US President Barack Obama is trying to rally support for gun control measures from the public and law enforcement community. He wants to ban assault weapons and install universal background checks for gun buyers.

President Barack Obama gestures as he speaks about his gun violence proposals, Monday, Feb. 4, 2013, at the Minneapolis Police Department's Special Operations Center in Minneapolis, where he outlined his plan before law enforcement personnel.?

The president took his message to stem gun violence to Minnesota. Officials in the Democratic-leaning state have been studying ways to reduce gun-related attacks and accidents for several years.

Obama said, "We should restore the ban on military-style assault weapons and a 10-round limit for magazines. And that deserves a vote in Congress, because weapons of war have no place on our streets or in our schools or threatening our law enforcement officers. Our law enforcement officers should never be outgunned on the streets."