The study, which used data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that Alaska, where more than 50% of households have a gun, had the highest rate of gun fatalities, at nearly 20 deaths per 100,000 residents. In Hawaii, where only just over 12% of households own guns, that rate was not quite three per 100,000.

Obama's new actions will also promote the federal enforcement of gun safety laws, with increases in staff and financing to keep track of law violations, including lost or stolen guns, and protecting domestic abusers from accessing guns. As well as working with researchers and the private sector to improve safety on the guns themselves, to reduce accidental fatalities and injuries.

“If we can set it up that you can’t unlock your phone unless you have the right fingerprint, why can’t we do the same thing with our guns?” he asked. “If a child can’t open a bottle of aspirin, we should make sure they can’t pull a trigger on a gun.”

Additionally on the agenda, Obama has earmarked $500 million to expand mental health care across the country. He called on politicians who dismiss mass shooters as a few mentally ill bad apples to support him. “Here’s your chance to support these efforts. Put your money where your mouth is.”

Obama’s executive action isn’t going to solve all the problems. There is only so much that he can do without the approval of Congress — he can’t, for example, require universal background checks, one of the measures he asked Congress to pass after the Sandy Hook shooting that killed 26 people, including 20 small children. He visibly teared up as he reflected on the 2012 shooting, and called on America to commit to the long haul.

“It’s not going to happen overnight… but a lot of things don’t happen overnight,” he said, referencing movements for women’s suffrage, Civil Rights, and LGBTQ rights. “Just because it’s hard, that’s no excuse not to try.”