April 18, 2021

During a discussion about the 45 mass shootings just in the last month in the United States, CNN's Pamela Brown pushed Kentucky GOP Rep. James Comer on what policies Republicans would be willing to support to curb the violence, with the Congressman pushing the usual right-wing talking points about mental health, drug abuse and "the breakdown of the traditional family," Comer also made the assertion that gun laws don't work, citing the gun violence in cities such as Chicago and Washington D.C. that have banned guns.

Brown proceeded to dismantle that argument from Comer. "I just want to make sure that we look at the numbers and facts when you make say something. But I did look at the numbers for crimes in cities and states with strict gun laws. And I saw what you had said repeatedly, but nearly two thirds of crime guns were covered in states with strong gun laws was originally sold in states with weak gun laws. So if gun laws don't matter, why are criminals going to states with weaker gun laws, bringing that gun back to a state with a stronger gun laws and committing crimes?"

"Well, I can't answer that," Comer responded, before pretending that his state doesn't have a gun violence problem as well, with cities like Louisville seeing a record number of murders last year, and 27 shootings in Lexington since January of this year.

Comer tried to pretend his state doesn't have any issues because the criminals are afraid of all of those gun toting 2nd Amendment loving Republicans out there packing heat. "I think if a criminal really sits and thinks about it, and they want to go in and create havoc, they know that in areas where there's more gun ownership, there's less - they're less likely to achieve their goals. And that's a terrible example to use. But I think that's really what the data would show."

Sadly Brown didn't try to pin him down on what data he was basing that ridiculous assertion on, but she did repeat the statistic on nearly two thirds of crime guns recovered in states with strong gun laws being sold in states with weak laws. Brown also took him apart later in the interview with statistics on the strong support across the board for background checks, and his party's refusal to consider that support when it comes to passing any sort of gun control measures.

Republicans are much more concerned about the gun lobby and the NRA than they are the health and safety, or the will of their constituents, as Comer made obvious here.

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