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At a White House event at noon, Mr. Obama announced plans to introduce legislation by next week that includes a ban on assault weapons, limits on high-capacity magazines, expanded background checks for gun purchases and new gun trafficking laws to crack down on the spread of weapons across the country.

He also promised to act without Congressional approval to increase the enforcement of existing gun laws and improve the flow of information among federal agencies to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and others who shouldn't have them.

The announcement was the culmination of a monthlong process that began after the massacre of 20 children at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. In the wake of the shootings, Mr. Obama pledged action, but it was not immediately clear how far he was willing to go in the face of intense political opposition.

Wednesday's announcement reflected a decision by the White House to seize on public outrage to challenge the political power of the National Rifle Association and other forces that have successfully fought new gun laws for decades.

The president vowed to fight hard for the new gun laws, saying that the country's leaders are compelled to act by the tragedies of gun deaths across the country.

"In the days ahead, I intend to use whatever weight this office holds to make them a reality," he said. "If there's even one life that can be saved, then we've got an obligation to try."

Mr. Obama opened his call for new gun laws by quoting from some of the letters he received from children -- several of whom were sitting in the audience at the White House -- urging him to take action on gun violence.

"This is our first task as a society," Mr. Obama said. "Keeping our children safe. This is how we will be judged. And their voices should compel us to change."

The effort will be difficult and risky, as administration officials have acknowledged. Bruce Reed, the chief of staff for Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., told a group of liberal activists on Tuesday night that passing the president's proposals in Congress will be even tougher than it was to pass an assault-weapons ban in 1994, according to participants at the briefing.

But the White House believes that the dynamic around guns may be shifting, and that the president has a window of opportunity that he cannot pass up.

In the meeting on Tuesday, Mr. Reed said the administration will focus on a single top priority: that guns be kept out of the wrong hands. Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden will take that message across the country, Mr. Reed said, even as the White House and its allies begin an online effort to put pressure on lawmakers.

The N.R.A. appears ready for the fight. On Tuesday, it posted a video mocking Mr. Obama for having Secret Service protection for his children while opposing armed guards at the nation's schools. The video calls the president an "elitist hypocrite."

The White House issued an angry response to the ad. "Most Americans agree that a president's children should not be used as pawns in a political fight," said Jay Carney, the White House press secretary. "But to go so far as to make the safety of the president's children the subject of an attack ad is repugnant and cowardly."

White House officials described the plan unveiled by Mr. Obama and Mr. Biden on Wednesday as a comprehensive effort that includes four major legislative proposals and 23 separate executive actions aimed at protecting "our children and our communities" by reducing the amount of gun violence in the country.

The officials said the president will call for a new and tougher ban on military style assault weapons and to limit the number of rounds that can be in a magazine to 10. That would eliminate the 30-round magazines that were used in Newtown as well as other mass shootings at Virginia Tech, a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., and a congresswoman's public event in Tucson, Ariz.