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Biden Offers Glimpse of Gun Control Plan Coming in Days Tough Path for Ban on Assault Guns Shifts Obama’s Focus
(about 5 hours later)
WASHINGTON — Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. will present President Obama with proposals for stemming gun violence by Tuesday, setting in motion legislative and executive actions that will encompass guns, ammunition, mental health services and violent images in popular culture. WASHINGTON — While President Obama pledged to crack down on access to what he called “weapons of war” in the aftermath of last month’s schoolhouse massacre, the White House has calculated that a ban on military-style assault weapons will be exceedingly difficult to pass through Congress and is focusing on other measures it deems more politically achievable.
“I have committed to him I will have his recommendations to him by Tuesday,” Mr. Biden said Thursday as he began meetings with sportsman and hunting groups to discuss the gun issue. As a task force led by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. readies recommendations on reducing gun violence for delivery to the president next week, White House officials say a new ban will be an element of whatever final package is proposed. But given the entrenched opposition from gun rights groups and their advocates on Capitol Hill, the White House is trying to avoid making its passage the sole definition of success and is emphasizing other new gun rules that could conceivably win bipartisan support and reduce gun deaths.
Mr. Biden did not say whether he would recommend a renewal of the 1994 assault weapons ban, which expired in 2004. But he cited several other measures, including efforts to limit the availability of high-capacity magazines and the need for what he called “near universal background checks” that would go beyond doing checks at gun shows. During a day of White House meetings on the issue on Thursday, including one with the National Rifle Association, Mr. Biden focused publicly on universal background checks for gun purchases and the need for more federal research on gun violence. In 15 minutes of public remarks, Mr. Biden made no mention of curbing the production and sale of assault weapons, even though he was a prime author of such a law that passed in 1994 and expired 10 years later. Both he and the president say they strongly support an assault weapons ban.
“There has got to be some common ground, to not solve every problem but diminish the probability” of other mass shootings, he said. “That’s what this is all about. There are no conclusions I have reached.” But Mr. Biden noted that his former colleagues in the Senate have long been “pretty universally opposed to any restrictions on gun ownership or what type of weapons can be purchased.” He said they now seem more open to limits on the purchase of high-capacity magazines.
Mr. Biden also hinted that the package of proposals would address the ability of the federal government to do research on gun violence, comparing the limits on federal data gathering to restrictions on the government’s ability to study traffic fatalities in the 1970s. A spokesman for Mr. Obama said later in the afternoon that the vice president’s remarks merely reflect a desire for a broad approach to gun violence.
He said the government needed the ability to find out “what kind of weapons are used most to kill people” and “what kind of weapons are trafficked weapons.” “President Obama has been clear that Congress should reinstate the assault weapons ban and that avoiding this issue just because it’s been politically difficult in the past is not an option,” said Matt Lehrich, the spokesman. “He’s also stressed that no single piece of legislation alone can solve this problem, which is why he has asked Vice President Biden to explore a wide array of proposals on topics ranging from gun laws to mental health to school safety.”
Even as Mr. Biden spoke, news organizations reported that a student had been shot at a California high school. The shooting took place at Taft Union High School in Kern County, near Bakersfield, and the gunman was taken into custody, officials said. The calculation on the assault weapons ban underscores the complicated politics of guns on Capitol Hill despite public outrage after a gunman killed 26 people, including 20 children, at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in December. While the shootings prompted some pro-gun lawmakers to endorse limits on assault weapons, Republicans who control the House Judiciary Committee still oppose such limits.
Gun owners and their advocates, including the National Rifle Association, got a chance on Thursday to register their objections to Mr. Obama’s promise of broad new legislation that seeks to curb gun violence in the wake of the school massacre in Connecticut last month. A statement by the N.R.A. after Thursday’s meeting underscored the political challenges. The group accused the White House of having an “agenda to attack the Second Amendment,” and said it would go to the halls of Congress in its efforts to stop gun restrictions.
Representatives of hunting and sportsman groups met around noon with Mr. Biden, who has been directed by the president to come up with a package of legislation and executive action. Mr. Obama has publicly backed a renewed ban on assault-style weapons, restrictions on high-capacity magazines and expanded background checks for gun purchases.
The top lobbyist for the N.R.A. participated in a meeting later in the afternoon that included other groups representing gun owners. The meetings were a preview of an intense clash between the administration and opponents of tougher gun control measures.
After the meeting, the N.R.A. issued a blistering statement accusing the White House of having an “agenda to attack the Second Amendment.”
In the statement, the group said it was surprised at how little the meeting addressed keeping children safe.
“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 organization said. “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.”
The group also suggested that it was done talking with the administration about proposals and would use its political muscle to block Mr. Obama’s proposals.
“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,” the statement said.“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,” the statement said.
