fans listen up. according to "rolling stone" magazine, michael bey is making another transformers movie. pre-production is underway for the fifth film. he says transformers 5 will be

his last. the movie will star mark wahlberg and is slated for summer of 2017. the oakland raiders, the st. louis rams and san diego chargers have now submitted application for relocation to the nfl league in los angeles. each hopes to start the 2016 season there. the applications will be reviewed this week and presented at next week's league meeting in houston. there's no word on when a final decision will be made. look at this. sheila the sheep back with her rightful owner. she has been missing since 2010 in the dense australian tasmanian forrest. she received a complete makeover after being sheered for the first time in six years. about six pounds of wool was sheered from her,

breaking news in montgomery county. here is derrick ward. >> well, we had a bus accident here at about 7:50 this morning. we are at the intersection of old georgetown road and battery lane. it was 7:50 when a pedestrian was crossing old georgetown at the intersection of battery. the bus, a ride-on bus, was apparently making a turn on to old georgetown when she was struck. we don't have an identity of the victim. we are told she was taken to the hospital in serious condition. this happened just outside the bethesda chevy chase firehouse, so paramedics and medical attention was provided quickly. at this point we are told that the driver is only being identified as someone who has been with ride-on since 2006. the accident reconstruction team is here. this intersection is closed. you have to work around while they do some reconstruction and go about the task of trying to figure out exactly how this happened. we don't note identity of the victim or of the driver.

that driver will be submitted to tests, alcohol and drug tests which is routine in any incident like this as it continues. we are live here in montgomery county, derrick ward, news 4. back to you. dress like derek, you need your warmest winter gear. still below freezing in much of the region. hour by hour, by 2:00, making it up to 32, 33 degrees. bright sunshine. back below freezing by 6:00 p.m. 11:00 tonight, mid 20s. overnight tonight very cold again. you need your warm coat, scarf, gloves, warm hat waiting for the metro and the bus tomorrow morning as temperatures will plummet again down into the teens starting off early wednesday morning. a look at that warming trend on the way, that's coming in a few minutes. today virginia governor terry mcauliffe is expected to sign a trade agreement between the port of virginia and cuba's

muriel port. he is in cuba now expanding relations between the common wealth and the island nation. yesterday mcauliffe announced a new educational exchange between virginia commonwealth university and the university of havana. airlines have some catching up do when it comes to safety. australia's quauantas topped th list. jetblue and virgin america made the top ten list for the safest low-cost airlines. after the break, the latest on a standoff out in oregon. and cold weather problems for metro and commuters.

i'm melissa mollet. still seeing delays on metro's green line at this hour. chopper 4 was over the college park station after a cracked rail was reported after 9:00 this morning. crews are there making repairs. trains were single tracking for a while. right now just seeing delays on the green line. some slowdowns in service along that green line. because of that we have delays on the yellow line as well. >> thank you. right now temperatures remain in the 20s despite the

bright sunshine. mollet green has been out there in the bitter cold all morning talking to people about making the big adjustment. she is live in lake ridge, virginia. have you made the adjustment out there? >> good morning. well, we're making the adjustment, trying to. the bitter cold this morning kicked the morning rush into high gear to find a carpool. >> it's 17 degrees in lake ridge right now.

this lake ridge lot. >> all right. it's a deal. >> reporter: but the wait is longer for brigitte washington, sitting in a bus stop bay in these dangerously cold conditions. >> i'm cold. very cold. i'm actually a dialysis patient. i stay cold any way. this is quite cold for me. >> reporter: lucky for her the bus is on time. back at the flood line, we find a scotland native calling for -- >> bring on the snow. >> reporter: bring on the snow? >> yeah. >> reporter: are you sure about that? >> my kids are ready to get the sled out. bring on the snow. >> reporter: okay. if you're anything like me, you're not ready for snow just yet. baby steps before we get the first snow of the season. okay. we put together an entire cold weather section inside our nbc

