Saying gun control cannot be the only solution to the problem, Obama also expressed support for making it easier for Americans to get access to mental health care - "at least as easy as access to a gun."

Obama urged Congress to quickly pass new measures next year.

The killing of 20 young children and six adults at a elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, last Friday has even shifted pro-gun advocates away from long-held views in a way that previous mass shootings have not.

Friday's massacre by a 20-year-old man was the fourth shooting rampage to claim multiple lives in the United States this year.

Under pressure from fellow Democrats, Obama insisted the guns issue would not be ignored this time.

But changing the rules will be difficult.

Most Republicans remain staunchly opposed to tighter gun laws, particularly in the House of Representatives, where the party holds a majority. Robert Goodlatte, a Virginia congressman who will be chairman of the House Judiciary committee next year, said flatly in Roll Call this week he opposed gun control.

With Biden at his side, Obama said the group would give him proposals he could outline in his State of the Union speech in late January. Cabinet members involved include Attorney General Eric Holder, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Education Secretary Arne Duncan.

"This is not some Washington commission. This is not something where folks are going to be studying the issue for six months and publishing a report that gets read and then pushed aside. This is a team that has a very specific task to pull together real reforms right now," Obama said.

Obama has tapped Biden to lead other high-profile initiatives, including efforts on a deficit-reduction compromise with congressional Republicans in 2011.

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