US gun laws: Barack Obama renews campaign for assault weapons ban Senate Democrats are expected to table a bill in the coming weeks containing many of the gun control measures called for by Mr Obama, but the legislation is not expected to include an assault weapons ban. Harry Reid, the leader of the Democrat-controlled Senate, appeared tepid about the prospects of an assault weapons ban in an interview with ABC News on Sunday, but said he favoured finding a way to put the ban to a vote that would be largely symbolic. Mr Obama spoke after attending a meeting with police officers and community leaders in Minneapolis, a model city for gun-control advocates where youth initiatives and other measures cut gun deaths by 40 per cent in recent years. By enlisting police support, Mr Obama appeared to be reprising a campaign tactic used by Bill Clinton who was president in 1994 when a 10-year assault weapons ban was passed, only to be allowed to lapse in 2004. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives, where many members are backed by the powerful National Rifle Association lobby group, is expected to reject any attempt to ban assault weapons. Observing that "you can't count on anything in Washington until it's done" Mr Obama urged the public to put pressure on their representatives in Congress to act in the interests of the public - and not special interest lobby groups like the NRA. The NRA is vociferously campaigning against universal background checks, even though polls find that an "overwhelming majority" of NRA members - 85 per cent according to a New York Times/CBS News poll this month - favour the checks. "If we've got a lobbyist in Washington claiming to speak for gun owners saying something different, we need to go to the source and reach out to people directly," Mr Obama said, "We can't allow those filters to get in the way of common sense."