WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence praised Sen. Barack Obama’s choice for vice presidential running mate, Sen. Joe Biden.
“Joe Biden is a straight talker about the need for common sense laws to keep dangerous people from getting dangerous weapons,” said Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. “He has been a solid advocate for sensible gun laws that protect our police officers and our families. I was proud to stand with him just weeks ago in Philadelphia when he joined with our nation’s mayors in supporting tough crime-fighting laws, and also last year when police leaders urged passage of common sense measures to protect law enforcement officers. Our nation would be wellserved with Joe Biden as our vice president.”
During a Democratic presidential debate on CNN, Sen. Biden expressed concern about a man who submitted a video question asking whether the candidates would protect his “baby,” a fully-loaded semiautomatic assault rifle. Sen. Biden said “If that’s his baby, he needs help.”
Then he went on to say, “We should be working with law enforcement right now to make sure that we protect people against people who are not capable of knowing what to do with a gun because they are either mentally imbalanced and/or they have a criminal record.”
Sen. Biden has a comprehensive crime bill awaiting action in the Senate (S. 2237) that would require background checks on all sales at gun shows and reauthorize the now-expired federal ban on military-style assault weapons.
For more background on Sen. Biden’s long record of gun confiscation attempts, visit www.BradyCampaign.org.
