Romney on the road

WWLP TV

Brian Mooar

Updated: Jul 26, 2012 2:09 PM

(NBCNC) — Mitt Romney is mixing Olympic entertainment with meetings with British leaders during a stop in London.

Appearing with former Prime Minister Tony Blair and the current opposition leader, Romney was carefully uncontroversial.

"While I'm on foreign soil I'm very careful not to be critical of my own government's policies," he said.

The presumptive Republican nominee is building up his foreign policy credentials in a trip that will also take him to Israel and Poland.

In an interview with NBC's Brian Williams, Romney was asked about an issue much closer to home: gun control.

"I don't happen to believe that America needs new gun laws," Romney responded. "A lot of what this young man did was clearly against the law. But the fact that it was against the law did not prevent it from happening."

President Obama addressed the issue in a speech before the National Urban League.

"Hunting and shooting are part of a cherished national heritage," Mr. Obama said. "But I also believe that a lot of gun owners would agree that AK-47s belong in the hands of soldiers, not in the hands of criminals."

Still, neither candidate wants to do battle with the powerful forces lined up on either side of the gun control debate.

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