On the day the Justice Department released a report on the mistakes local law enforcement made in handling the Uvalde, Texas, school massacre from May 2022, CNN coverage of the findings predictably turned to pushing more gun control as both Democrat and Republican guests appeared to discuss the findings.
On Thursday's CNN This Morning, State Senator Roland Gutierrez (D-TX) -- who is also running for the U.S. Senate this year -- was given un unchallenged forum to complain about his state's Republican legislators opposing gun control. Toward the end of the interview, he complained:
Unfortunately, the policy holders in this state, the people that are controlling this state, Republican leaders both in the house and the senate and of course our leadership have decided to create loose gun laws that allow anybody and anybody -- everybody to access a weapon of this nature. I mean, this young man was 18 years old -- he bought a gun in a small town in Texas at the only gun shop in Texas (sic) on day one.
After recalling that the Uvalde gunman had bought hundreds of rounds of ammunition before attacking the school, the Texas Democrat added: "In other states, that would have been considered possibly a red flag. So it's my hope that we not only learn best practices sure going forward, but we have to change our policy. And if our policy makers aren't willing to make some changes, then we need to get rid of those policy makers."
Co-host Phil Mattingly responded with a frequently asked question as to whether Democrats were likely to have any more success in enacting more gun control in the near future:
To that point, you worked both on the legislative front but also with the families pushing legislation related to changes in gun laws and gun policy in the wake of what happened in Uvalde. You ran into a lot of resistance. Do you feel like this will help those efforts moving forward -- give you another chance to move forward on those issues in a state like Texas?
State Senator Gutierrez responded by further pushing his liberal agenda:
You know, I don't know what people need to see. The fact is, after this horrible tragedy happened, even 70 percent of Republican voters were saying we needed to raise the age a little bit in Texas, we needed to have extreme risk protective orders and universal background checks. Maybe it wasn't the full-on assault weapons ban that I often talk about with certain exceptions, but the fact is, Republican politicians just simply aren't listening in this state. They're not even listening to their own constituents who want change in this space.
And in the afternoon. as CNN host Jake Tapper spoke with Congressman Tony Gonzales (R-TX) about the report, after the congressman declared that he was opposed to passing any new gun restrictions, Tapper proposed that more background checks might have prevented some of the recent high-profile shootings:
Why don't you support universal background checks? If people have to go through background checks to buy a firearm at a gun store, why shouldn't they have to go through it at a gun show, especially when there are clearly individuals -- we've seen a lot of shootings in the last few years from individuals who clearly are not right, and a basic background check might have prevented tragedy?
But Tapper's suggestion that more background checks might have made a difference ignores the fact that mass shootings are generally carried out by perpetrators who either are able to pass background checks or steal their weapons, making new background checks irrelevant. Plus, Tapper specifying gun shows gave an incorrect impression that professional gun dealers are not legally required to do background checks at gun shows even though they are.
It would have been more relevant to point out that schools that experience mass shootings are usually those that prohibit plain clothes school staff from carrying guns on school property even though studies suggest such measures deter mass shootings from happening.
As is typical, CNN hosts did not discuss anything that might have actually made a difference to prevent more such shootings from occurring.
Transcripts follow:
CNN This Morning
January 18, 2024
8:09 a.m. Eastern
STATE SENATOR ROLAND GUTIERREZ (D-TX): I think it's important to note that this is the worst law enforcement response to a school shooting in our nation's history, period, and we can't ever let this happen again, and there are policies that should be in place in Texas. Unfortunately, the policy holders in this state, the people that are controlling this state, Republican leaders both in the house and the senate and of course our leadership have decided to create loose gun laws that allow anybody and anybody -- everybody to access a weapon of this nature. I mean, this young man was 18 years old -- he bought a gun in a small town in Texas at the only gun shop in Texas (sic) on day one.
The next day, he bought 900 plus rounds of ammunition, and on the third day, he bought -- he picked up his AR-15 again -- second AR-15. No one thought that that set of events was significant. In other states, that would have been considered. In other states, that would have been considered possibly a red flag. So it's my hope that we not only learn best practices sure going forward, but we have to change our policy. And if our policy makers aren't willing to make some changes, then we need to get rid of those policy makers.
PHIL MATTINGLY: To that point, you worked both on the legislative front but also with the families pushing legislation related to changes in gun laws and gun policy in the wake of what happened in Uvalde. You ran into a lot of resistance. Do you feel like this will help those efforts moving forward -- give you another chance to move forward on those issues in a state like Texas?
STATE SENATOR GUTIERREZ: You know, I don't know what people need to see. The fact is, after this horrible tragedy happened, even 70 percent of Republican voters were saying we needed to raise the age a little bit in Texas, we needed to have extreme risk protective orders and universal background checks. Maybe it wasn't the full-on assault weapons ban that I often talk about with certain exceptions, but the fact is, Republican politicians just simply aren't listening in this state. They're not even listening to their own constituents who want change in this space. ...
(...)
CNN's The Lead
January 18, 2024
4:11 p.m. Eastern
JAKE TAPPER: Lastly, whether it's red flag laws or raising the age where somebody can purchase or even possess a firearm, is there any gun restriction that you support now that you didn't support before Uvalde that might have helped prevent this?
CONGRESSMAN TONY GONZALES (R-TX): You know, I continue to look for common sense things. I do not support a weapons ban of any sort or universal background check of any sort. I do not support anything that infringes upon the Constitution or prevents those from having due process. I do, however, support, and I do think we can work in a manner that protects the Constitution and protects our children, and that is he space I'm looking for to operate in. I think there's a lot of people -- more and more people, Jake, have a direct story of, you know, a shooting in their their district or their state, and I do think there is -- there is a growing number of law makers that do want to have sensible solutions. I am committed to that, and I look forward to continue to work my colleagues and the White House to find reasonable solutions.
TAPPER: Why don't you support universal background checks? If people have to go through background checks to buy a firearm at a gun store, why shouldn't they have to go through it at a gun show, especially when there are clearly individuals -- we've seen a lot of shootings in the last few years from individuals who clearly are not right, and a basic background check might have prevented tragedy?
CONGRESSMAN GONZALES: Yeah, it's about due process -- it's about how long. And in some cases, you know, a backlog of a background check will prevent someone -- a person from legally purchasing a firearm. So that's what I don't want to see happen -- is a person who's legally abiding by the rules doing everything they can -- not be able to purchase a firearm in a reasonable amount of time because there's this excess backlog.
