mmmm, yoplait. >> this is "eyewitness news upclose with diana williams." >> [ voice breaking ] every time i think about those kids, it gets me mad. >> talk about video that goes viral. an emotional president obama tearing up this past week as he talked about the sandy hook gun the world. and then he offered a bold plan, the president taking executive action and ordering tougher background checks for gun buyers -- cheers from gun-control advocates. and from gun owners? gun sales go through the roof. this morning, we talked to connecticut governor dan malloy who was with the families of some of the newtown victims for the president's announcement. he was also the man who had to tell many of those families, three years ago, that their

by a gun and would never be coming back home. and good morning, everyone. i'm bill ritter, in for diana williams. president obama using not just his bully pulpit but also his role as -- call it "father-in-chief" -- and backed by a new coalition of gun-control advocates, to launch what is likely his last big campaign -- gun control. >> [ voice breaking ] every time i think about those kids, it gets me mad. and by the way, it happens on the streets of chicago every day. >> president raising the specter of the gun massacre at sandy hook elementary school and so many other mass shootings since then, breaking down, as you can see, as he announced a series of executive actions designed to try to crack down on unregistered gun dealers and unregulated internet gun sales. >> each time this comes up, we are fed the excuse that commonsense reforms like background checks might not have stopped the last massacre. i reject that thinking.

simple, not necessarily that bold, registering more gun dealers and having more background checks on people with mental illness -- hardly groundbreaking stuff, but it's gonna run into huge opposition from the powerful and free-spending gun lobby. now, reaction to the president's orders -- record gun sales. in fact, gun sales in 2015 -- the biggest in sheer numbers in u.s. history. one place sales are booming -- up in ulster county, where you recall the sheriff now wants gun owners to carry their weapons. here's marcus solis. >> i don't own a pistol at the moment. a bunch of my friends do, and, yeah, i believe they're trying to take them away from us. >> it's no coincidence anthony gilbert chose to pick up a pistol-permit application. with president obama announcing an executive order expanding background checks, there were many at the ulster county sheriff's office playing "beat the clock," including this father and daughter from saugerties. >> i think it's better to be safe than sorry, to get it and so that you have it. but i don't think that it would

absolutely couldn't get it. >> well, i think everybody should be concerned, but i don't think it'll ever happen. but just to make sure, we want to get our permits right now. >> the president grew emotional when talking about the sandy hook shooting that killed 20 first graders. he was joined in washington by parents of victims who have fought for tougher gun control since then. >> and even if it takes the rest of my life to do it, if i can save another family from having to live through what my family has to live through, then i'll feel like it's worth it. >> in advance of the changes, there's been a sharp increase in gun sales nationwide -- here in ulster county, a spike after the sheriff urged licensed gun owners to carry their firearms. gun-rights advocates say they are being unfairly targeted. >> we just keep giving up little pieces of civil liberty. they keep taking steps. it's the second amendment. it's "not to be infringed." >> chris ruger, who's owned a custom gun shop for 15 years, says law-abiding owners are paying the price for those committing crimes with illegally obtained guns.

people from doing bad things. >> and not likely to end the debate any time soon. in kingston -- marcus solis, channel 7 "eyewitness news." >> one person who was at president obama's big gun-control announcement in washington -- governor dan malloy from connecticut -- no stranger, of course, to controversy over guns. governor, welcome to "upclose." thanks for joining us. >> bill, it's great to be with you. this is an important topic, and i don't mind discussing it anytime and anywhere. >> you were there at the white house when the president made the announcement. take us back there for this last week. what was it like emotionally for you? >> well, it was a very emotional day, not just for the president, who has had to comfort many, many families over his seven years in office whose loved ones have been victims of these mass shootings. but there were many survivors of mass shootings. there were many parents of the kids who were killed at newtown, as well as other loved ones of folks that were killed in

