The politics of guns leapt to the top of the presidential race Wednesday, July 25 as President Barack Obama embraced some degree of control of weapons sales and Republican Mitt Romney seemed to suggest an alleged mass killer in Colorado had obtained his weapons illegally even though he hadn't, the Associated Press reported.

Speaking to a mostly black audience in New Orleans, Obama said he would seek a consensus on combating violence. He said some responsibility also rests with parents, neighbors and teachers to ensure that young people "do not have that void inside them."

Obama's remarks came five days after the movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colo., that left 12 dead and dozens wounded. He pledged to work with lawmakers of both parties to stop violence — not only the sudden massacres that have bedeviled the nation, but also the steady drip of urban crime that has cost many young lives.

The president called for stepped-up background checks for people who want to buy guns and restrictions to keep mentally unbalanced individuals from buying weapons. He said those steps "shouldn't be controversial, they should be common sense."

Romney, meanwhile, said many of the weapons deployed by the shooting suspect in Colorado were possessed illegally and that changing laws wouldn't prevent gun-related tragedies. His comments added a confusing layer to the debate because authorities say the firearms that James Holmes allegedly used to kill 12 people were obtained legally.

"This person shouldn't have had any kind of weapons and bombs and other devices, and it was illegal for him to have many of those things already," Romney told NBC News in an interview in London. "But he had them. And so we can sometimes hope that just changing the law will make all bad things go away. It won't."

Authorities say Holmes broke no laws when he bought an assault-style rifle, a shotgun and Glock handgun, and he passed the required background checks.