Obama set to announce proposals aimed at curbing gun violence

President Barack Obama is set to outline a set of proposals Wednesday to prevent the kind of mass shooting that left 26 people dead, including 20 children, at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., last month.

Obama will be joined at the event scheduled for 11:55 am ET by Vice President Joe Biden, who led a task force to develop recommendations on curbing gun violence.

The White House has promised a "comprehensive approach" that will include legislative proposals and executive action.

Obama and Biden will be joined by children who wrote the president after the Newtown massacre.

The president’s announcement is certain to touch off a pitched political battle in Congress, where gun rights advocates backed by the National Rifle Association have served notice they’re not on board with new gun control measures. The White House has worked to reassure Americans that there will be no government gun grab.

The NRA is already out with an add calling Obama an "elitist hypocrite" for cracking down on guns even as his own daughters receive armed protection at school. As the president's children, Malia and Sasha are provided Secret Service protection.