Biden hints at universal background checks on gun control

Amid increasing demands for gun control measures in the country, US Vice-President Joe Biden has hinted at launching background checks and restrict high-capacity magazines to check the gun menace.

“A surprising recurrence of suggestions that we have is universal background checks, not just close the gun show loophole, but total universal background checks, even including private sales,” Biden said.

“There has been a lot of discussion from the groups we’ve met with so far and what many will tell you is how we strengthen those background checks,” he said during a meeting at the White House.

Biden has been tasked by President Barack Obama to come up with a set of proposals to prevent incidents of shooting in the country, some of which in recent past have resulted in several deaths.

“The emerging set of recommendations are not coming from me but from the groups we’ve met with, and I’m going to focus on the ones that relate primarily to gun ownership and the type of weapons can be owned,” Biden said.

He, however, said there are certain actions that have “diminished” the extent of gun violence in the US.

The pro-gun lobby National Rifle Association (NRA), on the other hand, has blasted Biden after a meeting with him 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,” the NRA said.

“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 said in a statement.

The association accused the US administration of pushing “failed solutions” to a serious problem the country was faced with.

“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 contributions to members of Congress of both parties who are interested in having an honest conversation about what works and what does not,” it said.

Biden later said that he would be submitting his recommendation to the President by next Tuesday.

“There’s a very tight window to do this. I committed to him I’d have these recommendations to him by (next) Tuesday. That doesn’t mean it’s end of the discussion, but the public wants us to act,” he said.

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