He called for a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and wider background checks on gun buyers.
The Democratic president also signed 23 executive actions, which do not require congressional approval.
A month after last month's school massacre in Connecticut, he said gun-control reforms could wait no longer.
Mr Obama unveiled the proposals at the White House on Wednesday, flanked by children who wrote him letters after December's Newtown shooting, which left 20 children and six teachers dead.
Mr Obama said: "if there is even one thing we can do to reduce this violence, if there is even one life that can be saved, then we've got an obligation to try."
The top US gun lobbying group, the powerful National Rifle Association (NRA), said the proposals were "not a solution to the crisis we face as a nation".
"Only honest, law-abiding gun owners will be affected and our children will remain vulnerable to the inevitability of more tragedy," the group said in a statement. (+ video) » | Wednesday, January 16, 2013
