STRICTER GUN LAWS. JOINING US FROM CAPITOL HILL,
JIM HIMES OF CONNECTICUT. YOU'VE HAD SOME STRONG WORDS
ABOUT MEMBERS OF CONGRESS HAVING BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS IF WE CAN'T
GET SOMETHING DONE HERE. HAVING SAID THAT, THERE'S STILL
SO MUCH TO LEARN ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN LAS VEGAS, THE TYPES
OF WEAPONS USED, HOW HE GOT THEM, WHERE THEY CAME FROM.
SHOULD WE WAIT UNTIL WE KNOW EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING
ABOUT, OR WHAT'S IT GOING TO TAKE?
>> MIKA, WAITING IS ONE OF THE MANY TOOLS THAT THE FOLKS FOLKS
WOULD HAVE US DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ON GUN SAFETY EMPLOY.
THEY SAY IT'S TOO SOON. IT'S TOO SOON TO POLITICIZE AND
ACT. I DON'T REMEMBER AFTER 9/11 WHEN
PEOPLE FLEW AIRPLANES HAVE BUILDINGS, I DON'T REMEMBER
THINKING WHAT WE NEED TO DO IS WAIT AND NOT TAKE ACTION.
ON HURRICANES, WE DON'T WAIT AND NOT TAKE ACTION.
AND IT'S NOT LIKE WE NEED TO KNOW A WHOLE LOT MORE THAN WE
ALREADY KNOW. WE COULD IN THIS BUILDINGS, AND
THIS IS WHY I GET SO ANGRY AT THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS.
I'M STANDING IN THE ONE BUILDING IN AMERICA WHERE WITH ONE HOUR
OF HARD WORK WE COULD PASS A COUPLE OF BILLS THAT COULD BE
CONSISTENT WITH SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS AND CONSISTENT WITH WHAT
WE'RE SUPPOSED TO DO WHICH IS REPRESENT THE WILL OF THE
PEOPLE, THINGS LIKE UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECK, LIMITING THE
KIND OF WEAPONS PEOPLE CAN HAVE. WE COULD PASS THOSE BILLS TODAY,
AND WE WOULD REDUCE THE CARNAGE. LAST NIGHT INSTEAD WE STOPPED
TALKING ABOUT SPORTS AND DINNER AND HAD 20 SECONDS OF SILENCE.
WE DO NOTHING WHEN WE COULD SAVE LIVES.
>> LET ME ASK. AFTER NEWTOWN, WE ON THIS
PROGRAM TALKED FOR A LONG TIME ABOUT THE NEED FOR EXPANDED
BACKGROUND CHECKS, TALKED ABOUT THE NEED OF LIMITING THE ABILITY
FOR PEOPLE TO GET AHOLD OF ASSAULT STYLE WEAPONS.
IT SEEMS IN MANY OF THESE CASES, LIKE, FOR INSTANCE, BACKGROUND
CHECKS. BACKGROUND CHECKS AS MUFF AS I
SUPPORT THEM AND 90% OF AMERICANS SUPPORT THEM, WOULDN'T
HAVE STOPPED WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY, AND WOULDN'T HAVE
STOPPED WHAT HAPPENED IN NEWTOWN.
SO WHAT DO YOU SAY TO YOUR POLITICAL FOES ON THIS ISSUE
WHEN YOU SAY YOU WANT INCREASED BACKGROUND CHECKS, BUT THAT
WOULDN'T HAVE STOPPED LAS VEGAS OR NEWTOWN?
>> AND JOE, I'D SAY THAT MAY BE TRUE, AND I WOULD SAY THAT'S THE
OTHER TOOL THAT PEOPLE USE WHEN THEY TRY TO STOP ANY ACTION.
WE WILL NEVER STOP GUN VIOLENCE IN THE COUNTRY ANY MORE THAN
WE'LL STOP ANY OTHER KIND OF VIOLENCE IN THE COUNTRY OR ANY
MORE THAN SWEDEN OR NORWAY OR GREAT BRITAIN CAN STOP GUN
VIOLENCE. IF HE PASSED UNIVERSAL
BACKGROUND CHECK SUPPORTED BY SOME 90% OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE,
VIOLENCE WOULD GO DOWN. LAS VEGAS IS A FANTASTIC EXAMPLE
AS THE KIND OF THING THAT MAKES THE PAPERS.
BUT AS YOU KNOW EVERY SINGLE DAY IN THIS COUNTRY, THERE ARE
ALMOST TWO LAS VEGASS. 90 PEOPLE WHO DIED, TWO-THIRDS
OF WHOM DIE BECAUSE OF DECIDE, BECAUSE THERE'S A GUN IMPROPERLY
STORED IN THE HOUSE. WE COULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
>> CONGRESSMAN, WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT CHICAGO AND WHAT'S
HAPPENED IN CHICAGO OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS.
YOU CAN ALSO TALK ABOUT MASS SHOOTINGS.
IN AMERICA THERE'S PRACTICALLY A MASS SHOOTING EVERY DAY IF YOU
LOOK AT THE STATISTICS. IT'S WILDLY OUT OF CONTROL.
THE QUESTION IS WHAT LEGISLATION CAN WE PASS THAT WILL HAVE A
SUBSTANTIAL IMPACT ON THAT BECAUSE YOU LOOK AT CHICAGO,
WILLIE AS YOU BROUGHT UP BEFORE, CHICAGO HAS PRETTY STRINGENT GUN
CONTROL LAWS. >> YEAH.
I GET THAT, JOE. CHICAGO IS THE OTHER THING WE
TALK ABOUT WHEN THE QUESTION IS HOW DO WE REDUCE THIS?
THERE IS NO SILVER BULLET HERE. BUT THERE ARE THREE OR FOUR
PIECES OF LEGISLATION THAT WOULD REDUCE THE NUMBER OF GUN GUNS OE
STREET THAT WOULD REDUCE THE ABILITY OF PEOPLE WITH VIOLENT
PASTS TO ACQUIRE WEAPONS. LET'S GET BEYOND LAW.
I HAPPEN TO BELIEVE THERE ARE PROBABLY A HALF DOZEN THINGS WE
CAN DO THAT ARE CONSISTENT WITH SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS.
WHAT ABOUT STORAGE AND FEWER FIREARMS BEING STOLEN AND RENTED
OUT BY GANGS. THERE ARE LOTS OF THINGS WE
COULD GO TO BRING OUR MORTALITY MORE IN LINE WITH THE REST OF
THE CIVILIZED WORLD. WE'RE NOT EVEN INTERESTED IN
TALKING ABOUT THEM BECAUSE THIS PARTICULAR PROPOSAL WOULDN'T
HAVE SOLVED THAT PROBLEM OR BECAUSE CHICAGO HAS A BIG
PROBLEM. THE QUESTION THIS BUILDING NEEDS
TO ANSWER AND THE PEOPLE LIKE ME NEED TO ANSWER IS THERE ARE
THINGS WE COULD