washington app, tips for your home, your car, your pets and hotline numbers because this is hypothermia weather here. check it out inside our nbc washington app. back to you. >> i was out there with mollet at dawn this morning when windchills were down to zero. we'll have the bright sun the rest of the day today. maybe reaching near the freezing mark early afternoon, then dropping down to the mid 20s by midnight. upper teens by dawn on wednesday. sunshine again tomorrow and a bit milder, ought to make it up to 40 degrees, low 40s on thursday. near 50 on friday with showers moving through. looks like mainly friday afternoon and friday evening they should end early saturday morning. a little sun saturday afternoon with highs in the mid 50s. great weekend to get to the health and fitness expo. we'll have the storm team 4 question and answer sessions at 12:30 saturday and sunday. sunday afternoon we'll be

clearing out after some morning showers. highs in the 50s again on sunday. >> now to a developing sotory ot of oregon where the fight over federal land is entering its fourth day. a group of protesters has control a national wildlife reareugnot leaving until the government gives in. >> reporter: the siege now entering day four. those occupying the wildlife refuge in oregon received a strong message from the sheriff. >> it's time for you to leave our community. go home to your families. and end this peacefully. >> reporter: the armed anti government protesters are controlling buildings on the ground while keeping an eye on the land from a watch tower above. they call themselves citizens for constitutional freedom, and feel the federal government has too much control over western land. >> i've spoken to many ranchers in utah, in nevada, in arizona, and they are all feeling the same thing. they are all feeling this

oppression coming down upon them. >> reporter: they point to the case of ranchers dwight and steven hammond who reported to a california prison monday surrounded by family. >> the circumstances that we're in now are just unfathomable, and it's certainly an american tragedy. >> reporter: the father and son were convicted of starting fires on federal land near their ranch in eastern oregon and already served time, but a judge ruled it wasn't enough so they are returning to prison. the hammonds are angry. they say they are not connected to what's happening at the wildlife refuge in oregon, an occupation that has closed schools for a week impacting much of this community. >> i've grown up here all my life, and i really can't believe it's happening. donna edwards says the activists should be called "law breaking militants." she says the white protesters are being judged differently than the black lives matter

activists. she says it is the media's responsibility to avoid language that paints these armed militants in a positive light. a man who barricaded himself inside an office building in georgetown will undergo a mental evaluation. k street near the waterfront is back to normal today after a barricade situation that lasted more than seven hours. police say the man was going through a crisis. eventually he did surrender. police in virginia say a man is dead after being hit on i-95. it happened around 8:30 last night in the southbound lanes near exit 169 in the springfield area. the pedestrian was walking across the southbound lane when he was struck. the driver of the car was taken to the hospital, but is okay now. police say the man killed was not carrying an i.d. it is one of the most frustrate things almost all of us have to deal with. timing can be everything when it comes to getting struck at red lights. now there's a new effort to try to make it better. 60% of traffic signals have been

retimed in the district. it's difficult art form to try to manage all the traffic, pedestrians, cyclists. some signals in d.c. have not been retimed in 30 years. >> we're not widening our roadways anymore. so we have little capacity to push the traffic that we got. >> reporter: there are more than 1600 traffic signals in d.c. 200 signals have the new technology that allows buss to change the lights so they can keep moving. american university has banned hover boards from campus. a letter went out to students saying a temporary ban was going into effect immediately. george washington university and loy loyala university have similar bans. the consumer product safety commission is investigating at least 28 hover board fires in 19 states. my best friend bought one of those for christmas. >> we have one in my house. >> have you been on it? >> no, i don't plan to i just don't want to trip over it.

>> one time is enough for me. we're back with the app that can help you decide why your baby is crying. you can watch news4 midday anywhere. all you need is your smartphone or tablet. >> open the nbc washington app, hit watch live tv now.

right now hospital staff and officials are celebrating the opening of the new inova women's hospital. a ribbon cutting was held a few minutes ago. the facility has new labor and delivery rooms, testing centers and a neonatal intensive care unit. these are artist renderings of the space. the new facility will fully open later this month. when your baby is crying you want to know what it needs to be calm again. a new app says it can tell you. megan pringle decided to check if the infant cries translator really works. >> mommy got the binky?

>> reporter: randy and abby can't get enough of their newborn baby boy. >> i could look at him forever. >> reporter: baby braden arrived last week. >> everything i always wanted. >> reporter: but the bliss a newborn brings also comes with crying. >> what's wrong, buddy? >> reporter: this is their first baby. they're still figuring out what he needs. >> sometimes he is screaming, i'm like, what do you need? i wish he could just tell us. >> reporter: braden can't tell them. but a research team claims an app can. based on a collection of 200,000 crying sounds, the infant cry translator distinguishes between hungry, tired, in pain and wet diaper. the app is just one page. when your baby starts crying, press this button. but the baby has to cry for 15 seconds. we tested it out on braden. >> he is hungry. >> i was going to say hungry. >> good for fun, but not

reality. >> reporter: that's why this pediatrician thinks the app is a crying shame. >> you have to listen to the response of your kid. the cry is communication, it's them talking. their babbling is their discussion. to take your movement away from learning about what they are, and being sensitized to their needs, i don't like it. >> reporter: abby and brandon like the idea of an app, they are not going to buy it, though. nothing compares to getting to know the baby. >> and babies cries can be different baby to baby. >> i would try it. rather than spend 20 minutes trying to figure out what's wrong. >> i think you run through the main thing, are they dry, fed, are they sleepy? we're keeping an eye on the white house. we're awaiting for the to the announce new gun control measures. we'll bring you that announcement when it happens.

beautiful deep blue sky, lots of sunshine. the air is dry. you need the extra skin lotion today. that's a live view from the tower camera. love this gorgeous sunset from yesterday over constitution gardens. pond on the mall, taken by patrick benko on this too cold tuesday. share your photos on facebook, instagram and on twitter. if you plan on getting out on the mall and doing a run, it will be cold. getting up near the freezing mark around 2:00, dropping down below freezing by late afternoon with a clear sky. as the weather gets colder you may find your mood is changing a little more often. doctors call that seasonable affective disorder. there's some tools that might help you battle this challenge. the behavioral health and wellness team will show them at our nbc 4 health and fitness expo this weekend.

join us saturday and sunday at the washington convention center for this and many more fields of mental health, health screenings and activities for kids. all the schedules are on the nbc washington app. soon you will be able to look inside the trolley station underneath dupont circle that station will be open to the public for the first time in two decades. that's coming in april. the non-profit arts organization that took up part of the space is looking for artists do something creative with hundreds of thousands of plastic balls. you can be part of the project reball, a design competition. it will feature the balls in the newly opened station. the balls were donated to the project by the national building museum. we have some good news for the front-runners in the race for president and the grassroots effort a new netflix document

all eyes are on the white house right now where the president is expected to announce new gun control reforms. he's speaking at 11:40, just minutes from now. new rules for gun dealers are among several provisions we're expecting. we'll bring you the whole announcement live right here and streaming on the nbc washington app. and those new rules could be contributing to a near record high number of gun sales in virginia. a vcu professor told the richmond times dispatch that gun

control reform, the economy and the shooting in san bernardino could be playing a part. there were more than 70,000 gun transactions in december, second only to gun sales after the shooting at sandy hook elementary three years ago. the sales were part of a 9.5% increase between 2014 and this past year. temperatures now moving very slowly into the 20s after starting the day in the low teens. you look at some of the numbers now. tom, more cold before not cold? >> that's right. it will be hanging around throughout the rest of the day. right now near 20 degrees north and west of washington. and low to mid 20s shenandoah valley, panhandle of west virginia, northern and western suburbs mid 20s. we have the bright sun, but just in the low to mid 20s. current windchills in the teens to near 20. the winds have diminished. peak winds around 10 miles per hour. by tomorrow morning, not quite as cold but still into the upper teens. much of the region starting off

early wednesday morning with a clear sky. around the bay maybe warmer, but sub-freezing system there tempe there. so you need to bundle up for another 24 hours. now to decision 2016. a new nbc news survey monkey poll is offering a glimpse of where things stand with republican candidates. donald trump is out in front by 35%. ted cruz has 18%. rounding out the top three, senator marco rubio with 13%. four week now before the opening of the 2016 primary season and donald trump is rolling out a new ad that's raising eyebrows. >> stop illegal immigration by building a wall on our southern border that mexico will pay for. >> if you didn't recognize that border, you're not alone. that is not mexico's border in the ad, rather morocco's border.

