text: 1 of 6. U.S. President Barack Obama pauses while speaking about the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, during a press briefing at the White House in Washington December 14, 2012. 
   
   WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama urged Americans on Saturday to join in solidarity as they mourn the victims of a shooting rampage at a Connecticut elementary school, saying the hearts of parents across the country were "heavy with hurt" for the lives lost. 
   
   In his weekly radio and Internet speech, Obama also repeated a message he put forth on Friday, just hours after one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history, on the need to set aside politics and "take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this." 
   
   But Obama went no further than that, and again stopped short of specifically calling for tighter gun-control laws. 
   
   Twenty children were killed by a heavily armed gunman who opened fire at a school in Newtown, Connecticut, on Friday. He killed at least 26 people there before turning his gun on himself. 
   
   "We grieve for the families of those we lost. And we keep in our prayers the parents of those who survived," Obama said. 
   
   The shooting spree reignited a debate over gun-control in a country with a flourishing gun culture and a strong gun lobby, which has discouraged most politicians from any major efforts to address the easy availability of firearms. 
   
   Obama mostly steered clear of the issue during his successful re-election campaign this year, and it remains unclear whether he might be willing to take a more assertive approach now that he has secured a second term. 
   
   OBAMA URGED TO ACT 
   
   New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who runs a coalition of mayors on gun policy, said on Friday the Democratic president should press ahead despite likely opposition from Republicans who control the U.S. House of Representatives. 
   
   "We have heard all the rhetoric before. What we have not seen is leadership - not from the White House and not from Congress. That must end today," Bloomberg said in a statement. 
   
   Ticking off some of the recent shooting incidents, Obama said in his Saturday address: "As a nation, we have endured far too many of these tragedies in the last few years." 
   
   His response to previous high-profile shootings was to call for a national conversation on how to curb gun violence. 
   
   "This weekend, Michelle and I are doing what I know every parent is doing - holding our children as close as we can and reminding them how much we love them," he said. 
   
   "There are families in Connecticut who can't do that today. And they need all of us now," he said. "All of us can extend a hand to those in need - to remind them that we are there for them, that we are praying for them." 
   
   The 20-year-old gunman, who law enforcement sources identified as Adam Lanza, opened fire on a classroom at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which serves children from ages 5 to 10. 
   
   Authorities found 18 children and seven adults, including the gunman, dead at the school, and two children were pronounced dead later after being taken to a hospital. 
   
   "Most of those who died were just young children with their whole lives ahead of them. And every parent in America has a heart heavy with hurt," Obama said. 
   
   Obama had to struggle to control his emotions during his televised statement on Friday in the White House briefing where his voice cracked and he wiped away tears. 
   
   Partisan bickering in Washington, divided by a battle over a looming "fiscal cliff" of tax hikes and spending cuts, was put on hold amid mourning for the Connecticut dead. 
   
   House Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, said he had canceled the Republican weekly address for Saturday "so that President Obama can speak for the entire nation at this time of mourning." 
   
   (Reporting By Matt Spetalnick; Editing by David Brunnstrom) ||||| President Obama devotes his weekly radio address to the elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn., urging "meaningful action" to combat gun violence. The Republicans cancel their address in deference to the tragedy. 
   
   President Obama wipes tears as he makes a statement at the White House in response to the elementary school shooting in Connecticut on Friday. (Photo: Alex Wong, Getty Images) Story Highlights President Obama urges 'action' to prevent gun violence 
   
   President grieves for the fallen in Connecticut 
   
   Boehner joins president in 'sending prayers and condolences' 
   
   As "we grieve for the families of those we lost," President Obama said Saturday the nation must act to prevent the kind of gun attack that claimed 26 lives Friday at an elementary school in Connecticut -- including 20 children. 
   
   "Any of these neighborhoods could be our own," Obama said in his weekly radio address. "So we have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics." 
   
   Obama did not specify any proposed action, but a string of lawmakers have called for tighter gun control laws in the wake of the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn. 
   
   "Calling for 'meaningful action' is not enough," said New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg after Obama made a similar statement on Friday. "We need immediate action. We have heard all the rhetoric before. What we have not seen is leadership -- not from the White House and not from Congress." 
   
   In his radio address, Obama echoed many of the comments he made just hours after the shooting, a White House appearance in which he had to pause at times and fight back tears. 
   
   Skip Ad Ad Loading... x Embed x Share President Barack Obama makes remarks about the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Connecticut. WhiteHouse.gov 
   
   "Most of those who died were just young children with their whole lives ahead of them," Obama told the broadcast audience. "And every parent in America has a heart heavy with hurt." 
   
   The president said that families affected by the shooting "need all of us now. Because while nothing can take the place of a lost child or loved one, all of us can extend a hand to those in need -- to remind them that we are there for them; that we are praying for them." 
   
   The Republicans canceled their Saturday radio address in deference to the shooting, and "so that President Obama can speak for the entire nation at this time of mourning," said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. 
   
   Boehner added: "I join the president -- and all Americans -- in sending prayers and condolences to the victims' loved ones." 
   
   The president's radio address: 
   
   "On Friday, we learned that more than two dozen people were killed when a gunman opened fire in an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. 
   
   "Most of those who died were just young children with their whole lives ahead of them. And every parent in America has a heart heavy with hurt. 
   
   "Among the fallen were also teachers -- men and women who devoted their lives to helping our children fulfill their dreams. 
   
   "So our hearts are broken today. We grieve for the families of those we lost. And we keep in our prayers the parents of those who survived. Because as blessed as they are to have their children home, they know that their child's innocence has been torn away far too early. 
   
   "As a nation, we have endured far too many of these tragedies in the last few years. An elementary school in Newtown. A shopping mall in Oregon. A house of worship in Wisconsin. A movie theater in Colorado. Countless street corners in places like Chicago and Philadelphia. 
   
   "Any of these neighborhoods could be our own. So we have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this. Regardless of the politics. 
   
   "This weekend, Michelle and I are doing what I know every parent is doing -- holding our children as close as we can and reminding them how much we love them. 
   
   "There are families in Connecticut who can't do that today. And they need all of us now. Because while nothing can take the place of a lost child or loved one, all of us can extend a hand to those in need -- to remind them that we are there for them; that we are praying for them; and that the love they felt for those they lost endures not just in their own memories, but also in their community, and their country. 
   
   "Thank you." 
   
   Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/Ukoa3E
target: – President Obama devoted his weekly radio address today to the Connecticut school shooting, asking Americans to pray for the victims and their families. "Most of those who died were just young children with their whole lives ahead of them," he said, echoing yesterday's news conference. "And every parent in America has a heart heavy with hurt." Obama reiterated that it's time to "come together to take meaningful action" to prevent future shootings, thought he stopped short of specifics, reports Reuters. (USA Today has the full transcript here.) Advocates of stricter gun control already have begun to step up pressure, including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "We have heard all the rhetoric before," he said yesterday. "What we have not seen is leadership—not from the White House and not from Congress. That must end today."