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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Vice President
For Immediate Release January 9, 2013


REMARKS BY VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN
AT A MEETING WITH GUN SAFETY ADVOCATES AND VICTIMS

Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Room 208


11:12 A.M. EST

THE VICE PRESIDENT: So, let me start by -- on behalf of the Attorney General and the President, I -- thanking you for taking the time today. This is important work. We've got a lot of work to be done. And I know that several of you around the table have lost loved ones or have been the victims of gun violence yourself. And it's been almost four weeks now since the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut; and I've been doing this a long time, I can't think of -- of all the tragic events we've endured, I don't think anything has touched the heart of the American people so profoundly as seeing those -- or learning of those young children not only being shot, but riddled with bullets. Just it's -- every once in a while there's something that wakes up the conscience of the country. And that tragedy really did it in a way that I've never seen in my career.

So we're here today to deal with a -- following requires our immediate action, urgent action. And the President and I are determined to take action. This is not an exercise in photo opportunities or just getting to ask you all what your opinions are. We are vitally interested in what you have to say. And as the President said, if our actions result in only saving one life, they're worth taking. But I'm convinced we can affect the well-being of millions of Americans and take thousands of people out of harm's way if we act responsibly.

And today I want to hear about your experiences firsthand. I have taken the time. I go back -- I read often the Brady Law. Jim Brady and the Bradys are friends of mine for a long time. Jim used to be my colleague Bill Roth's press secretary and worked in Delaware for years, had a place in Delaware. So I have been chairman of the Judiciary Committee for a long, long time and working in this area for a long, long time.

I want you to know that we are meeting with a number of advocacy groups. And we've reached out beyond the issue of just gun safety. We've reached out to the mental health community. We've reached out to doctors and nurses. We've reached out to the religious community, and I'm heartened by the incredible response we've received from Southern Baptist Conference and the Catholic Conference of Bishops, evangelical groups. I've not seen again anything quite like that occurring before. And we didn't even have to reach out. They reached out to us and said we want to participate because this is a moral issue, as well.

And so you're going to read and hear that I'll be conducting meetings today, tomorrow and Friday and beyond, and I want to make it clear that we are not going to get caught up in the notion unless we can do everything, we're going to do nothing. It's critically important we act because there are certain things -- I know a great deal about almost all of your organizations. I've read what you have published and spoken to, and there's a pretty wide consensus on three to four or five things in the gun safety area that could and should be done around this table.

You should know that tomorrow I've also invited the gun owners and the NRA to come and make their case as well before us. I want it clear to the American public that on behalf of the President, we're reaching out to all parties on whatever side of this debate you fall. But 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 with the help of the Attorney General and all the rest of the Cabinet members as well as the legislative action we believe is required.

So I appreciate you very much being here. And with that, what I'd like to do is thank the press for coming on in and maybe we can get to work.


END 11:17 A.M. EST