In a statement Thursday morning, the N.R.A. had said it was willing to have discussions about “reasonable proposals and plans,” but would listen to “real Americans all over the country that are hoping the N.R.A. is not going to compromise on any of the principles of the Second Amendment.” The calibrated public focus by Mr. Biden also reflects a tension within the administration and Democratic circles, with some gun control advocates pressing for a robust effort on the assault weapon ban and others leery of being caught in a losing cause at the expense of other measures with more chances of success. While Mr. Biden has included Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., Janet Napolitano, the Homeland Security secretary, and other cabinet officials in his working group, officials said the process is being driven by the White House.
“We’re willing to listen,” the N.R.A. statement said, according to Politico. In addition to limits on high-capacity magazines and expanded background checks, Mr. Biden’s group is looking at ways of keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill and cracking down on sales that are already illegal. One possibility is tougher laws against straw purchasing with longer prison terms for those who buy guns for others. Some officials would like to expand mandatory minimum sentences for gun law violations, but the White House in general does not like such sentences. Mr. Biden’s group is also considering seeking additional money to enforce existing laws.
In comments to supporters of gun control measures on Wednesday, Mr. Biden said the Obama administration was willing to listen, too. But he pledged that the president would not be dissuaded from proposals that would help curb violence and prevent more mass killings. Mr. Biden’s comment this week about taking executive action was seized on by some opponents as evidence that the president wanted to unilaterally restrict gun sales to legal buyers. But officials said executive action refers to limited measures like directing more attention and resources to pursuing violations of existing gun laws and studying gun violence.
“The president is going to act,” Mr. Biden said on Wednesday. “There is executive action that can be taken. We haven’t decided what that is yet.” The ammunition limit has drawn attention from Democrats in Congress, both because they think it might be easier to pass and because it might have more impact than an assault weapon ban. To pass the last assault weapon ban through a Democratic Congress more amenable to gun control, Mr. Biden had to accept compromises that allowed many guns to be sold.
The most high-profile and contentious issue facing the president on the gun issue is likely to be the question of whether to reinstate a ban on assault weapons, which was initially passed in 1994 but expired several years ago. The White House effort is coming even as some governors are seeking state legislation that would limit the availability of guns and ammunition. In Colorado, Gov. John W. Hickenlooper, a Democrat, called on Thursday for universal background checks on all gun sales in his state.
A push to build public support for that effort is being led by gun control groups, including one led by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and a new one formed by Gabrielle Giffords, the former Arizona congresswoman who was shot in the head during a meeting with constituents in her district. In New York, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has made gun control efforts a centerpiece of his next year in office, pledging to pass a tough new assault weapons ban in his state, limits on large-capacity magazines and measures to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill.
But the effort will face intense opposition in Congress from the well-financed N.R.A. and its affiliated organizations. In particular, the lobbying will be aimed at Democratic and Republican lawmakers in rural districts where support for gun rights is strong. Mr. Obama’s push for new federal action is the first serious one in many years. Mr. Biden held several meetings Thursday with representatives of hunting and wildlife groups, advocates of gun ownership, and officials with the entertainment industry. At the start of the meetings, Mr. Biden said he would give Mr. Obama his recommendations on Tuesday, though they may not be made public until later.
In an interview with Brooklyn GOP Radio on Tuesday night, David Keene, the president of the N.R.A., accused Mr. Obama and Mr.Biden of being “disingenuous” in their efforts to reach out to gun owners and others in the gun debate. In their own closed-door meetings with the vice president on Wednesday, gun control advocates emphasized their belief that measures other than the assault weapons ban could be even more effective in preventing the kinds of recent massacres that have captured public and political attention, several participants said.
“I think that they’ve seen this as an opportunity to go after the Second Amendment, which they’ve wanted to do for years, if not decades, and I think they’re going to do everything they can to strip Americans of their right to keep and bear arms,” Mr. Keene told the radio station. “There’s a natural gravity that happens toward the ban in the wake of tragedies,” said Dan Gross, the president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, who attended the meeting. “But it’s very important to point out that background checks could have an even bigger impact.”
Mr. Obama has said he will not simply seek new restrictions on guns and ammunition, but will also look for proposals to address concerns about mental health reporting and the impact of violent images in American culture.
The vice president was also expected to meet Thursday evening with representatives of the movie, television and video game industries. Some lawmakers have said they want to find ways to address the prevalence of violent images in games and movies that are available to children.
Among those at the meetings on Thursday was a representative of Walmart, the nation’s largest gun retailer. David Tovar, the vice president for corporate communications at the company, said on Wednesday that the retailer had been “very purposeful about striking the right balance between serving hunters and sportsmen and ensuring that we sell firearms responsibly.”
But a coalition of liberal organizations on Wednesday sent a letter to Walmart’s chief executive asking the company to stop selling assault weapons.
“Assault weapons of all brands and models continue to adorn your shelves, from Sig Sauer M400s to Colt LE6920s,” the letter says. “We know the horrific capacity of these weapons to wreak havoc on our communities because we have witnessed it firsthand. They have no place in our streets and in our homes, and we strongly insist that you honor your 2004 pledge to ensure they have no place in your stores either.”
The groups, including SumOfUs.org, MomsRising, Courage Campaign and Change.org, will present petitions signed by almost 250,000 people, according to a spokesman for the organizations.