A Joe Biden-led group is aiming for stricter background checks for firearm buyers. (Svadilfari/Creative Commons)

White House aides have been in regular contact with advisers to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is an outspoken voice in favor of gun control. More from the Washington Post:

A working group led by Vice President Biden is seriously considering measures backed by key law enforcement leaders that would require universal background checks for firearm buyers, track the movement and sale of weapons through a national database, strengthen mental health checks, and stiffen penalties for carrying guns near schools or giving them to minors, the sources said.

To sell such changes, the White House is developing strategies to work around the National Rifle Association that one source said could include rallying support from Wal-Mart and other gun retailers for measures that would benefit their businesses.

The Biden-led group formed last month after a massacre in Newtown, Conn. left 20 children and six adults dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The group is also targeting measures that would not require congressional approval and could be imposed through executive action.

Changes to federal mental-health programs and improved gun-tracking efforts by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were other items discussed among group members.

Read the full story at the Washington Post. Find more Neon Tommy coverage of gun control here.

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