Obama says U.S. must act on gun violence, defends new gun control rules

President Barack Obama made an emotional plea on Tuesday in defense of his administration's plan to

increase background checks for buyers of firearms over the Internet and at gun shows, saying current exceptions do not make sense.

"We've created a system in which dangerous people are allowed to play by a different set of rules," Obama said in address in the White House East Room.

Obama said the new guidance is "not a plot to take away everyone's guns."

"I believe we can find ways to reduce gun violence in ways consistent with the Second Amendment," he said, referring to the constitutional right to bear arms.