mr. lapierre talking about? what is mr. lapierre describing?he's describing a post, you know, i really can't describe it. >> perhaps he's been watching too many violent videos? >> it's a mad max world, apocalyptic world that just simply doesn't exist. one where the people of new york were out of control. that wasn't the case at all. people were trying desperately to get their lives back together and to be ridiculed like this, this is really ridicule i think from mr. lapierre and a degrading of the average new yorker and it's not the american way. new yorkers are americans and respond to these storms like anyone else does. i think all of america should be outraged by mr. lapierre's comments. >> joy reid, you live in the city of new york. can i read you some facts about new york. murders fell by 86%. robberies down by 30%. grand larcenies fell by 48%. car thefts are down 24%. felony assaults are down 31%. what is mr. lapierre describing? >> well, you know what? as somebody who was born in the dystopian hell scape called brooklyn, even when i was

mr. lapierre compaq -- mr. lapierre, it does appear that the straw purchase prohibition that is out there, that prohibition seems to me to be legitimate. and i support -- and you said you support the prosecutions of it. but if we expand the number of people covered, and we do not have any prosecutions -- i believe you said there were only 44. that is the weakness in the system. >> senator, there needs to be a change in the culture of prosecution at the entire federal level. it is a disgrace. we could dramatically cut crimes with guns and save lives all over this country if we were to start enforcing the 9000 federal laws we have on the books. i'm talking about drug dealers with guns, gangs with guns, felons with guns. the numbers are shocking. in chicago, one of the worst areas in the country for a gun violence by criminals cannot -- for gun violence by criminals, it is 89 in 90. in the entire united states, 62 people prosecuted under all of the federal gun laws. in the project to clean of richmond years ago, th

mr. lapierre thanks for join us. you heard captain talking about the background checks and since 19991.7 million people have failed background checks and been denied guns. i know you point out criminals the not go through the background checks there are other ways, a black market will be out there to get guns but if 1.7 million people have already been denied guns, doesn't that make people safer? >>guest: i have all the respect in the world for the captain and what happened to his family should never happen to any family. we all want to stop it. let me talk about the proposal of president obama and people like mayor bloomberg are putting forward. first, your question is, i don't think you can say the 1.7 million people have been stopped from getting a gun because the government did not prosecutor any of them, they let them walk in, they were denied and they walked out. who thinks if they wanted to commit a crime they did not go on and get a gun. >>chris: it seems if 1.7 million were denied, i understand the hardened

mr. lapierre, do you regret putting up that ad?e point of ad was this, not -- >> you mentioned the president's kids. >> they are safe and we are thankful for it. the point -- >> they face a threat most children do not face. >> tell that to people in newtown -- >> do you really think the president's children are the same kind of target as every school child in america? that is ridiculous and you know it, sir. >> you know, unfortunately, i think there are parents all over the school that think, all over the country that think their kids are entitled to the same amount of protection when they go to school and they -- >> they should have secret service? >> police officers or certified armed security in those schools to keep people safe. if something happened, the police -- despite all the good intentions, police time is 15-20 minutes and it is too long and will not help those kids. certified armed security in schools, like -- >> that will not protect them in the shopping mall, the movie theatre, on the streets. >> why we need to do eve

mr. lapierre, is that the standard? i expected him to say, no, but he didn't. he said in the historic context of the second amendment, that's what it was about. this was a brand new nation. they'd just thrown off the tyranny of england, and they wanted to preserve -- in mr. lapierre's words -- the right to bear arms to protect those basic freedoms as individuals. now what we're finding is something interesting growing out of this mindset. it is a form of nullification which we're seeing evidence of in my home state of illinois. there are sheriffs, duly elected sheriffs of counties who have publicly stated that they will not enforce any federal laws restricting the second amendment. they have taken the name of oath keepers. i have some of their literature in front of me. i'd like for you to comment on the history of the second amendment and this view of the right of an individual to defend himself/herself against a government that may by the ran call. is that built into this second amendment? >> well, justice and a lie ya in a very erudite discussion in heller t

mr. lapierre, i made it a major focus of our office to prosecute the possession of guns. it is clearly part of the solution. you can not lessen the importance of that as we go forward. there are other things as well, including the recommendations that have been made by vice president biden and the task force. it is very important that we explore those in addition to enforcing the laws on the books. i have heard from republican sheriffs from all over the state that there are major issues with background checks. i would turn to that first, chief johnson. we had a guy in minnesota that just came out in the papers. he killed his parents, he got out, somehow got a permit, was able to obtain guns. when they found him, he had 13 guns in his house, and he had a note that he had written to the gunman in newtown and said, i think about killing all the time. he was able to get a permit and get those guns. this just came out in our local paper. what do you see as some of the biggest loopholes? we talk about gun shows, internet, private sales, and how you think that could help? and th

