Commentary Op-Ed by Vice President Joe Biden: Background Checks are Key to Gun Safety by Gary Kopycinski on May 6, 2013 Gary Kopycinski Author More in Commentary: Heteronormativity: Grappling with Straight Privilege March 24, 2026 Former Park Forest Mayor Ostenburg Implores Chicago Cardinal Cupich to Care for St. Irenaeus Property December 16, 2025 An Angel Now Guards Our Friends in Blue: Park Forest Mourns the Loss of #204, Detective Tim Jones December 4, 2025 Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–May 6, 2013. The following op-ed by Vice President Joe Biden appeared yesterday in print in the Houston Chronicle.