Barack Obama is tasking Joe Biden to head up a new government panel to formulate fresh policies to deal with gun violence, following last Friday's school shooting.
The president will formally outline the role of the vice president - a longtime gun control advocate - at the White House on Wednesday.
The panel will explore possible new gun legislation to rein in the sale of assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, but will also look at mental health policies and violence in popular culture.
The president has vowed to use "whatever power this office holds" to safeguard the nation's children after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut.
Twenty children and six adults were killed by 20-year-old Adam Lanza, who earlier shot dead his mother Nancy at the home they shared, and then killed himself at the school as police closed in.
Adam Lanza killed his mother before shooting dead 20 children and six staff The massacre has re-ignited the debate over gun control in the US, with some calling for a clampdown on firearms.
President Barack Obama backs a new bill to reintroduce a ban on assault weapons that expired in 2004.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Mr Obama is "actively supportive" of an attempt by Democrat Senator Dianne Feinstein to write the bill early next year.
The president has also telephoned pro-gun senator Joe Manchin, who has shifted his position on firearms laws since Friday's carnage in Connecticut.
Mr Manchin, along with fellow democrat Mark Warner, who have so-called "A" ratings from the National Rifle Association, said the Newtown massacre has convinced them the time for reform has come.
West Virginia's Senator Manchin told MSNBC it was time to "move beyond rhetoric" on gun control. He said: "I don't know anyone in the sporting or hunting arena that goes out with an assault rifle. It's common sense."
Senator Warner said "the status quo isn't acceptable" and in a later interview called for "rational gun control".
The NRA has broken its silence over the Sandy Hook school massacre, saying its members were "shocked, saddened and heartbroken by the news of the horrific and senseless murders".
The group also said it wanted to give families time to mourn before making its first public statement.
It pledged "to help to make sure this never happens again" and has scheduled a news conference for Friday.
On Monday, 75 activists demonstrated outside the NRA's headquarters in Washington DC.
They chanted: "Shame on the NRA," and demanded the organisation drop its hardline stance and make way for new gun control laws.
Protesters outside the NRA's headquarters in Washington DC "More than anyone else, the NRA is responsible for the more than 12,000 people murdered by guns every year in this country," said Josh Nelson, the campaign manager for the progressive Credo Action group that organised the protest.
"We call on the NRA's lobbyists to stand down and allow Congress to pass common-sense gun laws."
:: Watch USA: The Gun Debate on Sky News on Wednesday at 8.30pm.
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