trump's campaign manager says the edit was intentional. today that ad started airing in iowa and new hampshire. turning to the democrats now. nbc's latest national poll has hillary clinton in a comfortable lead. she leads the pack with 53%. bernie sanders is 17 points behind with 36%. martin o'malley has 2%. today in iowa, the democratic front-runner is proposing a new autism treatment plan. it would expand employment and housing opportunities for affected families. for students, clinton wants ensure a partnership that would ensure post-graduate transition plans. the nhl is educating hockey players about domestic violence, sexual harassment and sexual assault. the league hired professionals to talk to all 30 teams.

the reporter says the new initiative has been in the works for at least a year. >> the netflix documentary "the making of a murderer" follows the case of steven avery, who was acquitted of a crime after spending 18 years behind bars, but that's just the beginning of the story. ♪ >> reporter: the netflix documentary "making a murderer" begins with a happy ending to a tragic story about a miscarriage of justice. steven avery wrongfully imprisoned 18 years for sexual assault and attempted murder was exonerated by dna evidence in 2003. >> you had compelling characters, complex characters, high stakes. incredible conflict. >> reporter: in 2004, avery filed a federal civil lawsuit for wrongful conviction seeking $36 million.

he would later settle for 440,000. just over a year later, 25-year-old freelance photographer teresa holback was murdered. police charged avery with his crime and accused his nephew of being an accomplice. both were convicted. the documentary suggests the defendants were framed with evidence planted by the same law enforcement agencies avery was suing, and that police coerced a confession from the nephew. released in december, the ten-part series gained an instant following, even triggering two petitions asking president obama to issue a full pardon. one calls avery's story an abomination of due process. the former prosecutor in the murder is pushing back claiming the filmmakers left out critical pieces of physical and forensic evidence. he told nbc news that the complete set of facts is inconsistent with the claim that

avery was claimed. >> i call it a movie not a documentary. >> reporter: meantime the reviews are coming in, and they are glowing. >> you have the wrong guy. >> reporter: netflix has its next big hit, while for now steven avery is watching from behind bars, still in prison, serving life without parole. after this quick break, keeping your lips from getting

i'm eun yang. we're following the stories you're clicking on. we spotted this story on buzzfeed. starbucks fans are in for a treat as the coffee giant is adding a latte macchiato to its menu. the latest edition is simple and tasty consisting of two ingredients, espresso and milk. dunkin' donuts launched its own

take of the macchiato in the fall. so starbucked has stepped up to add its own macchiato. winter is here for sure, but it comes with the annoying problem of chapped lips. here's some tips on keeping your lips in top condition brought to us by our friends at the huffington post. let your beauty products sink in before you head to bed. some products could irritate your lips as you toss and turn. toothpaste can dry out your lips. when you exfoliate your face, don't forget to exfoliate your face. finally stop licking your lips. some good tips there for these winter months. >> i licked my lines before she said it. >> i don't think we can help it. it's one of those things. right now the west coast dealing with some messy weather. we will run down the concerns there. and media gathered in the white house for the president's

speech. now to an nbc news special report. good day from new york. the president will be joined for the announcement by 12 people who lost loved ones in mass shootings. nbc news senior white house correspondent chris jansing is on the north lawn. give us details of what the president is about to announce. >> the biggest thing is to try to expand background checks. in states that have background checks, gun deaths have gone down. he will expand the definition of a gun dealer. that means you have to be licensed. if you're licensed you have to do a background check. right now about 40% of gun sales do not require that. by toughening up these regulations, they can have more people checked out before they're able to get a gun.

to do that they'll have to add new fbi agents. they're looking for money from congress for more atf agents as well. that's something that could be setting up a fight because republicans in congress, republicans on the campaign trail have been very much against this. they say this is the president taking matters into his own hands. chris christie called him a petulant child. this will set up a political fight. but today this is the president making his case to the american people who largely support background checks in general. >> the president is being introduced right now by new town father mark barden, he lost his season daniel in the newtown shooting in 2012. >> listening to our president speak, our feelings of despair

were replaced with feelings of hope. i remember thinking who will help him with this? that's a tall order. so since then i've come to know and respect and learn from many amazing individuals and organizations who are doing good, smart work in this space. many of you are right here right now. many of the folks in the gun violence prevention coalition including sandy hook promise have had numerous meetings with vice president biden and president obama and their top advisers to address this issue. but we can't do it alone. the president can't do it alone. the thing is every gun related death is preventable. we need your help. we need everybody engaged in this. president obama made a promise

as an elected official and a promise as a father twhee do everything in his power to protect our nation's children to make our community safer and curb the loss of life to gun violence in america. so today we celebrate another example of how president obama and vice president biden continue to keep that promise. it is with such great honor that i introduce to you the president of the united states, barack obama and vice president joe biden. [ applause ] >> the president entering the room to applause.

family members here who have lost family members to shootings, mark barden's 7-year-old killed in the newtown massacre. gabby giffords also there. five years ago she was wounded in a mass shooting at an event at a shopping center. >> thank you. thank you. thank you, everybody. thank you. thank you. thank you, everybody. please, have a see the. thank you very much. mark, i want to thank you for your introduction. i remember the first time we

met, the time we spent together, the conversation we had about daniel. that changed me that day. my hope has been that it would change the country. five years ago this week a sitting member of congress and 18 others were shot at at a supermarket in tucson, arizona. it wasn't the first time i had to talk to the nation in response to a mass shooting, nor would it be the last. ft. hood, binghamton, aurora, kn newtown, the navy yard, santa barbara, charleston, san bernardino.

too many. thanks to a great medical team and the love of her husband m k mark, my dear friend and colleague, gabby giffords survived. she is here today with her wonderful mom. [ applause ] thanks to a great medical team her wonderful husband, mark, who, by the way the last time i met with mark, this is just a small aside, you may know mark's twin brother is in outer space. he came to the office, and i

said how often you are talking to him. he said i usually talk to him every day, but the call was coming in right before the meeting, so i think i may have not answered his call. which made me feel kind of bad. that's a long distance call. so i told him if his brother scott is calling today, that he should take it. turn the ringer on. i was there with gabby when she was still in the hospital. we didn't think necessarily at that point that she was going to survive. and that visit right before memori

memorial, about an hour later gabby first opened her eyes. i remember talking to mom about that. but i know the pain that she and her family have endured the past five years. the rehabilitation and the work and the effort to recover from shattering injuries. then i think of all the americans who are not as fortunate. every single year more than 30,000 americans have their lives cut short by guns. 30,000. suicides, domestic violence, gang shootouts.

accident accidents,. hundreds of thousands of americans have lost brothers and sisters. or buried their own children. many have had to learn to live with a disability. or learn to live without the love of their life. a number of those people are here today. they can tell you some stories. in this room right here, there are a lot of stories. there's a lot of heartache. there's a lot of resilience, a lot of strength, but there's also a lot of pain. this is just a small sample.

the united states of america is not the only country on earth with violent or dangerous people. we are not inherently more prone to violence. but we are the only advanced country on earth that sees this kind of mass violence erupt with this kind of frequency. it doesn't happen in other advanced countries. not even close. as i've said before, somehow we have become numb to it. we start thinking that this is normal. instead of thinking about how to

solve the problem, this has become one of our most polarized partisan debates. despite the fact that there's a general consensus in america about what needs to be done. that's part of the reason why on thursday i will hold a town hall meeting in virginia on gun violence. my goal here is to bring good people on both sides of the issue together for an open discussion. i'm not on the ballot again. i'm not looking to score some points. i think we can disagree without impugning other peoples motives or being disagreeable. we don't need to be talking past one another, but we have to feel a sense of urgency about it. in dr. king's words we need to feel the fierce urgency of now. because people are dying.

