TAPPER: Jay, last night the president said in his speech, "are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children year after year after year is somehow the price of our freedom?" When he referred to "our freedom," was he referring to gun rights? Was he referring to the difficulty that some societies have, some communities have now when it comes to committing people against their will? What exactly did he mean by "freedom"?

CARNEY: Well, I think that he meant broadly those and other issues, that, you know, we obviously have a society that is one based on laws, but it is a free society that creates a balance between the laws that we must abide and the freedoms that we enjoy.

TAPPER: So both. It -

CARNEY: I mean, again, I'm not going to get - I think that both could be encompassed within the meaning of what he said and other issues of freedoms and responsibilities more broadly. But - so I don't think - it wasn't - it wasn't a single specific meaning. I think it was broader than that.

TAPPER: OK, the president has been focused on the health care system in this country since he took office. Does he feel that the mental health care system in this country is adequate?

CARNEY: It's a - it's a very good question. And I would say that the Obama administration has taken action for the past four years to ensure that more Americans have access to mental health services. And we will continue to work with leaders across the country to help ensure people get the care and treatment they need.

As you know, the Affordable Care Act will ensure that 30 million more Americans have access to health care, including mental health services. And the law makes recommended health services available without a copay or a deductible. One of the reasons why the president explicitly talked about engaging not just with lawmakers and law enforcement officials and educators but mental health experts is because that's clearly a factor that needs to be addressed in some of these cases of horrific violence.

So what the Affordable Care Act has done - "Obamacare," if you will, has ensured that mental health services are integral and part of the services that the 30 million people who will be additional Americans who have health insurance, because of the Affordable Act - Affordable Care Act will receive and, in terms of the recommended services, receive them without a copay or a deductible.

So I think that reflects the administration's view on how important mental health services are. But when it comes to this broader - or rather, this more specific issue of mental health and the kind of violence that we saw in Newtown, I think that he believes it's important that experts in that field are part of this discussion.

TAPPER: OK, and lastly, Jay, after the Tucson shooting that left Congresswoman Gabby Giffords seriously wounded and six others dead, including a little girl, the president wrote an op-ed in 2011 in the Arizona Star, and he talked about the gun restrictions he favored.

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Freedom, Mental Health and Guns - Today's Qs for O's WH - 12/17/12