Obama: I’m skeptical of the NRA’s proposal on school safety

President Barack Obama is skeptical of the National Rifle Association's proposal to put armed guards in schools.

Obama, who was speaking on NBC's Meet the Press, said that he hopes to get new US gun control measures passed during the first year of his second term. He's assigned Joe Biden to lead a task force at the beginning of 2013, following a massacre in which 20 children and six adults were massacred by a gunman at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.

"I am not going to prejudge the recommendations that are given to me. I am skeptical that the only answer is putting more guns in schools. And I think the vast majority of the American people are skeptical that that somehow is going to solve our problem," he said during the interview which was taped on Saturday.

The NRA, a powerful pro-gun lobby, has blamed violent video games and movies for the massacre and rise in gun violence in the United States. It has also proposed developing and funding a "model national school shield emergency response program” for any school that desires it.

Many politicians, including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, have criticized the NRA's stance, which included arming more teachers and principals to protect children.