Vice President Joe Biden says he will deliver recommendations for new gun control measures to President Barack Obama on Tuesday.
Mr. Biden says he will call for both legislation and executive order from the White House.
The president will have a hard time getting legislative support from Senator Mark Begich.
Senator Begich has stuck to the talking points on Capitol Hill – the issue is mental health, not guns.
On a conference call this afternoon, he said he would not support a reauthorization of the assault weapons ban. That law lapsed in 2004.
“I don’t believe that we need to pile on new laws and suddenly that solves all the problems,” Begich said.
Senator Begich would not say whether he would support background checks for every gun sold. And he would not commit to another idea gaining traction among gun control advocates – banning high capacity magazines.
It’s unclear what laws Mr. Obama could enact by executive order. But that route provides him a path to some new gun controls without Congress having to pass any controversial measures.
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