Biden Promises Gun Control Recommendations Next Week

Why, a cynical person might conclude the current meetings were just to put an aura of consensus over proposals that were already written

The US vice-president, Joe Biden, said he expects to report his gun control recommendations to Barack Obama as early as Tuesday, declaring that the public had been reviled by images of children "riddled with bullets".

Biden, speaking before a meeting with representatives of the National Rifle Association, said he would make his recommendations well before Obama's stated deadline of the end of January.

Earlier this week, the Biden met gun-safety groups and families of victims of mass shootings. He said suggestions made to his gun control taskforce had included consistent support for "universal background checks" on gun ownership and an agreement on the "need to do something about high-capacity magazines".