On Monday's Wolf show on CNN, host Wolf Blitzer referred to GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry's criticism of gun-free zones as "controversial" and "eye-raising" before then giving gun control activist Mark Kelly an unchallenged forum to push for more gun laws.
At 1:32 p.m., the CNN host plugged the segment:
A horrific tragedy from gun violence here in the United States now crashing into the politics of the 2016 presidential contest. Controversial comments from Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry saying gun-free zones are a bad idea. We're going to ask Mark Kelly what's going on. He's the husband of former U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, a victim of gun violence. We'll get his reaction.
As he introduced the segment, Blitzer referred back to GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee's suggestion that President Barack Obama is "marching" the Israelis "to the door of the oven" with his Iran nuclear deal, comments which received a sharply negative reaction from other CNN hosts earlier in the day, as the CNN host then suggested Perry's remarks on guns were similarly "eye-raising." Blitzer:
Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee wasn't the only Republican presidential candidate making some eye-raising comments over the weekend. Fellow candidate Rick Perry spoke to Jake Tapper on CNN's State of the Union about the tragic shooting in Lafayette, Louisiana. He said there's no reason to ban guns from places like theaters.
After playing a clip of Perry from Sunday's State of the Union on CNN, without elaborating on the arguments in favor of more concealed carry in public places, Blitzer introduced the liberal Kelly and asked for his reaction:
Funeral services for the two victims of the theater shooting -- Mayci Breaux and Jillian Johnson -- are being held today in Lousiana. Mark Kelly is joining us now. He's a former space shuttle commander, and he's the wife -- his wife, former U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, was wounded in an incident, injured severely, the co-founder of Americans for Responsible Solutions. Captain Kelly, thanks very much for joining us. I want to get your quick reaction to what we just heard from former Governor Rick Perry of Texas.
Kelly went on to argue against concealed carry for movie theaters and advocated for more gun laws.
Below is a complete transcript of the segment from the Monday, July 27, Wolf show on CNN:
1: 32 p.m.
WOLF BLITZER: A horrific tragedy from gun violence here in the United States now crashing into the politics of the 2016 presidential contest. Controversial comments from Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry saying gun-free zones are a bad idea. We're going to ask Mark Kelly what's going on. He's the husband of former U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, a victim of gun violence. We'll get his reaction.
(...)
BLITZER: Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee wasn't the only Republican presidential candidate making some eye-raising comments over the weekend. Fellow candidate Rick Perry spoke to Jake Tapper on CNN's State of the Union about the tragic shooting in Lafayette, Louisiana. He said there's no reason to ban guns from places like theaters.
FORMER GOVERNOR RICK PERRY (R-TX): These concepts of gun-free zones are a bad idea. I think that you allow the citizens of this country who have been appropriately trained, appropriately backgrounded, know how to handle and use firearms to carry.
BLITZER: Funeral services for the two victims of the theater shooting -- Mayci Breaux and Jillian Johnson -- are being held today in Lousiana. Mark Kelly is joining us now. He's a former space shuttle commander, and he's the wife -- his wife, former U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, was wounded in an incident, injured severely, the co-founder of Americans for Responsible Solutions. Captain Kelly, thanks very much for joining us. I want to get your quick reaction to what we just heard from former Governor Rick Perry of Texas.
MARK KELLY, HUSBAND FORMER REP. GABRIELLE GIFFORDS (D-AZ): So, Wolf, you know, I've flown in combat more than 30 times, I've been shot at a lot. It's not what people expect. You don't suspect if you have a dark theater with multiple individuals, even people that think of themselves as the good guy with the gun, and one person starts shooting, and then there are others, and instead of in this case, instead of two dead individuals, you know, maybe that's four or maybe that's ten. I mean, it could grow exponentially. Just consider how difficult the police have in handling somebody with a firearm and how often police make mistakes. You take a dark theater with multiple firearms, you know, I appreciate that Governor Perry thinks that maybe under some circumstances this could help. But the majority of the time, you know, I don't think everybody is Clint Eastwood. I think these things are very chaotic. It's hard to understand where to point the gun, who you're shooting at. And often I think we see, you know, we'd see more bodies.
BLITZER: What was your reaction when you heard that the shooter in Lafayette had a history of several mental problems, had some criminal activity that he was convicted of, yet he legally in Alabama could go ahead and buy this 40-caliber handgun?
KELLY: Well, my reaction is the same as the other times this has happened. I mean, we have a background check system where you can literally drive a truck through it. Forty percent of all gun sales are done without background checks, period. And in a case like this individual, who should have failed a background check, often you see that their background information has not been shared with the state which then goes to the national instant background check system. So we have holes in the system, but we do know that the system works a lot of times. We've stopped over 1.7 million felons from getting a gun when they failed a background check. Why do we allow them to go somewhere else? You know, so, if we don't make changes in our laws, and I appreciate Governor Bobby Jindal who after this said we really need to make sure people like this can't get guns and all states should be looking at their background check systems, so I'd be, as an organization, I'd love to partner with him to figure out how we can make this better in the state of Louisiana.
BLITZER: Are you going to reach out directly to him?
KELLY: Yeah, yeah, we're going to do that.
BLITZER: And to others as well who you think maybe beginning to come around a little bit to your perspective?
KELLY: Well, we've been working -- currently, we're working with 12 different states. You know, we have a lot of work we do in Washington, D.C. But around the country in a dozen different states, we've helped pass, strengthen background checks in eight different states. And it's something we continue to work on, you know, background checks, gun trafficking, you know, is another major issue. How we deal with domestic abusers and domestic violence and stalking. You know, we're not 15 to 20 times worse than any other industrialized country for just one or two reasons. It's complex. But, over time, and with some common sense laws, we can make our country a lot safer from this kind of gun violence.
BLITZER: Mark Kelly, thanks very much for joining us.
