Joseph R. Biden Jr. Quotes

I think that it's very, very hard for the NRA to continue to defend the position that people who are on the terrorist watch list should be allowed to buy firearms in this country. That's their position. I don't know how they stand by it.

I do support and believe in the Second Amendment. But I do think we need more background checks rather than less.

Gun owners and non-gun owners alike agree on expanding background checks, making gun trafficking a serious crime with stiff penalties, making it illegal for all stalkers and all domestic abusers to buy guns, and expanding mental health resources so the mentally ill find it easier to receive treatment than to buy firearms.

Mexico has strict gun control. You cannot own a gun in Mexico.

If I were governor, and a bill came to my desk that provided for background checks at gun shows, I would sign that.

The Brady Act was passed in response to what Congress described as an 'epidemic of gun violence.'

As President Obama is inaugurated for a second time, the biggest political surprise is that gun control is now key to his political legacy.

Nothing in the opinion, should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.

Concealed-carry reciprocity, I believe, undermines American gun laws by forcing states to accept carry-permitting standards of every other state, including some states that have no standards at all.

I definitely think there should be stronger gun safety laws, including prohibiting the sale of assault weapons, probably banning the sale of certain magazines that allow you to fire a large amount of bullets.

My job as attorney general has been, in regard to guns, to have oversight in regard to concealed-carry licenses.

Clearly, a large number of people who shouldn't have firearms actually apply through the process and obtain firearms.

What we do in Connecticut is ban assault weapons. We ban high-capacity magazines. We have true universal background checks, and we require everybody to get a permit from their police department before they can carry a pistol.

We must permanently reinstate the Assault Weapons Ban and the restrictions on high capacity magazines.

I would support requiring an eligibility certificate for long-gun purchases because a permit gives the impression that someone could carry it loaded outside the home. That's not what we want to do.

We need to digitize gun-sales records, mandate universal background checks, close gun-show loopholes and straw-man purchases, ban high-capacity magazines, and push for a comprehensive assault weapons ban with an extensive buyback system.

Congress can prevent future tragedies by requiring a background check for every gun purchase in America.

It is absolutely absurd that someone who is deemed unsafe to get on an airplane is allowed to buy a gun in America. It's truly absurd.

It defies common sense that stores are fined for selling toy guns to children, but someone who isn't even allowed to board an airplane in this country can purchase as many real guns he wants with no questions asked.

There is such a thing as commonsense middle-ground gun reform, and most gun owners support it.

So many deaths could be prevented if measures were implemented to expand background checks and keep individuals like John Hinckley from ever buying firearms in the first place.

My positions on gun safety have remained consistent over the years, and have been on my website for years. Whether I'm in a tough re-election race, an easy re-election race, or if it isn't an election year, whether there's a high-profile tragedy in the news or otherwise, my position remains unchanged and on my website.

Background checks, waiting periods, reports of transfers, and access to mental health records have not stopped the legal sale of firearms to legitimate buyers.

I haven't pursued it as a senator because I know it's like spitting in the wind. But I still believe it's the right thing. And if I were governor and a bill came to my desk that provided for background checks at gun shows, I would sign that.

When you're encouraging - the government is encouraging guns to be sold illegally to people that shouldn't have them, the laws aren't being faithfully executed.