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Barack Obama described the mass shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, back in December 2012, as the worst day of his presidency. Following the massacre, which claimed the lives of 20 children and six adults, the president pushed for sweeping changes to the nation’s gun control laws. Statistics show that gun crime is significantly higher in the United States than in other comparable countries.

Ultimately, President Obama did not get the support he needed from Congress for his proposals and instead sought to introduce tougher gun regulations through executive action.

Representative Kathleen Rice, a Democrat of New York and a former homicide and federal gun crimes prosecutor, and Sandro Galea, dean at the Boston University School of Public Health, consider the president’s efforts to reduce gun violence and the powerful forces that worked against him. 

Related: How the NRA Twisted Gun Science and Silenced Researchers