http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/201 ... n-control/
Vice President Joseph R. Biden said in a wide-ranging magazine interview that gun-control legislation will pass eventually because several senators who voted against it are experiencing a public backlash.
"To use the vernacular, there's suddenly a lot of senators out there who have seen the Lord," Mr. Biden told Rolling Stone magazine. "You find out that the senator from New Hampshire [Republican Kelly Ayotte] is in trouble; she voted no. I can name you four senators who called me and said, "Jesus, I guess you were right — maybe we can find some other way of doing this. Can we bring this back up?"
He said four senators who voted against expanded background checks of gun purchases in April have since approached him to say they've changed their minds.
In the hour-long interview, Mr. Biden also sounded like a candidate for the presidency in 2016, explaining at great length how much time he spends with President Obama on major decisions. He said he spends four or five hours each day with the president.
"It's been a really good relationship, and everybody knows that — around here and around the world," Mr. Biden said. "I speak for the president because of the relationship. And the only way that works is if you're around all the time. Literally, every meeting he has, I'm in."
Some other highlights from the interview:
On Mr. Biden declaring his support for gay marriage last year before Mr. Obama did:
"I got blowback from everybody but the president. I walked in that Monday, he had a big grin on his face, he put his arms around me and said, 'Well, Joe, God love you, you say what you think.' I knew he agreed with me. It wasn't like he was in a different place."
On not taking direct military action against Syria following reports that the regime has used chemical-weapons:
"With all the credibility we've gained in the world, we don't want to blow it like the last administration did in Iraq, saying 'weapons of mass destruction.' We know that there have been traces found of what are probably chemical weapons. What we don't know yet — and we're drilling down on it as hard as we can — is whether they were accidentally released in an exchange of gunfire or artillery fire, or blown up or something. It's probable, but we don't know for certain, that they were used by the regime."
On his speech in which he called the accused Boston Marathon bombers "cowardly, knock-off jihadis":
"I wanted to communicate two things: first, to make it clear that there is not this sort of gigantic, coordinated network run by al Qaeda that has cells all around the country and, second, that the republic is not in jeopardy and there's no reason for us to jettison the Constitution and erect a police state in order to protect people. The moment we change, they win."
© Copyright 2013 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.
Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/201 ... z2TCmus3yW
Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter
