On Tuesday's Morning Joe, MSNBC host Joe Scarborough ranted against a decision by U.S. attorney Jeanine Pirro not to prosecute D.C. residents for carrying a rifle or shotgun outside the home without a permit, calling it "bonkers" and "insanity."
Scarborough seemed to think it's just fine to charge someone with a felony for simply carrying a gun without a permit when many states do not even require a permit at all.
After declaring that not barring people from carrying rifles would make things more difficult for police, he added: "This is insanity."
MSNBC national affairs analyst John Heilemann proclaimed that it is "bonkers" as Scarborough again called it "insanity."
After Jonathan Lemire called the decision "poorly thought out," Scarborough reiterated:
This is insanity. This is -- at the same time you're trying to make Washington, D.C., a safer place, you're telling freaks all over the country, "Come to Washington, D.C. -- if you have a problem with people on either side, walk around with an AR-15 or a shotgun and nothing bad is going to happen to you.
He then mockingly recalled a conversation that he had with a gun rights "absolutist" after the Uvalde school shooting, and recalled the failure of police to confront the gunman:
He was like, (uses mocking voice imitation) "Yeah, Mao and Stalin took away guns, and then they took over the country."
I said, "Yeah, so you're saying we need to go the other way where outside of the elementary school in Uvalde, you have like 200 law enforcement officers that were outgunned by one freak inside with an AR-15 he was able to walk into a store and get. That's the America you want -- that our law enforcement officers are outgunned?"
Now, Jeanine Pirro is saying, "Come to Washington, D.C., open carry your AR-15s and your shotguns" -- and what does that do but make Washington less safe?
Brzezinski injected: "Preparing for next January 6th to be more effective?"
Scarborough missed the obvious lesson from Uvalde that potential victims of a school shooting have a better chance of survival if they are allowed to have a gun near them in case they need to defend themselves.
The transcripts are below. Click "expand" to read:
MSNBC's Morning Joe
September 2, 2025
9:19 a.m. Eastern(video gap)
JOE SCARBOROUGH: ...to Republicans, Democrats, every public servant, it's menacing. It makes police officers' job that much harder --
MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Chilling.
SCARBOROUGH: -- in the nation's capital. This is insanity.
HEILEMANN: At the same time that we're having a -- this big debate about crime in Washington, D.C., where everyone is worried about violent crime in Washington, D.C. -- at the same time we're sending the National Guard into D.C. -- we also have -- we're going to have open carry.
SCARBOROUGH: People want -- yeah, people can walk around with AR-15s.
JOHN HEILEMANN: Bonkers.
SCARBOROUGH: It is bonkers. This is insanity.
BRZEZINSKI: Federal prosecutors will no longer bring felony charges against people for possessing rifles or shotguns in the District.
SCARBOROUGH: People in the White House want to walk around outside the White House and have people carrying AR-15s or shotguns?
JONATHAN LEMIRE: Of course there will be around some of the federal buildings -- there will be different rules that will apply, right? Secret Service will step in. They will not be allowed to carry around a shotgun or anything nearby.
SCARBOROUGH: What about on the mall?
LEMIRE: But that's just it. It extends beyond those barriers. This is so poorly, poorly thought out here. It says, at worst, violators could face a misdemeanor charge for --
(Scarborough can be heard laughing)
LEMIRE: -- illegally possessing an unregistered firearm. Pirro said in a statement that the change is based on the guidance from the DOJ, the Office of the Solicitor General, and she claims conforms with two Supreme Court decisions on guns.
SCARBOROUGH: No, no, it doesn't, No it doesn't. This is insanity. This is -- at the same time you're trying to make Washington, D.C., a safer place, you're telling freaks all over the country, "Come to Washington, D.C. -- if you have a problem with people on either side, walk around with an AR-15 or a shotgun and nothing bad is going to happen to you.
(...)
SCARBOROUGH: You're talking about making Washington, D.C., safer. I remember I was having a debate with a guy that was like an absolutist on guns, and after Uvalde. He was like, (uses mocking voice imitation) "Yeah, Mao and Stalin took away guns, and then they took over the country."
I said, "Yeah, so you're saying we need to go the other way where outside of the elementary school in Uvalde, you have like 200 law enforcement officers that were outgunned by one freak inside with an AR-15 he was able to walk into a store and get. That's the America you want -- that our law enforcement officers are outgunned?" Now, Jeanine Pirro is saying, "Come to Washington, D.C., open carry your AR-15s and your shotguns" -- and what does that do but make Washington less safe?
BRZEZINSKI: Preparing for next January 6th to be more effective?
(...)
HEILEMANN: What it suggests is that all the places in the city that have the worst violent crime -- it's going to be fine to carry open -- to carry AR-15s around, essentially saying, "Well, we got to protect our elected officials, so we'll have these zones where you can't have open carry." But in Southeast, in Northeast and Southwest, you'll be able to -- you just walk around brandishing your AR-15 which essentially, you know, makes clear that there's a different value for different kinds of life in Washington, D.C. -- let's put it that way.
Also does this not put the lie to the notion that what the federal takeover of policing in Washington, D.C., is not about crime. It's about this other thing ... if you were really focused on trying to prevent violent crime and get the violent crime rate down in Washington, you would not let Jeanine Pirro do what she's doing. And Donald Trump has that within his control.
