IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

NOW Today: Extreme language

Vice President Joe Biden holds another meeting of his gun violence task force today nearly a month after the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Vice President Joe Biden looks on as the U.S. President Barack Obama speaks to members of the media in the White House Briefing Room December 19, 2012. Obama announced that Biden will lead an effort to come up with policies to address gun violence...
Vice President Joe Biden looks on as the U.S. President Barack Obama speaks to members of the media in the White House Briefing Room December 19, 2012. Obama...

Vice President Joe Biden holds another meeting of his gun violence task force today nearly a month after the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School.  Today's meeting will pair Biden with representatives from the video game industry. It follows a meeting last night with members of the entertainment world. NBC News has learned that there appears to be broad support among the groups Biden has met with for stricter limitations on gun access.

But gun supporters, and the National Rifle Association, are holding their ground. David Keene, the NRA's president, was quoted as saying his organization's meeting with the Vice President Thursday was "two sides stating their positions and then leaving." Meanwhile, the buzz over radio host Alex Jones' tirade against CNN's Piers Morgan continues today, with still more incendiary language continuing to rise to the surface.

There's nothing more American than a debate about something as fundamental as the Second Amendment. But the question for the NOW panel today is: Why the extreme language? Can't we have a smart conversation devoid of heated rhetoric - especially when the wounds of Newtown are still so raw?

We'll discuss that and more when we see you at noon ET on msnbc.

PANEL

Bill Burton, Priorities USA Action (@bburton)

Fmr. Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA), NBC News Political Analyst (@govedrendell)

Joy Reid, Managing Editor, TheGrio.com/msnbc Contributor (@thereidreport)

Ben Smith, Editor-in-Chief, BuzzFeed (@buzzfeedben)

GUESTS

Jeffrey Wright & Allen Hughes, “Broken City”

BULLPEN

Chris Hayes, msnbc Host, “UP” (@chrislhayes)