the constant excuse force inaction no longer do. no longer suffice. that's why we're here today. not to debate the last mass shooting but to do something to prevent the next one. to prove that the vast majority of americans, even if our voices are not the loudest or most extreme care enough about a little boy like daniel to come

together and take commonsense steps to save lives and protect i want to be absolutely clear at the start. i've said this over and over çó again.çó this also becomes routine. there's a ritual about this whole thing that i have toodo. i believe in the secondçó amendment, it's therew3 writtenn the paper.ok it guarantees a right to bear arms. no matter how manyñi times peop try to twist my words okaround, taught constitutional law, i know a littleñrxd about this. i get it.xdó[xd but i also believe we can find ways to reduce gun violencexd consistent with the second

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we can respect the second amendment while keeping an irresponsible law breaking few from inflicting harm on a massive scale. today background checks are required at gun stores. if a father wants to teach his daughter how to hunt, he can walk into a gun store, get a background check, purchase his weapon safely and responsibly. this is not seen as an infringement on the second amendment. contrary to the claims of what some gun rights proponents have suggested, this hasn't been the first step in some slippery slope to mass confiscation. contrary to claims of some presidential candidates apparently before this meeting, this is not a plot to take away

everybody's guns. you pass a background check, you purchase a firearm. the problem is some gun sellers have been operating under a different set of rules. a violent felon can buy the exact same weapon over the internet with no wrbackground check, no questions asked. a recent study found that about 1 in 30 people looking to buy guns on one website had criminal records. 1 out of 30 had a criminal record. we're talking about individuals convicted of serious crime, aggravated assault, domestic violence, robbery, illegal gun possession. people with lengthy criminal histories buying deadly weapons all too easily. and this was just one website within the span of a few months. so we've created a system in which dangerous people are

allowed to play by a different set of rules than a responsible gun owner who buys his or her gun the right way and subjects themselves to a background check. it doesn't make sense. everybody should have to abide by the same rules. most americans and gun owners agree. and that is what we tried to change three years ago after 26 americans, including 20 children, were murdered at sandy hook elementary. two united states senator, joe manchin, a democrat from west virginia, and pat toomey, a republican from pennsylvania, both gun owner, strong defenders of our second amendment rights, both with a-grades from the n rchl ra, that's hard to get, work together in good faith and

consulting with folks like our vice president, who has been a champion on this for a long time, to write a common sense compromise bill that would have required virtually everyone who buys a gun to get a background check. that was it. pretty common sense stuff. 90% of americans supported that idea. 90% of democrats in the is that the senate voted for that idea. but it failed. because 90% of republicans in the senate voted against that idea. how did this become such a partisan issue? republican president george w. bush once said i believe in background checks at gun shows or anywhere to make sure guns don't get into the hands of people that shouldn't have them. senator john mccain introduced a bipartisan measure to address the gun show loophole saying we need this amendment because criminals and terrorists have

exploited and are exploiting this very obvious loophole in our gun safety laws. even the nra used to support expanded background checks. and by the way most of its members still do. most republican voters still do. how did we get here? how it we get to tdid we get to place where requiring a comprehensive background check means taking away people's guns? each time this comes up, we are fed the excuse that common sense reforms like background checksb away people's guns? each time this comes up, we are fed the excuse that common sense reforms like background checks might not have stopped the last massacre. or the one before that. or the one before that. so why bother tryi. i reject that thinking. [ applause ]

we know we can't stop every act of evil in the world, but maybe we could try to stop one act of evil, one agent of violence. some of you may recall that at the same time that sandy hook happened, a disturbed person in china took a knife and tried to kill with a knife a bunch of children in china. but most of them survived. because they didn't have access to a powerful weapon.

we maybe can't save everybody, but we could save some. just as we don't prevent all traffic accidents, but we take steps to try to reduce traffic accidents. as ronald reagan once said, if mandatory background checks could save more live, it would be well worth making it the law of the land. the bill before congress three years ago met that test. unfortunately, too many senators failed theirs. [ applause ] in fact we know that background checks make a difference. after connecticut passed a law requiring pack groubackground c gun safety courses, gun deaths decreased by