WASHINGTON (KMSP) -
Hennepin County Rich Stanek was the only person from Minnesota to be part of Vice President Joe Biden's meeting on gun violence Thursday at the White House.
Stanek represented a national group of sheriffs as president of the Major County Sheriff's Association. He, as well as many other law enforcement officials from across the country, will be giving input to Biden on how to go about putting together his task force to reduce gun violence.
The task force meeting is a direct response to President Obama's announcement Wednesday that he wants to receive proposals to curb gun violence by the end of January.
The president has also called for immediate action from lawmakers to reinstate a ban on military-style assault weapons, close loopholes that allow gun buyers to avoid background checks and restrict high-capacity ammunition clips.
"The fact that this problem is complex can no longer be an excuse for doing nothing," Obama said. "The fact that we can't prevent every act of violence doesn't mean we can't steadily reduce the violence."
In additional to gun control measure, the Biden-led task force will look for ways to increase mental health resources.
