Congressman Luis Gutierrez, a Democrat representing areas of Chicago, appeared as a guest on Thursday's New Day on CNN to discuss President Donald Trump's criticism of Chicago's leadership for the rising crime situation in the city. CNN host Alisyn Camerota failed to push back as her liberal guest began ranting that the National Rifle Association was partly to blame for increased homicides in his city.
CNN could have responded to Gutierrez's anti-gun assertions by recalling reports that police morale in Chicago has suffered in recent years because of more restrictive guidelines in the aftermath of scrutiny from the ACLU -- a story that a recent episode of CBS 60 Minutes dealt with which recounted an increase in homicides after police began stopping fewer suspects.
At about 8:18 a.m. ET, Rep. Gutierrez griped:
And here's the hypocrisy of it all. The fact is that Donald Trump loves the NRA. And during his campaign, he embraced them, they embraced him. The city of Chicago had some of the most stringent gun control laws. How were they eviscerated, Alisyn? Because the NRA funded lawsuits against our gun control measures, and then they say there's carnage in the city of Chicago. So what I want to say is, we want to control our own destiny.
The liberal Congressman added:
<<< Please support MRC's NewsBusters team with a tax-deductible contribution today. >>>
We need to control the gun violence on our street. It's a real epidemic, Alisyn. It's real. And it's -- but what we need is a President that doesn't tweet, but offers real solutions. Because then what you're doing is you're simply using the death and the murders of children and young people and Chicagoans for your own political gain.
Camerota cited crime statistics as she blandly followed up on his attacks against the NRA:
Congressman, let me put up some of the numbers so that people know what we're talking about. ...The homicides are up 57 percent in 2016 over 2015 -- 754. Shooting victims are up 46 percent -- 4,338 people shot in 2016. But, Congressman, do I understand you correctly, in terms of what you think is at the root of that? You think it's because the NRA -- because of their lawsuits, they were able to dismantle some of the gun laws, and that's what is at the root of this problem?
Gutierrez resumed his anti-gun rant as he began:
In part, yes. In part, yes, because what it does, Alisyn, it proliferates guns on our street. So, now, every dispute, right, every problem is resolved at the end of a gun barrel. And so the guns are not manufactured in the city of Chicago. They come from other states. So, as you weaken the guns laws, you make it less effective for the Chicago police.
After Gutierrez spent the remainder of his answer theorizing that other societal factors have also contributed to making young people more violent, Camerota switched topics as she continued:
Congressman, I also want to ask you about Mr. Trump's plans for the border wall. Let me play for you how he says that Mexico will end up indirectly paying for it. Listen. (PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP) Okay, it sounds as if what he's saying is that it will be done through remittances, meaning the money that Mexicans are making here in the U.S. that they send home to relatives, that those will somehow be used. What do you think of that plan?
A few weeks ago, on CBS 60 Minutes, correspondent Bill Whitaker recalled complaints about the ACLU: "Frustratoin among cops deepened with a new order to be more selective about who they stop, and write a two-page, detailed report for every one. It was the result of a threat by the American Civil Liberties Union to sue the department for racial profiling." Police stops dropped substantially which correlated with an increase in homicides.
Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Thursday, January 26, New Day on CNN:
REP. LUIS GUTIERREZ (D-IL): And here's the hypocrisy of it all. The fact is that Donald Trump loves the NRA. And during his campaign, he embraced them, they embraced him. The city of Chicago had some of the most stringent gun control laws. How were they eviscerated, Alisyn? Because the NRA funded lawsuits against our gun control measures, and then they say there's carnage in the city of Chicago. So what I want to say is, we want to control our own destiny. We need to control the gun violence on our street. It's a real epidemic, Alisyn.
ALISYN CAMEROTA: Yeah.
GUTIERREZ: It's real. And it's -- but what we need is a President that doesn't tweet, but offers real solutions. Because then what you're doing-
CAMEROTA: Yeah.
GUTIERREZ: -is you're simply using the death and the murders of children and young people and Chicagoans for your own political gain.
CAMEROTA: Congressman, let me put up some of the numbers so that people know what we're talking about. ...The homicides are up 57 percent in 2016 over 2015 -- 754. Shooting victims are up 46 percent -- 4,338 people shot in 2016. But, Congressman, do I understand you correctly, in terms of what you think is at the root of that? You think it's because the NRA -- because of their lawsuits, they were able to dismantle some of the gun laws, and that's what is at the root of this problem?
GUTIERREZ: In part, yes. In part, yes, because what it does, Alisyn, it proliferates guns on our street. So, now, every dispute, right, every problem is resolved at the end of a gun barrel. And so the guns are not manufactured in the city of Chicago. They come from other states. So, as you weaken the guns laws, you make it less effective for the Chicago police. There is that.
Do we need more police officers? Absolutely. I was there in 1993. I was elected to the Congress of the United States with Bill Clinton. What did we do? We put hundreds of thousands of police officers on the streets. We changed laws in order to be more effective in fighting crime. And crime did go down, Alisyn. There were more murders in the years before 1993 in Chicago, more murders in the years prior to 1993 than last year or this year. The fact is that they've risen again. Is it completely the problem? I don't think so, I think we live A Tale of Two Cities many times here in the city of Chicago. ... Because I know that in my neighborhood there isn't that kind of proliferation of gun violence in my neighborhood.
So it's really about neighborhood, so I wish we could come to the city of Chicago and see the devastation. We need jobs. We need economic opportunity, but we also need to look at, what is it and examine -- examine really, why does a sixteen-year-old shoot someone. That's not a problem you tweet about . It's a fundamental problem of how our society is changing and how violence is much more acceptable. And it's one that we really need to challenge.
CAMEROTA: Congressman, I also want to ask you about Mr. Trump's plans for the border wall. Let me play for you how he says that Mexico will end up indirectly paying for it. Listen. (PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP) Okay, it sounds as if what he's saying is that it will be done through remittances, meaning the money that Mexicans are making here in the U.S. that they send home to relatives, that those will somehow be used. What do you think of that plan?
