Angry Obama: Gun Lobby 'Willfully Lied'

After the Senate rejected tougher background checks today, President Obama issued a blistering criticism of senators who "caved to the pressure" and of the gun lobby he says "willfully lied," reports USA Today. "All in all this was a pretty shameful day for Washington," said Obama, who appeared in the Rose Garden with Gabby Giffords and the father of a child killed at Newtown. "But this effort is not over."

Obama said the NRA and its allies "claimed this bill would create a federal gun registry," and "unfortunately this pattern of untruths about this legislation served its purpose,” reports the Washington Post. The senators who voted against the measure have "no coherent arguments" to back up their position, he said. “They caved to the pressure. And they started looking for an excuse—any excuse—to vote no.” Giffords, for her part, tweeted that the Senate had "ignored the will of the people," adding that she's "not giving up." (More President Obama stories.)