Obama says gun lobby peddling ‘fiction’

US President Barack Obama has accused the nation’s largest gun lobby of peddling an “imaginary fiction” that has distorted the debate about firearms violence.

In a primetime, televised forum, the president dismissed what he called a “conspiracy” alleging that the government wants to seize all firearms as a precursor to imposing martial law. He blamed the notion on the National Rifle Association (NRA), and like-minded groups that convince their members that “somebody’s going to come grab your guns”.

Obama said: “Yes, that is a conspiracy. I’m only going to be here for another year. When would I have started on this enterprise?”