Barack Obama skeet-shooting photo released amid gun control row

The White House has released a picture of President Barack Obama skeet-shooting – seemingly to settle a row over whether he had fired a gun before.

Barack Obama recently told the The New Republic magazine: “Up at Camp David, we do skeet shooting all the time.”

The photo, dated 4 August 2012, shows Barack Obama standing in jeans, polo shirt, sunglasses and ear defenders, aiming a shotgun that has a smoking barrel.

The president is due in Minneapolis on Monday to discuss his gun-control proposals.

Asked this week why more had not been said about Barack Obama’s shooting habits before, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said: “Because when he goes to Camp David, he goes to spend time with his family and friends and relax, not to produce photographs.”

The photograph apparently shows Barack Obama shooting clay targets on the range at the Maryland retreat.

The New Republic interview, carried in the magazine’s February 11 issue, quotes Barack Obama as saying he has great respect for US hunting traditions, while advising gun-control advocates to be better listeners in the firearms debate.

“I have a profound respect for the traditions of hunting that trace back in this country for generations,” the president is quoted as saying.

“And I think those who dismiss that out of hand make a big mistake. Part of being able to move this forward is understanding the reality of guns in urban areas are very different from the realities of guns in rural areas.

“And if you grew up and your dad gave you a hunting rifle when you were 10, and you went out and spent the day with him and your uncles, and that became part of your family’s traditions, you can see why you’d be pretty protective of that.”

“So it’s trying to bridge those gaps that I think is going to be part of the biggest task over the next several months. And that means that advocates of gun control have to do a little more listening than they do sometimes,” Barack Obama said.

President Barack Obama last month proposed sweeping measures on guns, including a renewed ban on assault rifles and wider background checks on buyers.

The announcement came a month after the 14 killings of 20 children and six adults at a primary school in Connecticut.