In a powerful speech last night at an evening vigil in Newtown, Connecticut, he suggested he is considering a radical move to ditch America’s historic right to bear arms in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre.

Obama said: “Are we really prepared to say that we’re powerless in the face of such carnage, that the politics are too hard?

The President has come under pressure to bring in strict gun control laws after Lanza murdered 20 children and six staff at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Obama said: “No laws can eliminate evil from the world — but that can’t be an excuse for inaction.

“Surely we can do better than this. If there is even one step we can take then we have an obligation to try.

"In the coming weeks I will use whatever power this office holds in an effort to prevent more tragedies like this.”