Politicians, celebrities react to President Obama's gun control order

On Tuesday, an emotional President Obama announced initiatives intended to reduce gun violence, including more strict background checks on gun sales. Obama's executive action sparked heated reactions online, with politicians, celebrities and relatives of gun violence victims sharing their views.

Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Martin O'Malley and Bernie Sanders expressed their support for Obama's order.

Jeb Bush, Carly Fiorina and other Republican presidential candidates tweeted their opposition to Obama's gun control initiative.

Republican senators and congressmen criticized the president, saying his actions were an executive overreach.

Democratic politicians and figures including Gabby Giffords, the former congresswoman who was shot in the head outside a Tucson, Ariz. supermarket in 2011, said Obama's plan was a step forward for the country.

Pro Gun organizations like the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America argued that Obama's plan would not improve gun safety.

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence tweeted their support for Obama's initiatives.

Celebrities like Amy Schumer tweeted their support of stronger gun control initiatives. Schumer became a spoken advocate of gun control in 2015 after three people were killed in a shooting during a screening of her movie Trainwreck.

Nicole Hockley, mother of Dylan Hockley, one of the victims killed in the Newtown shooting in Dec. 2012, expressed her support for Obama's initiatives.

Mark Barden, a father of one of the victims in the Newtown shooting and the person who introduced President Obama at Tuesday's event, expressed his support for the president's initiatives. "Today, the President is doing what is in his power to reduce the unspeakable violence that stole our son from us," Barden wrote. "If we can take just one action that will prevent another child from dying the way he did, then we will do honor to the way he lived his life."