For the last two days, Vice President Joe Biden who was picked by President Obama to head talks on possible new gun regulations in the wake of the Newtown killings, met with groups from both sides on the issue of gun control.
Today, Jan. 10, 2012 was the second day of meetings and one of the groups in attendance at the meeting was the National Rifle Association (NRA).
The White House knows that any meeting with the NRA is a waste of time when discussing any controls for guns or their accessories such as gun clips or bullets, but saying they met with the NRA makes for a good sound bite. The NRA glorifies guns and mocks or attacks those that want to place curbs on their access.
The NRA statement today after their meeting at the White House:
"We were disappointed with how little this meeting had to do with keeping our children safe and how much it had to do with an agenda to attack the Second Amendment. While claiming that no policy proposals would be “prejudged,” this Task Force spent most of its time on proposed restrictions on lawful firearms owners - honest, taxpaying, hardworking Americans. It is unfortunate that this Administration continues to insist on pushing failed solutions to our nation's most pressing problems. We will not allow law-abiding gun owners to be blamed for the acts of criminals and madmen. Instead, we will now take our commitment and meaningful contributions to members of congress of both parties who are interested in having an honest conversation about what works - and what does not."
Biden also met today with sportsmen and wildlife organizations, including Ducks Unlimited, the Outdoor Industry Association and the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, as well as the National Shooting Sports Foundation and the Firearms Import/Export Roundtable.
Representatives from the Brady Campaign joined other victims’ groups and gun safety organizations for meetings with Biden on Wednesday. The vice president said the steps the administration is considering could “take thousands of people out of harm’s way” and improve the safety of millions more.
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence says that about 40 percent of gun sales are made without background checks, often at gun shows and over the Internet.
Biden said that we cannot “do everything”, but we are not going to “do nothing”. Meaning, don’t expect too much.
“I want to make it clear that we are not going to get caught up in the notion that unless we can do everything, we’re going to do nothing,” Biden said. “It’s critically important we act.”
The majority of our nation’s citizens do not want to see guns banned, and that includes the President, who has never suggested an outright ban on guns.
But the majority of our nation’s citizens do want some limitations placed on access to guns, large capacity clips, and military style assault weapons. Citizens want better background checks, a closing of the loophole at gun shows of no background checks when a firearm is sold by a non gun dealer, and they want more money spent on mental illness.
These are things that we can do while at the same time preserving our rights to own guns, but the White House will be receiving flack from the NRA, their politicians and the right wing media, every step of the way.
Biden will present his findings and suggestions to the President next week, just don’t expect too much.
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