horrendous crimes that have really plagued our country over the last seven, eight, nine years. of course, they have a longer history. we are unfortunately, i think, in some senses, a society which is gun-centric, more so than most other industrialized countries. we're one of the most violent societies in the sense that we see 30,000 or so people a year die as a result of the use of guns. about 19,000 of those are self-inflicted. the rest, however, are everyday citizens who get caught up in crimes, in multiple-shooting incidences, these kind of mass shootings, and it's -- we got to do something. >> there's a kind of racial divide. i was looking at somed the brookings institution last month put out a report that showed, of the whites in this country who die from guns, 77% are from

die from guns in america, 82% are from homicides. so there is this very real racial divide and racial issue when it comes to guns. >> there is, but there's also a very big racial divide where those guns came from. so, if you look at urban crime, not necessarily exclusively black-on-black or white-on-black, but if you look at urban crimes, in many cases, those guns came from states where the last traced transfer was at a gun show. increasingly, what we're seeing is those guns were traded over the internet, and these are loopholes, specifically, that the president is trying to close. you know, i think it was a very telling moment when the president, like i was, was teary thinking and talking about the newtown shootings. after all, i was the guy who had to tell all those families that they were not gonna be reunited on that day in december three years ago.

comfort those families the sunday after that friday. he was teary-eyed, i was teary-eyed. but he also said "and it happens daily," or on a regular basis, in chicago, on the streets of chicago, and that is a reality. in the chicago area, for instance, we can trace many of those guns to four specific stores that are selling guns in the greater chicago area. we know where they're sold. when i was mayor of stamford, just a few miles away from where you are right now, for 14 years, when we could trace a gun, more often than not, it was to a state like virginia or elsewhere that had a gun-show loophole where people would go down, buy a large number of guns, and basically sell them as they traveled up i-95, you know, stopping in washington and philadelphia and newark, delaware, and newark, new jersey, and camden and trenton, new york city, up to

bridgeport, all the way up to boston, then beyond. 95 is an illegal gun highway. >> and the police, in fact, call it "the iron pipeline," especially from down south, where the guns are sold, and they come up here illegally. and they are used in crimes, especially here in new york city. we see it all the time -- an illegal gun coming from somewhere down south. it's not a new story. >> so it begs the question, why don't we close these loopholes? this is crazy. these people who are selling these guns at these gun shows are making their living by selling those guns. these aren't moms and pops. in many cases, they are the exact same people who sell guns in bricks-and-mortar stores. there they have to do a background check, but they can go to a gun show at some school, at some public building, at some private building, and, all of a sudden, they don't have to do the same background check. >> the national rifle association, the nra, obviously spending a lot of money -- millions and millions of dollars every year -- lobbying and

some of those elected officials you just referenced. they believe that any infringement on the ability to get a gun is sort of a first step in a slippery slope, not that they would necessarily, mano a mano, disagree with the concept of everyone having a background check, but they think that it's a slippery slope, and that's why they're against it. did the president sort of take on the nra in a way that is very different from most politicians by taking these executive actions? >> yeah, they did. first of all, i think there's a special place reserved for the nra leadership who would prevent commonsense protective measures, and it's probably in the afterlife. what i would say to you is that there's no slippery slope. no one's had their guns seized as a result of commonsense legislation in new york or connecticut or delaware or maryland. that's not happening.

a right to protect our broader society, and that is to make sure that criminals don't have guns or that when people who were perhaps not a criminal when they got a gun and became a criminal can't keep the gun. it just makes sense. if i, as the governor of the state of connecticut, can't get on an airplane without someone doing a background check on me, why should anyone be able to buy an ak-47 in some of these states without a background check? it makes no sense. and anyone at the nra making that argument should be ashamed of themselves. >> one of your democratic colleagues who's running for president, bernie sanders, suggested during one of the debates that there's a very big difference between how americans view guns, americans who live in rural areas and americans who live in urban areas. and of course, you can't bifurcate and change the second amendment to whether you live in an urban area or a rural area, but there is some truth to that. there is a different perspective when you're out on a farm or out in some rural area and here in a city. >> not really. 91% of americans believe there

