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NRA Slams Meeting with Biden

'We were disappointed with... how much (this meeting) had to do with an agenda to attack the Second Amendment'

AP
January 10, 2013

The National Rifle Association met with Vice President Joe Biden Thursday and it did not go well.

"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 group said in a statement released Thursday afternoon.

The full statement:

The National Rifle Association of America is made up of over 4 million moms and dads, daughters and sons, who are involved in the national conversation about how to prevent a tragedy like Newtown from ever happening again. We attended today's White House meeting to discuss how to keep our children safe and were prepared to have a meaningful conversation about school safety, mental health issues, the marketing of violence to our kids and the collapse of federal prosecutions of violent criminals.

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 said Thursday he sees a developing consensus on "universal background checks" and high-capacity magazine bans. The vice president is meeting with different advocacy groups, lobbyists, and corporate groups on gun issues this week. Biden said Wednesday that the administration is considering the use of executive orders on gun control.

"There are executive orders, there's executive action that can be taken," Biden said prior to a meeting with victims of gun violence. "We haven't decided what that is yet. But we're compiling it all with the help of the attorney general and the rest of the cabinet members as well as legislative action that we believe is required."

Biden has said he will make his recommendations to President Obama by Tuesday.