Obama wants nationwide gun laws to fill in gaps left by local efforts

The Chicago Tribune reports:

Obama will talk about the need for tougher gun laws with police chiefs gathered in Chicago on Tuesday, aides say, as part of a broader conversation about violence and how police can work more effectively with their communities to combat it.

He’s traveling to Chicago simply because that’s the site of the annual gathering of the International Association of Chiefs of Police, but advisers say he’s well aware of the symbolism in returning to his hometown amid this debate.

Chicago has long been a battleground for both pro- and anti-gun forces. Three decades ago, in the wake of the assassination attempts on President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II, the City Council banned new sales and registration of handguns in the city in 1982. Chicago was the first major city to take that step.

Barack Obama is from the Alderman Fred Roti wing about the Democratic party in Chicago. Obama considers Chicago's old 1982 handgun ordinance "common sense" gun legislation .