>>> WE NEED TO REALIZE THAT THE RHETORIC AND FIRING PEOPLE UP
AND, YOU KNOW, EVEN THINGS, FOR
EXAMPLE, WE’RE ON SARAH PALIN’S
TARGETED LIST, BUT THE THING IS
THAT THE WAY SHE HAS IT DEPICTED
HAS THE CROSSHAIRS OF A GUN
SIGHT OVER OUR DISTRICT.
WHEN PEOPLE DO THAT, THEY’VE GOT
TO REALIZE THERE ARE
CONSEQUENCES TO THAT ACTION.
>> WELCOME BACK TO "HARDBALL."
THAT WAS THEN CONGRESSWOMAN
GABBY GIFFORDS BACK IN 2010,
CALLING FOR MORE CIVILITY AFTER
THERE WAS A RISE OF HEATED
RHETORIC FOLLOWING THE PASSAGE
OF THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT.
WELL, GIFFORDS WAS SHOT THE
FOLLOWING YEAR CAMPAIGNING IN
HER HOME DISTRICT.
AS WE DISCUSSED, A NEW POLL BY
NPR, PBS, AND MARIST FOUND THAT
MORE THAN 82%, MORE THAN FOUR IN
FIVE OF US, OF LIKELY VOTERS SAY
THEY’RE CONCERNED A ABOUT THE
LACK OF CIVILITY THEY’RE SEEING
IN WASHINGTON AND HOW IT’S GOING
TO LEAD TO VIOLENCE.
THIS COMES ON THE HEELS OF
NUMEROUS HIGH-PROFILE DOMESTIC
ATTACKS IN JUST THE PAST WEEKS,
INCLUDING A POLITICALLY CHARGED
CAMPAIGN OF MAIL BOMBS, THE
MURDER OF TWO AFRICAN-AMERICANS
BY A WHITE MAN IN KENTUCKY, AND
THE MURDER OF 11 PEOPLE AT A
SYNAGOGUE IN PITTSBURGH LAST
WEEKEND.
WEEKEND. FOR MORE, I’M JOINED BY CAPTAIN
MARK KELLY, GABBY GIFFORDS’
HUSBAND, AND CO-FOUNDER OF THE
ADVOCACY GROUP, GIFFORDS’
COURAGE TO FIGHT GUN VIOLENCE.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, MR. KELLY.
GIVE US A SENSE OF IN YOUR HEAD,
WHAT YOU’VE EXPERIENCED, YOUR
FAMILY’S LOSS, IN TERMS OF THE
GUNFIRE ON YOUR WIFE AND ALL OF
THAT, THE RECUPERATION AND ALL
OF THAT, AND WHAT -- HOW DO YOU
SEE TALK IN SHOOTING, AS
CONNECTED?
CONNECTED? >> WELL, YOU KNOW, GABBY’S --
YOU KNOW, HER BEING SHOT AND SIX
OF HER CONSTITUENTS BEING
MURDERED AND 12 OTHER PEOPLE
BEING INJURED IN 15 SECONDS, YOU
KNOW, IT’S A COMPLICATED NUMBER
OF REASONS WHY THIS HAPPENS.
BUT WHEN SHE WAS INJURED BACK IN
2011, IT WAS ALSO A TIME, IT WAS
AROUND, JUST AFTER THE PASSING,
A YEAR AFTER THE PASSING OF THE
AFFORDABLE CARE ACT, AND THERE
WAS A LOT OF HEATED RHETORIC
POLITICALLY ABOUT THIS.
AND SHE CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, SHE
WAS TARGETED BECAUSE SHE WAS A
MEMBER OF CONGRESS, THAT’S
CLEAR.
CLEAR. AND THE WORDS AND THE LANGUAGE
WE USED DO MATTER.
UNFORTUNATELY, THERE ARE A LOT
OF PEOPLE AT SOME PRETTY HIGH
LEVELS THAT DON’T SEEM TO --
THEY DON’T SEEM TO LREALIZE THAT
BUT IT CERTAINLY DOES HAVE AN
IMPACT.
IMPACT. >> YOU AND I HAVE LIVED THROUGH
IT.
IT. I’VE LIVED THROUGH MAYBE MORE
HISTORY.
HISTORY. AND I REMEMBER DURING THE
NOVEMBER PERIOD OF 1963, AND ALL
OF THOSE WEEKS THAT WE WERE
HEARING ABOUT THE VIOLENT
ATTITUDES DOWN IN DALLAS, TEXAS,
AND HOW PEOPLE WERE OUT TO GET
KENNEDY, THERE WERE ADS IN THE
PAPER, HORRIBLE STUFF, CALLING
HIM A TRAITOR.
ADELAIDE STEVENS, THE AMBASSADOR
TO THE U.N. WAS SPAT UPON.
THERE WAS ALL OF THAT
ATMOSPHERICS.
ATMOSPHERICS. AND THEN, A GUY ON THE HARD
LEFT, A COMMUNIST SYMPATHIZER,
LEE HARVEY OSWALD COMES AND
SHOOTS KENNEDY.
