President Obama’s vow to prevent future gun violence has a new face: Vice President Joe Biden.
Vocal calls for new gun restrictions broke out within hours of the school massacre in Newtown, Conn., but Obama has so far been cautious in his approach. Biden will lead a new, administration-wide effort to tackle what the White House has called “a complex problem that requires more than one solution.” He will focus not only on possible gun reform but also on mental-health issues.
Congressional gun-rights advocates have largely been mum since the shooting, but some have said that new rules on guns aren’t necessarily the solution. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said a proposed ban on assault weapons “doesn’t make sense” and would create a “false sense of security.” GOP Sen. Marco Rubio echoed those comments, adding that any new regulations to prevent future mass killings had to “continue to protect what is a constitutional right.”