91%. you can't get to that number without including people in vermont or nebraska or kansas. people don't believe that guns. they just don't believe that. and this is a fallacy that the nra would like to spread, but a majority of the nra members believe there should be universal background checks. a majority of republicans believe there should be universal background checks. so, this idea that -- and, listen, you're quoting the nra, and i know you have a job to do, but they're not telling the truth. and at some point, you and i have to stop talking about the nra, at least with respect to repeating things that you and i both know are untrue. 91% of americans believe that the purchase of a gun should be subject to a background check to make sure that terrorists and criminals don't get guns. >> just for the record, i was quoting your colleague bernie sanders, a democrat, not the nra. >> well, he should stop it, too. >> [ chuckling ] okay. >> i mean, listen, bernie's got his own problem.

on five separate occasions, and he's got to explain to explain that in this context. but let's not fall back on the arguments that the nra has falsely made. >> okay. bernie sanders' comment provides us something with a segue. i'd like to talk about politics, but i have to take a quick break. would you stay with us for another segment? okay. we'll have more with governor dan malloy when we come right back on "upclose." in new york state, we believe tomorrow starts today. all across the state the economy is growing, with creative new business incentives, the lowest taxes in decades, and university partnerships, attracting the talent and companies of tomorrow. like in utica, where a new kind of workforce is being trained.

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get free installation with a one hour arrival window. and ask how you could get a $300 reward card. call for more, now. >> continuing our conversation with governor dan malloy of connecticut. governor, before we get to politics, i do want to ask you about newtown and sandy hook 'cause you were with the families when the president made his announcement this past week,

years ago. a lot has changed, in that connecticut became one of the states that had the toughest gun-control legislation, thanks that. but what was it like? what was it like, if you could take us back to three years ago? because these people's lives obviously changed forever. >> well, you know, i've told this story once or twice in the past. it was a brutal day. i was in my office when i got a call of a possible shooting and then an actual shooting, but it was one person. it was believed to be a domestic, was the report, and, you know, i breathed a sigh of relief, only to shortly thereafter find out that that initial report was wrong. it was more than one person. and then, ultimately, as i was driving down to newtown -- or being driven -- i learned more and more and more about what had transpired. on that day, police and state troopers and first responders were overwhelmed.

everyone who could reclaim their loved one had reclaimed their loved one, had left, and there were these other folks who i then came to know as the parents or loved ones of the adults and spouses and children. we were there in the firehouse, and we had these conversations. i knew the probability of what had happened, and i spoke at one point to the police, and i said, "well, when are we gonna tell these poor folks what was transpiring or what had transpired?" and it was explained to me that, in police work, nobody confirms a death until there's been a confirmation or an identification of the actual person. and ultimately, i made the decision that i would supersede that normal process because it was feared that we wouldn't have identifications for as many as an additional eight or nine hours, and simply explained to folks that they wouldn't be reunited with their loved one that day if they hadn't already been and that they needed to take care of themselves and their family.

folks had other children who were waiting for them at home or with other loved ones. it was a tough day. the president came in the sunday after. i remember this to this very day. the president stopped and spoke to myself and my wife and the first selectman of newtown, a wonderful woman, and asked us to go ahead to the various classrooms, where groups of about five families would be in each one of the classrooms. and i remember having a bit of a panic attack 'cause i didn't know how i would be greeted by those families. after all, i was the person who had to break that horrible news. >> just horrible. >> you know, i did go to each of the classrooms, and, you know, it was... well, as tough as it was for me, i'm sure it was a lot tougher for the parents, but they embraced me and understood what we needed to do. and they were awaiting the visit of the president, and, i got to say, the president gave a great address.

