Biden: Gun Owners ‘Just Like the Feel...Like Driving a Ferrari’
Bill Hoffmann
“There is a whole new sort of group of individuals now that never hunt at all,” Biden said in an interview taped Wednesday and aired Thursday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“But they own guns for one of two reasons — self-protection, or they just like the feel of that AR-15 at the range. ... They like the way it feels. It's like driving a Ferrari, you know.
“And so my impression is there’s not the same sort of cultural norm about gun ownership with a lot of people who are buying guns now.”
Gun Control: Was Harry Reid right to Reject It?
The vice president continued his criticism of the National Rifle Association, saying the powerful pro-gun group was guilty of spreading “disinformation” and “paranoia” among the public.
Biden said the public wants stricter gun control measures despite the reluctance of lawmakers to pass them.
“This is one of the cases where the public is so far ahead of the elected officials, I mean so far ahead,” Biden said in pushing the Obama administration’s ongoing quest for stricter gun control legislation.
“You saw it in immigration. You saw it in marriage issues. You are seeing it now. The public has moved to a different place,” he added.
Biden slammed the argument that none of the gun control measures being pushed on Capitol Hill could have prevented the Newtown, Conn., school massacre last December — insisting the size of ammunition magazines is important.
"Well, No. 1, the police got there in two and a half minutes. If there'd only been 10 bullets in each clip, [the shooter] would've had to change the clip an additional three to five times.
"One of those kids would be alive. Somebody would be alive. Statistically, the probability is that he wouldn't have been able to get off 150 shots.”