The National Rifle Association (NRA) said it was “disappointed” with their meeting with Joe Biden and the White House task force on gun control.
In a statement, released after their closed door meeting, they said “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."
The Associated Press quoted the NRA as saying they “will not allow law-abiding gun owners to be blamed for the acts of criminals and madmen.”
These comments from the NRA came following Biden’s meeting with gun control advocates and gun owners organizations. The White House task force on gun control plans to present their results to President Barack Obama on Tuesday, January 15th.
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Prior to these meetings Vice President Joe Biden signaled that President Obama could use his executive powers to bypass Congress to implement the most stringent gun controls.
The Irish American VP said “The president is going to act. There are executive orders, executive action that can be taken. We haven't decided what that is yet, but we're compiling it all.”
Executive orders are controversial because they bypass Congress. If used they have the full force of the law. It is likely that Obama would face backlash from the Republicans is he issued these orders.
Biden emphasized the administration's mission to act on gun control following the death of 27 people at Sandy Hook elementary school, in Newtown, CT along with various other gun attacks. He said the Newtown massacre had “touched the heart of the American people so profoundly” and said gun control “requires immediate, urgent action”.
He continued saying “I want to make clear that we're not going to get caught up in the notion that, unless we can do everything, we're going to do nothing. It’s critically important we act.”
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The attorney general Eric Holder, along with representatives of gun control groups such as Brady Campaign to End Gun Violence, survivors of the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre shooting and the stepfather of a victim in last summer's Aurora, Colorado mass shooting, were also in attendance at the press conference.
The White House’s gun control task force is plans to present their results to the president by the of January.
It is understood that Biden is considering a raft of gun control proposals including the option of working with stores like Wal-Mart to close the “gun show loophole”, meaning that more weapons would be bought at retail outlets.
As well as a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity clips Biden’s task force is looking at the option of universal background checks for gun buyers and a national database to track weapons.
Here’s Joe Biden speaking prior to the meetings:
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