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Magazine 24
Joe
Biden on Gun Control: ‘Let Me Say This as
Clearly as I Can, This Is Just the Beginning’
by Jason Howerton
Vice
President Joe Biden said Wednesday the
expected upcoming Senate votes on gun control are only the beginning of
the
White House’s fight strengthen gun laws.
During
a conference call organized by Mayors
Against Illegal Guns, Biden assured supporters that the push gun
control would
not end with the current proposed bill, saying, “Let me say this as
clearly as
I can: this is just the beginning,” according to the Washington Times.
The
fate of gun control legislation is unclear.
A vote on a Senate bill, including expanded background checks and
harsher
penalties for gun trafficking, is expected next month.
The
White House also has been pushing for
limits on so-called “assault weapons” and high-capacity magazines, but
those
provisions won’t be part of the Senate bill. Instead they are to be
offered as
amendments, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid says they don’t have
enough
support to pass.
“That
doesn’t mean this is the end of the
process. This is the beginning of the process,” Biden reiterated during
the
conference call.
Mayors
Against Illegal Guns is the anti-gun
group co-chaired by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Earlier this
week,
the group rolled out a multi-million dollar anti-gun ad campaign aimed
at
pressuring lawmakers to support gun control.
“The
American people are way ahead of their
political leaders,” Biden argued. “And we, the president and I and the
mayors,
intend to stay current with the American people.”
The
conference call included thousands of gun
control supporters ahead of Thursday’s National Day to Demand Action
organized
by the mayors group and other gun control proponents. Organizers said
more than
140 events were scheduled in 29 states, timed to reach lawmakers while
they are
in their home districts on spring break.
President
Barack Obama was planning an event in
the White House East Room with mothers who support gun control, victims
of
violence and law enforcement officials.
Biden
says his office is in touch with
congressional offices every day, making the case for the legislation in
the
wake of the shooting at a Connecticut elementary school in December
that killed
20 students and six staff trying to keep the children safe.
“The
courage that was demonstrated by those
teachers, we don’t expect the same amount of courage from our elected
officials,” Biden said. “But Lord’s sake, we do expect them to have the
courage
to stand up and take responsible action to end this senseless violence.”
Biden
was optimistic for the fate of the
background check provision.
“I
think we’re on the verge of getting a
serious thorough universal background check system in place,” Biden
said. “And
it will, emphasize it will, save lives.”
But
the White House seems to be acknowledging
the assault weapons ban and limit on magazines are not likely to make
it. Biden
mentioned it as well in the call, repeating that it’s just the
beginning for
the issue for the White House. “We believe that weapons of war have no
place on
our streets,” Biden said.
Obama
spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters
Wednesday that after all the president has pushed for an assault
weapons ban,
having a vote on an amendment represents progress.
“I
can’t stand here and guarantee that it’s
going to pass, but it is a question that 100 senators are going to ask
themselves when they wake up in the morning and look themselves in the
mirror
about whether or not they are going to – about which side they’re going
to be
on when it comes to voting on a ban on military-style assault weapons,”
Earnest
said. “And the president will certainly continue to advocate for
senators to
support that ban.”
Source:
theblaze.com
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