In the wake of yet another senseless mass shooting tragedy in America, the conversation inevitably turns to gun control, while those on the opposite side of aisle cry “too soon!” With these horrific events occurring one after the other now, however, you have to ask — will there ever be a good time to have a sensible gun control conversation? During a joint press conference with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, President Trump was asked about his stance on immigration as it relates to gun laws.
“You’ve talked about wanting to put extreme vetting on people trying to come into the United States,” asked NBC News reporter Ali Vitali. “But I wonder if you would consider extreme vetting for people trying to buy a gun?” Trump’s response was unfortunate, to say the least.
“Well, you’re bringing up a situation that shouldn’t be brought up too much right now, we could let a little time go by but it’s okay if you feel that’s an appropriate question, even though we’re in the heart of South Korea, I will certainly answer your question,” the president started off, hostilely. “If you did what you’re suggesting, there would have been no difference three days ago.”
He continued, “And you might not have had that very brave person who happened to have a gun or a rifle in his truck go out and shoot him, and hit him and neutralize him. And I can only say this: If he didn’t have a gun, instead of having 26 dead, you would have had hundreds more dead. So that’s the way I feel about it. Not gonna help.”
When asked a follow up on whether or not he would consider stricter gun control going forward, Trump used Chicago as a scapegoat, claiming that despite “having the strongest gun laws in America,” the city was a “disaster.” As Mediaite points out, not only was the president’s statement factually inaccurate, but most of the firearms used in violent crime in Chicago are purchased in neighboring states with looser gun laws and then brought into the city.