Making His Case To The People

The White House is planning a live town hall style discussion on gun violence later this week as President Obama finalizes executive actions on gun control.

The hourlong event, which will be held at George Mason University outside of Washington, will be televised on CNN beginning at 8 p.m. It will come just days after Mr. Obama meets with Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch on Monday to discuss what executive actions the president can take to curb gun violence.

In the wake of the terror attacks in Paris that killed 130 people on Nov. 13, and the shootings in San Bernardino, Calif., that killed 14 more on Dec. 2, Mr. Obama’s initial response emphasized the need for gun restrictions. The administration soon realized, however, that this message was failing to reassure many Americans that the president was focused enough on the Islamic State, the extremist group that inspired the attacks. Sales of guns surged in the aftermath of the San Bernardino attack as some Americans sought protection against the threat from Islamic extremism.

So, through much of December, Mr. Obama engaged in a series of public events to convince the country that his administration was doing everything it could to battle the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

This week, he will once again try to press for more gun restrictions.

“It would be better for our security if it was harder for terrorists to purchase very powerful weapons,” Ben Rhodes, Mr. Obama’s deputy national security adviser, said in a briefing for reporters in Hawaii on Saturday. “At a certain point, violence begets more violence.”

You know, like in Oregon.