FOXNews.com: Biden meets with NRA, faces pushback on Hill over 'executive order' gun control claim

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Biden meets with NRA, faces pushback on Hill over 'executive order' gun control claim Jan 10th 2013, 16:00 Vice President Biden was preparing to meet Thursday with the National Rifle Association to hear their side of the gun-control debate, but was already facing stiff criticism after claiming the White House could use "executive orders" to address new restrictions.  Republican lawmakers ripped Biden after the suggestion that the administration might go around Congress to implement some, yet unnamed, provisions.  "Vice President Biden would do well to read the 2nd Amendment and revisit the meaning of the phrase 'shall not be infringed,'" Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., said in a statement. "Bypassing Congress to implement radical policies is never acceptable."  Biden, Attorney General Eric Holder and other Obama Cabinet secretaries plan to meet with a range of groups Thursday, including the NRA, Wal-Mart and several other sports retailers. The meetings are the latest in a string of sit-downs aimed at finding ways to curb gun violence, but could become heated in the wake of Wednesday's comments.  After meetings with gun-safety and victims groups Wednesday, the vice president said he is "determined" to take "urgent action" to address gun violence.  "This is not an exercise in photo opportunities or just getting to ask you all what your opinions are. We are vitally interested in what you have to say," Biden said.  The White House has sought to avoid prejudging what Biden's recommendations would be. But the vice president hinted Wednesday that executive action -- action by the president in which Congress would not have a say -- would indeed be involved.  "There are executive orders, executive action that can be taken," Biden said, adding "we haven't decided what that is yet."  He also said separate legislative action would be "required."  The administration says mental health and the entertainment industry will likely be examined as part of that process. Biden has also scheduled a meeting with representatives from the entertainment and video game industries. But much of the discussion, and proposals from Democratic members of Congress, continue to center around gun control. The meetings Wednesday with gun safety groups also focused on those kinds of proposals.  The NRA has been at the helm of fighting those proposals ever since the group broke its post-Connecticut silence and called for a national school security plan to install armed officers at every school in the country.  The White House and the NRA have found little common ground as the two groups craft separate responses to the tragedy.  White House Press Secretary Jay Carney reiterated Tuesday that President Obama is "skeptical that putting more guns in schools would solve this problem."  It's unclear how the meeting Thursday will be structured. The NRA told Fox News that they are sending a representative to hear what the White House has to say. Carney, though, said the task force is "designed to get input" from others.  "Then the vice president's group will assess different actions," Carney said.  Gun-advocacy groups including Arizona for Gun Safety, the Brady Campaign, the Campaign to Keep Guns off Campus and Mayors Against Illegal Guns attended the meeting with Biden Wednesday.  Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, after the meeting affirmed that administration officials "talked about ... their willingness to use executive action where that's appropriate."  The Washington Post reported over the weekend that President Obama was considering measures beyond reinstating a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. According to the paper, the task force is considering measures like universal background checks for gun buyers, a national gun database, strengthening mental-health checks and tougher penalties for people carrying guns near schools or giving them to minors.  Asked Monday about the report, Carney reiterated that Obama wants to "close the many loopholes in our background check system" and "supports congressional actions right away."  Recommendations to the Biden group so far include making gun-trafficking a felony, getting the Justice Department to prosecute people caught lying on gun background-check forms and ordering federal agencies to send data to the National Gun Background Check Database.  The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence says that some 40 percent of gun sales are made without background checks, such as at gun shows and over the Internet.  The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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