Vice President Biden spoke last weekend with families of victims of the Newtown, Conn., mass shooting, Biden's son said Monday.
“My father's spent a lot of time working with all the stakeholders, from the NRA to sportsmen to victims to survivors, and he was on the phone with many of the survivors of the tragedy in Connecticut over this weekend,” Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden said on CNN’s “Situation Room.”
“I personally was in and out of the room when he was on some of these calls, these private calls,” Biden added. “I would go to the door and go away when I knew he was on the phone with these moms and dads.”
The vice president has led the White House task force on gun violence, established after the mass shooting in Newtown last month, which killed 20 schoolchildren and six school employees.
The vice president has spent the last two weeks meeting with stakeholders, including representatives from the National Rifle Association (NRA), retailers and the entertainment and video game industry, as he studies proposals to stem gun violence.
President Obama on Monday said he would outline his plan to reduce gun violence, taking into account Biden’s recommendations. That package is expected to include both legislative measures and executive actions.
The vice president’s son said Monday that his father was “doing his best to come up with a comprehensive strategy to push forward to the president to do the things that he’s talked about.”
But the White House is likely to face strong opposition from the NRA and GOP lawmakers who have expressed doubts that tougher firearm restrictions would do anything to stem violent crime.
On Monday, Obama said he was “confident” that he could move on some measures independently of Congress.
“I'm confident that there are some steps that we can take that don't require legislation and that are within my authority as president,” Obama told reporters at a press conference.