i think it changed his presidency and his understanding of this issue. i think it emboldened him to do other things. >> unfortunately, he had to do it too many times in his presidency. but it was a big night for you. you were in office for three years. i was there that night and listened to the president, and it was quite moving. let me use that as a segue to talk a little bit about politics with you because it's obviously a presidential election year. gun control not much of a debate in the primaries, but will be certainly in the general election. this is a strange primary season we've had. let's start with the republicans. i assume you've met mr. trump before and have dealings with him as mayor and as governor. what do you make of his candidacy? >> it's perplexing and disturbing and interesting and fun to watch all -- you know, it's... you know, on any given day, it's like those machines where you put a quarter in and you try to pick something out and it comes down and you don't know really what you got. that's what the trump campaign

what he's doing to cruz on this issue of the "birther" is exactly what he'd done to the president of the united states. he's a great showman. you got to give him credit. don't want to see him as president, but he certainly is catching on in the republican ranks. >> and very smart people also point out that, forgetting politics right now, you know, he's tapped in to some sort of deep-seated disenchantment among many americans about where this country is going and how it's run. >> well, we've always had disenchanted folks, but we don't always have somebody who appeals to them. george wallace did that in 1968. huey long certainly was doing that. father coughlin was doing that in his radio broadcasts of that era. people can tap in to angst and anger, but when they then try to

aggressive, to utter words like not allowing a person of the muslim faith to enter or reenter the united states, or to condemn all mexicans or, for that matter, hispanics as rapists and drug dealers, i mean, these are very dangerous concepts and ideas that he has not only put forth but are the basis of his campaign. and i think that that's sad. >> of course, you're a governor. you know that you don't have a legal right to do that, to withhold entry by refugees that are okayed by the federal government into your state. >> well, now, there you go. you're actually telling the truth. that's just terrible. >> okay. you are also, i find out today, doing the research on you, the head of the democratic governors association, which means you're going to run around the country during this presidential campaign, being something of a surrogate campaigner for whoever the democratic nominee eventually is. and you're going to try to win democratic seats for the governorship. how difficult is that gonna be

>> well, you know, first of all, i don't know what race we're running. you know, i happen to be supporting hillary clinton, and i am doing some surrogate work for her currently. and i think there is a dividing line between the senator and hillary clinton on the gun issue, and i don't mind talking about that. i think people need to understand that bernie sanders voted against the brady bill five separate times, not just once, and that is a dividing line for me. and quite frankly, i hope this issue of background checks becomes a dividing line for all americans. let me also say this, that women get this issue. an overwhelm-- and i talk about 91% of americans, at least in some polls, representing that they believe in universal background checks. women get this issue to a greater degree than even men do. they're fearful for their children. they're fearful for their own safety.

hands of criminals, and they want to take appropriate steps to limit that, and i think that this is a dividing line ultimately in the november election between a democratic candidate -- certainly should it be hillary clinton -- and a donald trump or a cruz or a rubio or a bush or anybody else who will say anything to placate the nra. >> i think it's safe to say all americans worry about guns in the hands of criminals. governor dan malloy of connecticut. thanks for taking time today to talk to us, governor. good luck to you. >> thank you, bill. >> just ahead, we're gonna take a look back at a big week in presidential politics -- donald trump making more headlines, and bill clinton hitting the campaign trail. our political analyst

stay with us. i'm neil patrick harris and new york is my home. no place has more world class culture. come winter, i can't wait to visit our must-see collections of art and superb photography and film. new york has beautifully restored theaters, that are now important centers for the performing arts. and museums that preserve the glories of the past. winter in new york state means more great things to do than ever. plan your trip at iloveny.com there's something for everyone. the centers for medicare and medicaid services recently asked patients to rate the quality of over 3.500 hospitals. fewer than 6% received 5 stars. among them was cancer treatment centers of america in philadelphia.

>> welcome back to "upclose." presidential politics this week -- it was trump versus clinton, but not the possible nominee clinton. this time, it was trump versus bill clinton, the former getting nasty about the marital affairs of the latter -- new yorkers grabbing headlines. but the former president refusing to get into the mud. and now mr. trump suggesting maybe he'll dial back his criticism of president clinton. joining us to talk about presidential politics -- which some of which aren't always presidential -- hank sheinkopf, a political consultant who's worked for a clinton or two in the past. just correct me if i'm wrong, mr. sheinkopf, but weren't the clintons at the trump wedding -- the last one anyway? they were, right? >> well, it only goes to prove again there are no friends or enemies in politics. it just depends on the involved with. >> and the guest list, this time, just happened to include the clintons. >> it just happens you want famous people so you can look wonderful. >> yes, and he could say, "they were friends of mine, but this is politics." >> "well, we used to be friends, okay?" >> so parse this out for me >> sure. >> deconstruct everything.

