Vice President Joe Biden makes brief remarks to the press after a meeting with Cabinet members and sportsmen's, wildlife and gun interest groups at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building Jan. 10, 2013 in Washington, D.C. President Barack Obama appointed Biden to oversee a task force on gun violence. (Getty Images)
Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday he will give President Barack Obama his recommendations about how to deal with gun violence by Tuesday.
Biden was tapped to lead an administration task force after a gunman shot to death 20 children and six adults at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn.
"There's an emerging set of recommendations, not coming from me but coming from the groups we've met with," Biden said during a day meeting with sportsmen and wildlife interest groups. "And I'm going to focus on the ones that relate primarily to gun ownership and the type of weapons that can be owned. And one is...a surprising recurrence of suggestions that we have universal background checks. Not just close the gun show loophole but total, universal background checks, including private sales."
He said it was also crucial for federal agencies to be able to gather data about gun violence, including "what kind of weapons are used most to kill people" and "what kind of weapons are trafficked weapons," according to the White House pool report.
"There has got to be some common ground, to not solve every problem but diminish the probability" of future mass shootings, Biden said. "That's what this is all about. There are no conclusions I have reached."
Obama vowed last month "whatever power this office holds" to prevent future mass shootings.
After meeting with gun safety groups Wednesday, Biden said the president could take "executive action" to crack down on guns. Biden was set to meet with National Rifle Association representatives later on Thursday.
Biden described himself as a shotgun owner but said he's "no great hunter, it's mostly skeet shooting for me."
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