Biden: Inaction on gun control ‘borders on the irrational’

Vice President Biden lamented the lack of progress on gun control Wednesday while speaking at a fundraiser for the families of victims of the Sandy Hook shooting, according to the Washington Examiner.

{mosads}The vice president reflected on the massacre that left 20 children and six adults dead in a Connecticut elementary school.

“That maybe was the saddest day of our entire administration — when it took so many innocent, beautiful little lives,” Biden said. “You would have thought several years later that on matters relating to rational gun safety we would have made some progress by now. But Virginia Tech, Oak Creek, Charleston, San Bernardino and now Orlando.”

“This borders on the irrational — where we are,” he added of the gridlock over “commonsense” gun reform measures.

Biden vowed to stand with the Sandy Hook families and “refuse to give up.”

“There’s no reason we should ever stop,” he said. “The idea that you could be on the ‘no-fly’ list … and still be able to (buy a gun) … what are these guys and women thinking?” he said of the lawmakers opposed to changes.

His speech came as Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) was hours into a filibuster-type takeover of the Senate floor, calling for tougher gun control efforts and for the Senate to pass a law banning people on terrorism watchlists from being able to purchase firearms.

Biden, who has lost two children and a wife, took the opportunity on Wednesday to praise the families of the mass shooting victims, noting that he and they all belong to a “lousy, stinking club — that as a parent you have a child, for whatever reason, pre-decease you.”

“I’m not sure there’s anything more difficult than that,” Biden said. “But I want to say to the families of Sandy Hook — all those of you who have been through hell. I cannot tell you how much I admire our courage.”

“Thank you for your courage … I love you for what you’re doing,” he added later.