>> trump -- is he getting a little milder, saying, "i'm gonna scale back maybe a little bit"? did he get too much pushback? what do you think is -- >> no, trump doesn't want the clintons united against him for one simple reason. hillary set him up to bring trump in so that it would look like it was hillary to trump, and bill clinton came in to take his head off. why? because the more you make trump the face of the republican party, it doesn't matter who the nominee is. it means that you can win that election better. >> this is what the democrats think, and this is quietly what the upper echelon of the republican party thinks. >> absolutely. absolutely. they both share that, and it's quite clear that they do. now, that's kind of interesting. i thought that, in the beginning -- and i've said it on this program -- that i didn't think trump was on the level. but the truth is he is, but he's on the level in a way that allows the clintons to use him as the face of the republican party and for the republican elites to lose their minds. >> and yet we saw this week, also, carly fiorina take on bill clinton and suggest that -- suggest outrageously, a lot of people said -- that he was some sort of sexual predator based on his affairs. >> well, it was outrageous, and

that are not voting for hillary clinton anyway and didn't vote for bill clinton in the past. >> so, where does it go from there? is it gonna die down, or is this going to be on the agenda and a legitimate issue for republicans to raise, no matter who the nominee is? >> this is a legitimate issue and problem for republicans as you go forward. the good news is that donald trump will lose -- if they have it this way -- the iowa caucus significantly. but if he doesn't, if he comes within shot, they have a real problem going to new hampshire and the rest of the time. >> let's talk about iowa very quickly, and we'll talk about new hampshire in about a minute, and then i want to talk about the gun-control issue, what the president did. iowa -- february 1st caucus. new hampshire -- february 9th, the first primary. how do you handicap? >> on this program, we said some time ago in our conversations that cruz would likely win the iowa caucuses. it appears that way now. he has the best on-the-ground operation. the question is, who comes in second? could donald trump place? again, if he places there, it will send a shock wave through the republican ranks because it means that, effectively, he's acceptable to evangelical christians.

$2 million a week of his own money -- hadn't spent much money at all before. >> that's why he's there now. if he does that, he becomes an acceptable candidate to evangelicals and to the christian right, which makes him a player in the republican party going forward and until the end of the primary season. >> and how about new hampshire? >> new hampshire's a toss, too. anything can happen there. could chris christie win, who thinks he's gonna win? eh, i wouldn't hawk the house on that. >> but he could place or show. >> it's not impossible. it depends how closely bunched those folks are. >> and what about bernie sanders and hillary clinton in new hampshire? >> bernie sanders should have the edge. why? because he is the local guy. but if he doesn't, you could kind of put the lights out on him, too. >> that's interesting. okay. real quickly, president obama -- you heard dan malloy talking. you were here for this interview. >> sure. >> this is an issue that he is now embracing as his last big campaign -- big editorial in the new york times saying he's not gonna support any candidate who doesn't support gun control. >> it's a smart move for him, whether it was -- i think that, in fact, the pain that he felt was real and people who deride him for that are absolutely wrong, but it's the right

it's the one issue he can face the republicans on in which there can be little discussion. he's overwhelmingly supported by the american public, and there's one great enemy, the nra. >> and that the tears were real. >> the tears were real, and how could they not be if you've seen the things that he's seen in his tenure? these are not criminals or enemies in wars. >> okay. hank, thanks for joining us. >> thank you. >> we'll see you next time. and on that note, that'll do it for this edition of "upclose." if by chance you missed any of today's programs -- no problem. you can catch it again on our website, abc7ny. thank you all for watching. i'm bill ritter. and for all of us here at