Kicking off a series of White House meetings on gun violence, Biden said the administration would work with gun-control advocates and gun-rights supporters to build a political consensus on restrictions. But Biden made clear that President Barack Obama is prepared to act on his own if necessary.

“We are not going to get caught up in the notion that unless we can do everything, we’re going to do nothing. It’s critically important that we act,” said Biden, who on Thursday will meet with pro-gun groups including the National Rifle Association, which claims 4 million members and is the gun lobby’s most prominent organization.

Biden, whose panel was formed after 20 schoolchildren and six adults were killed on Dec. 14 by a gunman at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, has been ordered by Obama to come up with policy proposals on guns by the end of January.

The vice president said there was a consensus on “three or four or five” steps regarding gun safety, but did not specify what they were.

“There are executive orders, executive action that can be taken. We haven’t decided what that is yet,” Biden said, adding that Obama is conferring with Attorney General Eric Holder on potential action.

Biden’s group is expected to recommend a reinstatement of an assault weapons ban that Congress allowed to expire in 2004.

The Washington Post has reported that Biden’s group also will seek broad restrictions that include tracking the sale and movement of weapons via a national database, and stiffer checks on the mental health of prospective gun buyers.

During his daily briefing, White House spokesman Jay Carney declined to discuss any action Obama might take on his own on guns. “Those decisions haven’t been made,” Carney said.

‘DETERMINED TO TAKE ACTION’

The Connecticut school shootings galvanized activists on both sides of the gun-control issue. In Washington and across the nation, the slayings inspired new calls for more restrictive gun laws and led gun-rights advocates to mobilize in opposition.

Obama promised to put gun control at the top of his agenda after he begins his second term on Jan. 20, but the issue will have to compete with a crush of other priorities including a looming budget confrontation with congressional Republicans.

There have been other pushes for gun control in recent years, but such efforts typically have been sidetracked by the influential gun lobby, which enjoys widespread support among Republicans and significant backing among Democrats as well.

But now, “the president and I are determined to take action,” Biden said at Wednesday’s meeting with gun violence victims and gun-control advocates.

“This is not an exercise in photo opportunities or just getting to ask you all what your opinions are. We’re reaching out to all parties on whatever side of the debate you fall,” he said.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the largest U.S. gun seller, also will participate in Thursday’s White House meetings. Wal-Mart reversed its initial decision not to send anyone to the Biden gathering to share the company’s position.

“We underestimated the expectation to attend the meeting on Thursday in person, so we are sending an appropriate representative to participate,” spokesman David Tovar said.

Even without action by Congress, Obama could issue orders to improve background checks on gun buyers, ban certain gun imports and bolster oversight of dealers. Other executive orders could improve information sharing among law enforcement authorities about illegal gun purchases, and maintain data on gun sales for longer periods.

Obama has said he believes most Americans support the reinstatement of a ban on the sale of military-style assault weapons, barring the sale of high-capacity ammunition clips, and a law requiring background checks on buyers before all gun purchases.

It is unclear whether any of those measures will have more support in Congress after the Connecticut massacre than they did after previous mass shootings.

With the federal outcome uncertain, some states are taking action on their own. The Connecticut state legislature convened on Wednesday for the first time since the shootings, and new gun measures will be high on the agenda.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo will propose a more restrictive law on assault weapons. Governors and state legislatures in Maryland, Virginia, Illinois and elsewhere will consider new gun laws.

A federal appeals court signaled on Wednesday it is prepared to uphold one of the few gun control measures put forward so far by the Obama administration – a regulation designed to detect the sale of semi-automatic rifles to Mexican drug cartels.

Gun retailers and manufacturers, including a trade group based in Newtown, said the rule is burdensome and violates federal law.

The measure requires stores in the four U.S. states bordering Mexico to send a notice to federal law enforcement whenever someone buys two or more or a certain kind of high-caliber, semi-automatic rifle with a detachable magazine.

Photo: U.S. President Barack Obama looks down while speaking to members of the media in the White House Briefing Room December 19, 2012. Obama announced that Vice President Joe Biden will lead an effort to come up with policies to address gun violence amid calls for action following the massacre of 26 people including 20 children in a Connecticut elementary school last week. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque