Joe Biden on Gun Control

Former Vice President; previously Democratic Senator (DE)

“I beat the NRA twice: AR-15s & high-capacity magazines“

“I’m the only one on this stage who has taken on the NRA and beat them twice. We were able to get assault weapons off the streets for 10 years. The way to deal with AR-15s and assault weapons is to do what we did with machine guns. You must register that weapon. I’m the only one that moved to make sure that we could not have a magazine that had more than 10 rounds in it. Go after the gun manufacturers and take back the exemption they have of not being able to be sued.”

Source: October Democratic CNN/NYTimes Primary debate , Oct 15, 2019

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I’m the only candidate who beat the NRA with the Brady bill

Q: You have pointed to your ability to reach across the aisle to get things done, but four months after Sandy Hook, a measure to require expanded background checks died on the Senate floor. If you couldn’t get it done after Sandy Hook, why should voters give you another chance?

BIDEN: “Because I got it done before. I’m the only one up here that’s ever beat the NRA –only one ever to beat the NRA nationally. I’m the guy that brought the Brady bill into-into focus and became law.”

Source: September Democratic Primary debate in Houston , Sep 12, 2019

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I’m the only candidate who beat the NRA with the Brady bill

Q: You have pointed to your ability to reach across the aisle to get things done, but four months after Sandy Hook, a measure to require expanded background checks died on the Senate floor. If you couldn’t get it done after Sandy Hook, why should voters give you another chance?

BIDEN: “Because I got it done before. I’m the only one up here that’s ever beat the NRA –only one ever to beat the NRA nationally. I’m the guy that brought the Brady bill into-into focus and became law.”

Source: September Democratic Primary debate in Houston , Sep 12, 2019

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I’m the guy who got the Brady Bill passed

Joe Biden: “I’m the only person that has beaten the NRA nationally. I’m the guy that got the Brady Bill passed, the background checks. We increased that background check during the Obama-Biden administration. I’m also the only guy that got assault weapons banned, and the number of clips in a gun banned. Our enemy is the gun manufacturers, not the NRA, the gun manufacturers.”

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Public supports gun control; Congress has not caught upWhat matters the most to Biden these days is whether he can persuade Congress to enact meaningful gun-control laws. After the Sandy Hook shooting, in Newtown CT, Obama asked Biden to head up the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. Though his efforts so far have failed to overcome congressional resistance, he says that he is not giving up.

Q: The background-check measure failed in the Senate, even though it was supported by 90% of the American people. What does it mean that we can’t pass even the weakest measures to curb gun violence?

A: “It means two things. One, that we have had an impact on the public’s thinking. If we did that poll a week before Sandy Hook, my guess is you wouldn’t have 90% of the American people. We’ve won the battle with the American public on this, not just on background checks but on magazines, on assault weapons, etc. This is a case where the public is way ahead of Congress. There has been a seminal shift in the attitude of the American public toward gun safety.”

Source: Douglas Brinkley in Rolling Stone Magazine , May 9, 2013

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Moral obligation to diminish senseless gun violence“It’s been 33 days since the nation’s heart was broken by the horrific, senseless violence that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School. No one can know for certain if this senseless act could have been prevented, but we all know we have a moral obligation–a moral obligation–to do everything in our power to diminish the prospect that something like this could happen again.

I’ve worked in this field a long time–in the US Senate, having drafted the last gun violence legislation. I have no illusions about how hard the task is in front of us. But I also have never seen the nation’s conscience so shaken by what happened at Sandy Hook. The world has changed, and it’s demanding action.”

Additional information on his position over the years