Obama may take 'executive action' over gun control, says Biden

GlobalPost

Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Obama is seriously considering "executive action" on gun control. 

“The president is going to act,” Biden, who is spearheading the White House's concerted response to the Newtown, Connecticut school shootings, said to reporters before his meetings with victims of gun violence and firearm safety groups, the Washington Post reported

"We are not going to get caught up in the notion that unless we do everything we're going to do nothing," said the vice president, Reuters reported. "There is a pretty wide consensus on three or four or five things in the gun safety area that could and should be done."

He said that the Sandy Hook shooting, which left 26 people including 20 children dead, “touched the heart of the American people so profoundly” and “requires immediate, urgent action," according to the Hill

Biden's comments represent the first time the Obama administration has suggested it may bypass Congress to put anti-gun violence measures into law, Business Insider reported

The Vice President and his aides have already suggested a renewal of the expired assault weapons ban, as well as improving background checks and adding restrictions on the sizes of high-capacity ammunition magazines, USA Today reported.

More from GlobalPost: Joe Biden to head White House gun control effort (VIDEO, UPDATE)

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