WASHINGTON — Barack Obama once said it was a “scandal” that then-President George W. Bush did not force renewal of a federal assault weapons ban. Now it is Obama himself who is steering clear of that and other politically sensitive gun-control measures, even while calling for a new discussion on weapons and “how we can keep America safe for all our people.”

The president asked for the new conversation on gun safety in an opinion column in Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ hometown paper, the Arizona Daily Star, over the weekend. He proposed strengthening and enforcing existing laws requiring gun sellers to perform background checks.