SHOOTS KENNEDY. SOMEHOW, THERE SEEMS TO BE A
KIND OF ELECTRICAL ATMOSPHERICS
THAT SORT OF CREATES SOMETHING
THAT MAY NOT BE RELATED -- THE
SAME THING HAPPENED IN THE
SPRING OF ’16, DR. KING IS SHOT
AND BOBBY IS SHOT.
IT DOES SEEM TO BE ATMOSPHERIC.
YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THAT?
IT GETS INTO OUR SYSTEMS AND
PEOPLE WHO ARE A LITTLE NUTTY TO
BEGIN WITH OR A LITTLE FAR OUT
POLITICALLY THINK, OH, HERE’S MY
PERMISSION SLIP TO SHOOT
SOMEBODY.
SOMEBODY. >> WELL, SO 1963 WAS A YEAR
BEFORE I WAS BORN, SO I WASN’T
REALLY PAYING ATTENTION THEN,
CERTAINLY.
CERTAINLY. AND, YOU KNOW, BUT WE -- WE SEE
THIS OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
AND IT SEEMS TO GO IN CYCLES.
AND OUR PARTISANSHIP IS
SOMEWHAT, YOU KNOW, SICKCYCLIC.
I THINK WE’RE AT A PRETTY BAD
TIME RIGHT NOW.
PROBABLY THE WORSE THAT I’VE
SEEN SINCE I’VE BEEN PAYING
ATTENTION, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS
EVEN THE WORSE SINCE THE EARLY
1960s.
1960s. AND I THINK -- I THINK PEOPLE
THAT WE ELECT NEED TO REALIZE
THAT THEIR WORDS DO MATTER.
AND IF THEY SAY CERTAIN THINGS,
THEY ARE GIVING CERTAIN
INDIVIDUALS WHO, YOU KNOW,
PROBABLY HAVE SOME POSSIBLY
MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES OR SOMEWHAT
UNSTABLE, BUT IT’S NOT GOOD FOR
US AS, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WHO ARE
IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS TO TRY
TO GIVE THESE -- OR TO GIVE
THESE PEOPLE SOME FORM OF
POLITICAL COVER.
POLITICAL COVER. >> LET’S TALK ABOUT GUN CONTROL,
GUN SAFETY.
GUN SAFETY. I NOTICE THE NRA ISN’T SPENDING
MUCH MONEY THIS CYCLE.
IS THAT WHY -- IS THAT BECAUSE
THEY DON’T HAVE MUCH TO FIGHT OR
THERE ISN’T MUCH NOISE OUT THERE
OR CONCERN PUBLICLY BY
CANDIDATES ABOUT GUN SAFETY?
>> YEAH, THEY’VE HAD SOME
ISSUES, YOU KNOW, IN NEW YORK
CITY, THEY HAD A LAWSUIT.
THEY CLAIM THAT THAT AFFECTED
THEIR BOTTOM LINE.
THEY’VE GOT SOME FINANCIAL
ISSUES RIGHT NOW.
BUT THEY ALSO HAVE MILLIONS OF
MEMBERS THAT THEY JUST RAISED
THE MEMBERSHIP FEE.
I DON’T THINK IT’S REALLY A
FINANCIAL THING WITH THEM.
DESPITE SOME OF THE THINGS
THEY’VE SAID.
THEY’VE SAID. I THINK REALLY WHAT IT COMES
DOWN TO IS, THEY ARE STARTING TO
REALIZE THAT THEIR SIDE OF THIS
ISSUE DOESN’T PLAY VERY WELL IN
AN ELECTION.
AN ELECTION. EVEN IN A MIDTERM ELECTION.
I MEAN, WE HAVE, WE HAVE A LOT
OF DEMOCRATS AND EVEN SOME
REPUBLICANS THAT ARE RUNNING ON
THE SIDE OF, HEY, WE NEED
STRONGER GUN LAWS.
WE NEED GUN SAFETY.
WE’VE GOT VETERANS RUNNING
ACROSS THE COUNTRY ON THIS
ISSUE.
ISSUE. THERE WAS AN NBC/"WALL STREET
JOURNAL" POLL THAT JUST CAME OUT
AND IT PUT GUN SAFETY, I THINK
AT RIGHT AFTER HEALTH CARE AND
THE ECONOMY AS AN ISSUE THAT
PEOPLE REALLY CARE ABOUT.
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. >> THE NATIONAL RIFLE
ASSOCIATION, THEY’RE EVEN HIDING
THE LETTER GRADES THAT THEY
TRADITIONALLY GIVE MEMBERS OF
CONGRESS AND PEOPLE IN STATE
GOVERNMENTS.
GOVERNMENTS. SO, THEY’RE CURRENTLY UNDER
WATER, THEY’VE GOT A NEGATIVE
APPROVAL RATING, THEIR
FAVORABLES/UNFAVORABLES IS AT
MINUS 17%.
MINUS 17%. IT’S CERTAINLY THE LOWEST SINCE
WE’VE BEEN PAYING ATTENTION.
AND IT’S BECAUSE THE AMERICAN
PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO REALIZE
THAT, UH, OUR LAWS DO MATTER,
AND THERE ARE ORGANIZATIONS THE