mr. lapierre, do you regret putting up that ad? >> the point of that ad is this. it wasn't picking on the president's kids -- >> it mentions them. >> the president's kids are safe and we're all thankful for it. >> they also face a threat that most people do not face. >> tell that to the people in newtown. >> do you really think the president's children are the same kind of target as every school child in america? that's ridiculous, and you know it, sir. >> we learned this weekend the nra created a kind of enemy's list. all the people they think are out to get them. so who's on the list? the nra is scared of mcgyver, richard dean anderson, the na y nanny, fran dresher and the fonz, yep, the fonz is going to gut the second amendment. there are lots of singers on the nra's enemy list including brittany spears and the entire line up of boysiimen. the nra has this weird obsession with actors from batman movies including jack nicholson, danny devito and michelle pfeiffer. and finally, leonard nemoy are all on the enemy's list. yes, spak wants to take away your guns. ame

mr. lapierre and other republicans to say that he's playing politics, i'm, is he stating the fact.erious problem that he has to address. i'm not saying that politically it's easy. i know it's not. >> it's a fine line. >> clearly something has to be done. >> so what's your thought here, chris? what's the line where the president could go perhaps too far through this process? >> well, legislatively i think you confront just a brutal, political reality in terms of what you can get done. i think the assault weapons ban is going to be very difficult to pass through and that's just stating the political facts. that being said, criminal background checks, increasing penalties, that i think has some real potential of passing and will have an impact. will it solve the problem completely? no, it will not. but what you have in terms of other side is the nra and a fill loss stee strategy to fight against any, any changes in gun laws, even the ones that ironically they supported years ago. so i think the president has a bit of momentum here in terms of getting something done but i don't suggest

mr. lapierre is doing is, to be frank with you, he's shooting himself in the foot and shooting the nra in the foot because in talking to some of my colleagues on the republican side today, a lot of them are embarrassed and upset about it, but they are afraid to speak out about it. but one thing that they are definitely not in agreement with, and i think some are going to see this as cover to stand up against the nra. you know, we have common sense legislation against trafficking which is a bipartisan bill. >> i know you do. good for you. >> and scott rigell, who is one of our co-sponsors, is an nra member. >> that's true. i went back and looked at the republican platform last time around. it was all pro-gun. on every aspect, every front, not a single word challenging the nra. i have yet -- i accept the fact that, congressman, you have colleagues and good friends that are willing to speak candidly with you as they clearly have. they weren't going on television saying anything against lapierre. >> i agree. >> governor, he looks like he's the boss. it's like when rush limbaugh speaks and eve

mr. lapierre says. of course, he has the right to say it, and i have the right to do this. i've tried to do it carefully. we have 22 co-sponsors. i recognize it's an uphill battle. i also know that these events are iffing to continue, and america has to step up. the mothers, the women, the men of america have to make a decision as to whether their personal pleasure is more important than the general welfare. grievance killers look for these weapons. these weapons are easy to obtain. there are no background checks. you can buy them out of a back of a car. at a gun show. america's laws are virtually nonexistent, and, therefore, i think this is a good bill. i intend to fight. i did it once before. if it doesn't get done right now, be assured i will continue to press the case. >> senator, do you think you're getting enough support from the white house on this, or are they beginning to think that they can maybe try for background checks but not to try for the assault weapon ban because it is that much tougher? >> well, it might surprise you, andrea. our support is very broad. th

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mr. lapierre, the way he's availed himself at every opportunity to speak publicly since the newtown tragedyn such that we're regressing in terms of the discourse. he's not being respectful, sensitive, or sensible about the things that we need to be talking about with the inspection and information and data we have now. >> gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us this afternoon. >> thank you. >>> coming up, karl rove continues to sing for his supper. he does. stay with us. ♪ ♪ no two people have the same financial goals. pnc works with you to understand yours and help plan for your retirement. visit a branch or call now for your personal retirement review. a hairline fracture to the mandible and contusions to the metacarpus. what do you see? um, i see a duck. be more specific. i see the aflac duck. i see the aflac duck out of work and not making any money. i see him moving in with his parents and selling bootleg dvds out of the back of a van. dude, that's your life. remember, aflac will give him cash to help cover his rent, car payments and keep everything as normal as possible. i see lun

mr. lapierre on that point. there are a lot of gun law rs on the books that aren't enforced specifically with regards to background checks. there have been 1.7 million people that failed the criminal background check since 19 1999d not enough are are prosecuted. they should be prosecuted and there should be stiff penalties. at the same time, we can't give those people a second option as to where to go get a gun and right now that is the gun show or the private seller. if we were to close those loopholes it would be much more difficult for criminals and the mentally ill to get a gun. gabby and i know this will be a hard problem to solve. she was somebody in congress who worked with republicans and worked across the aisle and that is what we need to do here today. these are difficult problems. but in the united states of america, we solve difficult problems. i mean we sent men to the moon. we built an international space station. we cure diseases. we can fix this. >> chris: the basic question, the basic argument t

