'I still get angry': Obama 10 years after Sandy Hook

STORY: Specifically, Obama was referring to the lack of change in gun policy in the United States following the shooting at Connecticut elementary school a decade ago.

In his speech, Obama also spoke about how the "tide may be turning" for gun control in the U.S., thanks in part to the activists he was honoring. The former president was participating in a benefit run by the Sandy Hook Promise organization to mark the decade that has passed since on the most memorable acts of gun violence in U.S. history.

According to the Connecticut-based outfit, they have been able to prevent 11 shootings they know of, thanks to programming in which more than 18 million children have participated in.

The programming equips and encourages children to be outspoken advocates, or "upstanders," to both reach out to isolated peers and report troubled ones.