Biden urges Democrats to comply with demands to curb US gun violence

US Vice President Joe Biden urged fellow Democrats in the House of Representatives on Wednesday to comply with public demands for action to reduce gun violence.

It is unclear which, if any, of Biden’s gun-control recommendations Congress might approve, but the vice president said legislators have an obligation to do as much as they can.

“I don’t want to hear about ‘well we can’t take it on because it’s too politically dangerous,’” Biden told House Democrats at the opening of a three-day retreat. “There’s an overwhelming consensus about the need to act.”

The politically powerful gun rights lobby, led by the National Rifle Association, opposes Biden’s proposals, saying they would violate Americans’ constitutional right to bear arms.

However, Biden urged lawmakers to stand up to these groups and side with the American people, who clearly favour tougher gun laws, according to recent polls.

Biden’s proposals include a ban on semi-automatic weapons and limits on high-capacity ammunition clips, like those used at a school massacre at in Newton, Connecticut, in December that ignited the new push for gun control.