The leader of the biggest US gun lobby criticized President Barack Obama on Tuesday for condemning "absolutism" in politics, and vowed to stand his ground on gun control.

"Obama wants to turn the idea of absolutism into a dirty word," National Rifle Association (NRA) executive vice president Wayne LaPierre said in what his group billed as a "major response" to Obama's inaugural address on Monday.

LaPierre insisted that semi-automatic weapons should remain legal, and attacked Obama's gun control platform by saying that universal background checks for gun purchases would hurt American traditions.

"He wants to put every private, personal firearms transaction right under the thumb of the federal government," LaPierre said in an address streamed live on the NRA's website and on cable television.

"He wants to keep all of those names in a massive federal registry. There's only two reasons for a federal list on gun owners: to either tax them or take them. It is the only reason. And anyone who says that is excessive, President Obama says you're an absolutist."

The gun lobbyist was focusing on a single line from Obama's second inaugural speech that was largely believed to be aimed at his Republican foes in Congress.

"We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics or treat name-calling as reasoned debate," Obama said.

The White House has not called for a universal list of gun owners. Instead, its proposal would require federal background checks in all gun sales from licensed firearms dealers in a bid to keep guns out of the hands of convicted felons and people with mental problems.

"We're told that wanting the same technology that the criminals and our elites are protected by for themselves, is a form of absolutism," LaPierre said.

Meanwhile, US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, signaled on Tuesday that despite earlier indications to the contrary, he may allow a vote on a possible ban on assault weapons.

Reid, a longtime gun-rights advocate from Nevada, recently indicated he would not permit a vote because the Republican-led House of Representatives was unlikely to go along with such a prohibition.

But after a weekly meeting with fellow Senate Democrats, Reid told reporters he expects "to have a free amendment process" on gun legislation.

That process could result in other Democrats proposing a resurrection of a 10-year ban on semi-automatic assault weapons that expired in 2004.

Reid said he expects the Senate Judiciary Committee, which opens hearings next week on proposals by Obama and others, to produce a bill. It is unclear if the measure will include a ban on assault weapons.

"It may not be everything everyone wants. But I hope it has stuff that is really important," Reid told reporters.

AFP - Reuters