Boehner says he agrees with Obama: No new gun laws after Colorado shootings

By Molly K. Hooper - 07/24/12 01:12 PM ET

Speaker John Boehner on Tuesday said he agreed with President Obama that Congress should not approve new gun laws as a response to the Colorado movie theater shootings.

“The president has made clear that he is [against using this tragedy] to push for new gun laws, I agree,” Boehner (R-Ohio) told reporters at a press conference.

Several Democratic lawmakers have called for a reinstatement of the assault weapons ban following the killings at a midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises” last week that left 12 people dead and dozens injured.

But Obama has said existing laws should prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands, and Republican lawmakers have argued the Colorado violence does not bolster arguments for gun control.

Asked if Congress could do anything to prevent unstable individuals from obtaining large amounts of ammunition, Boehner responded: “The White House has made clear that they are not going to use this horrific event to push for legislation, and I agree.”

Obama appears determined to prevent guns from being a campaign issue.

And presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney said on Monday that more stringent gun-control laws would not have prevented the shooting.  

“I still believe that the Second Amendment is the right course to preserve and defend and don't believe that new laws are going to make a difference in this type of tragedy,” Romney said on CNBC’s "The Kudlow Report."   

The White House has also downplayed any calls for stricter gun control measures.  

“The president's view is that we can take steps to keep guns out of the hands of people who should not have them under existing law,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters on Sunday en route to Aurora, Colo., to meet with victims' families. “And that's his focus right now.”