Vice President Joe Biden isn’t giving up on gun control anytime soon.
The Veep is hosting the first public gun control event held by him or President Obama since the legislation for expanded background checks failed in the Senate back in April.
“The Administration continues to implement President Obama’s plan to protect our children and communities by reducing gun violence,” an invitation obtained by POLITICO reads.
It will be up to the gaffe-prone VP to hold down the fort this time, because Obama will not be attending the the event. He’s committed to the G-8 summit in Northern Ireland.
In fact, Biden actually came up with his new strategy to push for gun control all on his own without consulting the President first. In addition to this White House event, he plans on traveling the country to reinvigorate the debate on gun control.
While the Senate did not pass the gun control legislation, Biden is still confident Congress will pass gun control legislation.
“We’re gonna get this eventually,” Biden said during a Google+ Hangout the same day the bill was killed in the Senate back in April.
While Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) ultimately pulled the legislation from the floor, Biden is blaming the bill’s failure almost entirely on freshman Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.).
“On the gun issue, I don’t care what your position is — I called 17 senators out, 9 of whom were Republicans,” Biden said during a fundraiser for Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) Tuesday night . “Not one of offered an explanation on the merits of why they couldn’t vote for the background check. But almost to a person, they said, ‘I don’t want to take on Ted Cruz. I don’t want to take on Rand Paul. They’ll be in my district.'”
“I actually said, ‘Are you kidding? These are two freshman,’” Biden continued. “This is a different party, folks. They’re not bad guys, and they’re both very bright guys. And I’m not questioning their motive.”
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney echoed Biden’s call to reawaken the gun debate during a White House briefing on Wednesday.
“The administration’s commitment to reducing gun violence is as strong today as it was at the beginning of the year and in the wake of Newtown,” Carney told reporters.
This story has been updated with new information.
