Biden to deliver gun violence remarks in town neighboring Newtown

Vice President Biden will deliver remarks Thursday at a conference on gun violence just 20 minutes from the site of the Newtown, Conn., elementary school massacre that inspired the Obama administration's push for new gun regulations.

In addition to the vice president, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Ct.) and Christ Murphy (D-Ct.) will be in attendance, as will Rep. Elizabeth Etsy (D-Ct.). Biden will follow a panel discussion on ways to reduce gun violence featuring national and local political and law enforcement leaders, along with mental-health experts, sportsmen and survivors of gun violence, the White House said Tuesday.

The conference at Western Connecticut State University is just 13 miles from the seen of the Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown. There, a 20-year-old gunman killed six educators and 20 first grade students before committing suicide.

The trip to Connecticut is the latest in a campaign by the vice president to keep pressure on Congress to consider the series of gun regulations proposed by the Obama administration. The president has called for a renewed assault weapon ban, limits on the capacity of magazine clips and universal background checks on all gun purchases.

Biden will participate Tuesday in a Facebook "town hall" event hosted by Parents magazine, where he is expected to field questions in a live video chat. That follows round-table events in Philadelphia and Richmond, Va., with law enforcement personnel.

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