Pete Souza/White House.

United States President Barack Obama listens as Vice President Joe Biden presents proposals as part of the Obama Administration’s response to the shootings in Newtown, Conn., during a policy meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on Jan. 14. During the divisive national debate on gun control, some federal legislators are now arguing for laws to provide better mental illness treatment as a preventive measure for shootings, rather than stricter gun laws.