NEW: Biden lost on gun-control legislation after the Sandy Hook shooting. He's got a 2nd chance now to tackle one of the biggest pieces of Obama-era 'unfinished business.' businessinsider.com/biden-gun-refo… by @ngaudiano in her @thisisinsider debut ($)
After the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Vice President Joe Biden, in a lengthy phone call with Mark Barden, who was still in shock after losing his 7-year-old son Daniel, shared his advice for managing grief.
Keep a notepad by your bed, Biden told the father, a musician. At night, rate each day on a scale of 1 to 10. There will always be low days, but you'll see they'll get further apart over time, Barden recalled Biden saying.
"I remember feeling very comforted," Barden said.
"I remember feeling very comforted," Barden said.
Daniel was among the 20 children & 6 adults killed in one of the deadliest school shootings in US history. In his first of several opportunities to speak with the VP, Barden felt that Biden could relate to the trauma after losing his first wife and daughter in a 1972 car crash.
Barden felt a "kinship and connection" with Biden that he said defined their relationship moving forward as the two focused on a shared goal: sparing more families from devastating tragedies.
After the shooting, Biden leaned on 36 years of Senate experience as the Obama admin's point person pushing for stricter gun policies & expanded background-check legislation for purchases.
Barden cofounded Sandy Hook Promise & w/ other Newtown parents lobbied for the measure.
Barden cofounded Sandy Hook Promise & w/ other Newtown parents lobbied for the measure.
It didn't work. The measure couldn't overcome the power of the gun lobby. And so four months after the deadly 2012 shooting, Biden presided over the Senate as the bipartisan legislation failed by six votes.
Leaving the Capitol that day, Biden said the Senate "let down an awful lot of people today, including those Newtown families, and I don't know how anybody who looked them in the eye could have voted the way they did today."
Obama described the moment as "a pretty shameful day for Washington" as Biden stood by, tight-lipped.
Months later, on his way to Obama's 2014 SOTU address, Biden called Barden again, to share his regrets. They spoke as the vice president rode in his motorcade to the Capitol.
Months later, on his way to Obama's 2014 SOTU address, Biden called Barden again, to share his regrets. They spoke as the vice president rode in his motorcade to the Capitol.
"'I just wish we were able to report that we were able to do more — able to do more to prevent this from happening to other families,'" Barden said, recalling Biden's sentiment.
Biden has another chance to deal with gun violence. It's one of the top issues he campaigned on in 2020, and, along with racial injustice, climate change, & income inequality, it represents an opportunity for a true creature of DC to tackle one of the most divisive policy issues.
Check out the full report on Biden's long history on gun control policies and much more from the @thisisinsider newsroom. Here's how to sign up: businessinsider.com/subscription
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