US President Barack Obama has called for “concrete proposals” on gun control by the end of January, saying “words need to lead to action”.

In remarks at the White House, Mr Obama said Vice-President Joe Biden would lead an exploration of options after a mass school shooting in Connecticut.

There have been calls for gun law reform after 26 children and teachers died at Sandy Hook School in Newtown.

The president said a “majority of Americans” back changes to some laws.

Those include the renewal of an assault weapons ban, limits on high-capacity ammunition magazines and an end to loopholes allowing gun purchases with no background checks, Mr Obama said.

He urged Congress to hold votes on those issues when it reconvenes in the new year.

“If there is even one thing that we can do to prevent anyone of these events, we have a deep obligation – all of us – to try,” he said.

“The fact that we can’t prevent every act of violence doesn’t mean we can’t steadily reduce the violence.”

NRA response

The assault weapons ban lapsed under President George W Bush in 2004.

Mr Obama has previously stated his support for a reintroduction without backing a specific move to do so before now.

Mr Biden has decades of experience as a senator and analysts say that experience could be essential to getting any changes through Congress, which has been lobbied extensively on the issue by the National Rifle Association (NRA).

The vice-president’s team will include members of the Obama administration as well as representatives of outside groups.

Mr Obama told reporters he would push for the proposals recommended by the Biden-led task force “without delay”, after the January deadline.

In its first statement since the shootings, the NRA said it was “heartbroken” by the attack.

The gun lobby group said it was “shocked, saddened and heartbroken by the news of the horrific and senseless murders in Newtown.

“The NRA is prepared to offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again,” the statement said, announcing a “major news conference” to be held on Friday.

There is no indication whether the NRA will join the Biden-led process.

Gun sales, including those of assault rifles, have risen since Friday, a sign that enthusiasts fear that new legislation is coming, the BBC’s Paul Adams in Washington reports.

At the same time, share prices of several gun manufacturers have fallen and a private equity firm has sold its stake in the company that makes the assault rifle used at Newtown.

Some anti-gun control congressmen and senators have indicated they are prepared to consider changes to the current legislation.

The Democratic Senator for West Virginia, Joe Manchin, said on Monday that it was time to “move beyond rhetoric”.

Mr Manchin, a gun owner and frequent hunter, said: “I don’t know anyone in the sporting or hunting arena that goes out with an assault rifle.”

Another Democrat, Senator Mark Warner, said that the “status quo isn’t acceptable” and called for “rational gun control”.

Mr Warner said he had been approached repeatedly over the weekend as people began to seek answers and solutions.

But multiple House Republicans, who hold majority in the House of Representatives, told US broadcaster NPR on Tuesday that action on gun legislation was premature and that they were focused on the tragedy.

“I think to say that we need new gun laws in premature,” Representative Louie Gohmert of Texas said. “As a former judge, it just seems the appropriate thing to do is gather all of the evidence before we come up with a verdict.”

California Senator Dianne Feinstein, a well-known supporter of gun control, said on Sunday she would introduce assault weapons ban legislation when the new Congress met for the first time in January.

The White House says that Mr Obama also supports other proposed gun legislation, including restricting the sale of high-capacity ammunition clips and closing a loophole that allows gun purchases at gun shows without a background check.

Plans for pupils at Sandy Hook School to resume classes on Wednesday at another school have been dropped.

The Newtown Superintendent of Schools, Janet Robinson, said classes would now recommence on 2 January at Chalk Hill School in the nearby town of Monroe.

“The teachers weren’t ready, the building wasn’t ready”, Mrs Robinson said. “So we just abandoned that idea. That plan was too ambitious.”

Mrs Robinson said pupils and parents would be invited to visit the new facility later this week.

The rest of Newtown’s students returned to classes on Tuesday, as grief counsellors and police were posted to schools.

Funerals are to be held for more victims of the shooting, including teacher Victoria Soto and three students: Daniel Barden, seven, Caroline Previdi, six, and Charlotte Bacon, six.

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