mr. lapierre went through a background check before buying a gun too.iminals and mentally ill be subject to a background check? shouldn't they? i mean it is -- it's hard for me to understand why there's an organization, like the nra that is currently making easier for krim all ins and the mentally ill to have access to a firearm. that doesn't make any sense. >> "vogue" magazine has a piece of you and gab bay, poignant picture of that part of that piece if we can put it on the air is she up to this to be the face of gun control measures? how is she able to function, just in life, to say nothing of the rigors this? >> she struggles every day suffered a horrific injury two years ago a lot of energy, maybe not as much as before, but in a good mood, committed to of doing something. gabby sees we can't go with the status quo when we have 20 first graders die in their classrooms. she is up to doing. this we realize that this isn't going to -- i mean there are some things we can do immediately, like passing the universal background check, other things might tak

mr. lapierre's point is enforce the laws before you try to do new ones.s a winning argument. from some of the democrats they have been very silent on this issue in terms of where they are going. harry reid, look at the number of democrats up for re-election. the president has to get his own party's house in order before they can proceed to get a political victory. >> interesting. speaking of harry reid, i want to play a clip from him. he's asked if he would vote for dianne feinstein's plan. >> i didn't vote for assault weapons last time because it didn't make sense. i'll take a look at it. >> restrictions on high capacity magazines? >> i think it's something we have to look at. >> take a look or vote for? >> let's see what it is. i have been supported by the nra on occasion. i know wayne lapierre. he's been extremely pleasant with me. we have a good relationship. i am not here to demean the organization. >> if the democratic senate majority cannot give a full support, how will it pass in. >> a couple things. harry reid along with a number of democrats and

mr. wayne lapierre over the weekend where he was speaking several years ago about his thoughts on universal background checks and he universally endorsed universal background checks, including closing the gun show loophole which i found astounding but refreshing. i wish he didn't have such short-term memory because if we could continue to play that clip and could continue to get him perhaps to come back to his original position, then we can truly get something done on background checks. look, one law or one change in the gun law alone isn't going to get this done. it's going to have to be several steps, including getting weapons off our streets but i believe we can respect the second amendment, we can protect law-abiding gun owners, but at the same time, work together to try to keep guns out of the hands of criminals or people that have been judged to have a mental illness that would preclude them from owning a weapon. and we need to do this together, and i want to make sure we are continuing to appeal to the american people to speak out, reminding people you can have a major impact on whet

mr. wayne lapierre is on the wrong side of history. >> it has slowed down.he reason it has showed down is because the president's own party is divided on this issue. when you look in the senate, there's a lot of disagreements. among democrats themselves. the ban on semiautomatic, known as the assault rifle ban, so, there's going to be a lot of fights. but it's going to be between democrats. that has put them in an unusual spot. >> only the six democrats running for re-election. the democrats respect the second amendment rights. it's about military-style rifles. should we get them off the streets? many americans agree. >> get them off the street precisely. the president went to chicago this week. chicago has more than gun homicides than new york, new york has three times the population, what's the difference? the difference is different police measures. new york, with a lot of controversy, has had stop and frisk. has had a measurable effect on violence. it's at the local level and it works. >> it did appear that there was going to be a consensus on background

mr. lapierre supported just years ago, and then you play these kind of, you know, these scare tactics, inur members into believing somehow the democrats are trying to take away gun rights? it is a falsehood so he doesn't do any good to republicans, he doesn't do any good to his organization and he doesn't do any service to a really difficult, complex issue that i think deserves a higher level of debate than what we're seeing. >> katon dawson, senator cruz of texas in the news mostly for his scathing attacks on chuck hagel, so much so senator mccain had to put him in his place during the confirmation hearings this week. what do we think is behind senator cruz's audacity? >> i think senator cruz is doing what he told the people of texas he was going to do, come to washington, throw elbows and open the door and talk some big discussions. has he upset some people, sure. i don't think ted cruz was worried about who he upsets. i think he's concerned about who he represents in texas. is he trying to play by the rules and play nice? i don't think ted cruz came to washington to play nice. i don't.

mr. lapierre responds, we do not. because the fact is, the law right now is a failure the way it is working. none of it makes any sense in the real world. well, i would submit to my good friend, mr. moran, that this is the real world. and we're dealing with real people and i know that he would like to comment from your perspective on the state of gun violence and the lack of gun violence prevention in this country. and i would like to yield to you. mr. moran: i thank the very distinguished gentlelady from california. thank you for heroically sharing with us that horrific experience that you went through in your very early adulthood and that understandably continues to shape your view of gun violence . hopefully others will hopefully others will share that view without having to go through that experience. thank you for putting a face on the tragedy at newtown and the gun violence we have experienced all too often in this country. i do think that the tragedy of 20 tiny little children being blown to bits has changed th