Loved ones on Wednesday carry a casket with the remains of Victoria Soto from Lordship Community Church after a funeral for the slain teacher in Stratford, Connecticut. Soto was one of six adults in addition to 20 children who were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Photo: AFP

US President Barack Obama put ending an "epidemic" of gun violence at the top of his second term agenda Wednesday, denying he was "on vacation" on the issue before last week's school massacre.

Obama called for "concrete" proposals within a month from a new task force that will be led by Vice President Joe Biden that will examine new gun control laws, better mental health access and the impact of violent culture.

"I will be putting forward very specific proposals. I will be talking about them in my State of the Union, and we will be working with interested members of Congress to try to get something done," Obama said.

The president said the killings of 20 children aged six and seven and six adults in an elementary school last week should give lawmakers a potent incentive for action, even when initial shock fades.

"The fact that this problem is complex can no longer be an excuse for doing nothing. The fact that we can't prevent every act of violence doesn't mean we can't steadily reduce the violence, and prevent the very worst violence."

Obama said a majority of Americans also supported background checks for all gun purchases and signaled an effort to expand mental health care to deter psychologically troubled people from turning to mass violence.

"We're going to need to look more closely at a culture that, all too often, glorifies guns and violence," he said.

Biden has a history of framing crime legislation from his years in the Senate, has an affinity with law enforcement services and also enjoys the kind of cordial links with many top Republicans in Congress that Obama lacks.

He will begin his work on Thursday, meeting senior law enforcement leaders from across the US and key cabinet members at the White House.

The president, who comforted relatives of Newtown victims on Sunday, bristled when asked by a reporter whether he had been absent on gun control issues, following mass killings in Colorado, Arizona and Texas on his watch.

"I've been president of the United States, dealing with the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, an auto industry on the verge of collapse, two wars. I don't think I've been on vacation."

Obama, who many conservatives believe wants to take away their guns, made clear he supported the Second Amendment to the Constitution, which enshrines the right to bear arms.

But he added that "there is a big chunk of space between what, you know, the Second Amendment means and having no rules at all."

AFP