Obama suggests he would seek to revive ban on assault weapons - Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney engaged in a rare tussle over gun control on Tuesday, and Obama opened the door to pushing for a ban on assault weapons if he wins a second term.  During their second election debate, both men largely danced around a gun-control question, a reflection of how they are wary of offending voters who support gun rights.  However, Obama did say that he would back an assault-weapons ban like the one President Bill Clinton signed in 1994. That law expired in 2004 without being renewed by Congress.