New York state has independently agreed to bring in the toughest gun controls in the US, before Barack Obama has even had time to present his own nationwide proposals.
The president is only just weighing up steps to curb gun violence in the wake of the Sandy Hook massacre which killed 20 children and six adults last month.
Meanwhile, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is poised to sign a bill which cracks down on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines and includes measures to keep the mentally ill from guns.
The legislation - which had bipartisan support - easily passed the state Senate and is expected to breeze through the Assembly after the chamber takes it up on Tuesday.
"This is a scourge on society," Gov, Cuomo said. "At what point do you say, 'No more innocent loss of life.'"
Governor Cuomo is poised to sign tough new gun laws In Washington, Mr Obama and his vice president, Joe Biden, will face a much tougher task.
The president, facing a polarised Congress reluctant to tighten restrictions, said politicians would have to "examine their own conscience".
Mr Obama is examining 19 steps that could be taken through the president's executive powers alone, congressional officials have said.
He could reveal more details as early as Wednesday.
They include a crackdown on those who lie on background checks; only a tiny number are now prosecuted.
Barack Obama takes questions from reporters on gun laws on Monday Such a step has support from the powerful gun lobby, the National Rifle Association, which has consistently argued that existing laws must be enforced before new ones are considered.
Mr Obama proposals are also expected to include steps for improving school safety and mental health care, as well as recommendations for addressing violence in entertainment and video games.
At the same time the president is vowing not to back off his more controversial changes which will require congressional backing.
However the NRA and its political allies are fiercely opposed to any laws that would limit access to guns and ammunition.
The assault weapons ban, which the president has long supported, is expected to face the toughest road in Congress.
Mr Obama will also need congressional help to limit high-capacity ammunition magazines, like the ones used by the Newtown shooter, and to require background checks for anyone seeking to purchase a gun.
The president's new resolve follows a lack of movement in tackling gun violence throughout much of his first term, despite several high-profile shootings.
Ian and Nicole Hockley at the launch of the Sandy Hook Promise group He called the massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, the worst day of his presidency and has vowed to take action.
One month on, parents of the murdered children - including those of British victim Dylan Hockley - called for a national dialogue on Monday to help prevent similar tragedies.
"This is a promise to do everything in our power to be remembered not as the town filled with grief and victims, but as the place where real change began," Nicole Hockley said.
"Sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday; other times it feels like many years have passed. …It's so hard to believe he's gone," she said.
"I still find myself reaching for Dylan's hand to walk through the parking lot, or expect him to come crawling in to bed for morning cuddles before he goes off to school."
The families have created an organisation called the Sandy Hook Promise to lobby for change.
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