Vice President Joe Biden appeared on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" show Thursday, where he talked about gun control, which went to a vote in the Senate that same day.
Biden likened the feeling of holding a firearm to driving a luxury automobile, commenting on a new class of gun owners who just want to shoot anything based on how alive it makes them feel.
"It used to be we were dealing almost exclusively with hunters," Biden said. "There's a whole new sort of group of individuals now who, I don't know what the numbers are, that never hunt at all, 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. You know, it's like driving a Ferrari."
He addressed the notion some feel, that it is superfluous to own assault rifles similar to large AR-15s if it's not used for hunting or sport-especially since background checks are easy to slip by.
"If there had only been ten bullets in each clip, [the shooter] would have had to change the clip an additional three to five times," Biden said. "One of those kids would be alive...what is the inconvenience? What are we doing? What are we doing to impact on a gun owner's right if he only has a clip with ten rounds in it instead of 30 rounds in it?"
Senators addressed the issue on Thursday when they turned down conservatives' attempts to stop up debate on Democrats' gun control legislation, which calls for stricter laws on firearms.
Following the bipartisan 68-31 vote, senators opened up the floor for formal debate on the bill and the shooting in Newtown, Conn.
According to Fox New York, the bill calls for almost all gun owners to go through extensive background checks prior to their firearm acquisition, sharpening federal laws that stop illegal firearm sales, and giving money to school safety measures.
The vote was a more symbolic one, as it sparked the debate, but commentators question whether or not the bill will make it through the House of Representatives.
Watch the full interview here:
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