President Barack Obama made an emotional plea to lawmakers Thursday to strengthen the nation's gun laws.

But he also told voters in October 2012 that to keep assault weapons out of the hands of criminals, "we have to enforce the laws we've already got.”

(He also proposed reintroducing an assault weapons ban, something we're tracking separately.)

Has the re-elected president followed his own prescription that there's "more to do when it comes to enforcement”?

In January 2013, a month after a shooter killed 26 people, including 20 children, in Newtown, Conn., he released a plan to reduce gun violence.

It includes several measures that focus on enforcement of existing laws, such as:

• Encouraging private sellers to sell their guns through licensed dealers so buyers face background checks.

• Asking Congress for $4 billion "to help keep 15,000 cops on the street.”

• Requiring federal law enforcement agencies to trace all firearms picked up during criminal investigations to "help … reveal gun trafficking patterns.”

• Asking U.S. attorneys to consider stepping up prosecutions of felons illegally seeking firearms, or people who provide false information to pass background checks.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department will offer $25 million in grants to states to help them boost the number of records, especially mental health records, in the background check system.

The proposals are less than three months old, and it's too early to judge whether stronger enforcement will result. But it's a start. We rate this promise In the Works.