For the record

President Obama still favors a renewed assault weapons ban. When asked at today's White House briefing, press secretary Jay Carney said that's always been the president's position:

Q    Just returning to guns for a moment.  You’ve said, in response to a bunch of questions, that he supports enforcing -- better enforcing existing laws.  His position in the past has been in favor of renewing the assault weapons ban, which would, at this point, be a new law.  He also said in New Orleans that AK-47s belong on the battlefield, not on the streets.  Does he still support that legislation? 

MR. CARNEY:  He does.  And I’ve said that before from the podium in the last week, that he does support renewing the assault weapons ban.  I think what I’ve noted in the past, and what I noted here, is that there has been reluctance by Congress to pass that renewal.

Repeating the president's recent promise made in a speech before the Urban League, Carney says the administration continues looking into ways to tighten restrictions to firearms under existing law. He specifically cited changes to federal background checks as one such improvement that's already taken place.