While interviewing Hillary Clinton on Thursday’s NBC Late Night, aired early Friday morning, host Seth Meyers lobbed softballs to the Democratic frontrunner on gun control: “...we have lived through so many tragic shootings...in recent months. You know, obviously, gun control is a big part of your campaign. But how can you convince people now that gun control – considering how many times it’s tried and failed – that it is anything more than a fantasy?”
Clinton seized the opportunity to recite liberal talking points: “Well, it isn't. And in part because most people in America, 92% the last I checked, and 85% of gun owners, support these common sense measures. Universal background checks, closing the gun show loophole, closing the online and Charleston loopholes. And doing whatever we can to repeal the immunity from all liability that gun makers and sellers have.”
She then slammed Republicans for standing up for gun rights: “I think more people are getting frustrated by, you know, the refusal of representatives to stand with the majority of Americans, the majority of gun owners, and take on the gun lobby.”
Meyers praised a “core group” of “responsible gun owners” “who want gun control,” but worried that Democrats “have sort of failed to connect with that NRA membership that agrees with the idea of universal background checks.” He fretted: “Why has there been such a failure? Is it because the NRA leadership is too strong? Is it because that lobbying arm is too strong?”
Moments later, he dismissed objections to new gun control measures as paranoia: “I think it’s irrational – there's obviously so many guns in this country, I don’t – no one – we're never getting those guns back....no one’s coming for anyone's guns. I think it's just, let's try to be a little bit more reasonable with who the next guns go to.”
Clinton proclaimed: “Well, that's exactly right. But you know, if you are trying to keep people paying dues and supporting your organization, you want to keep them upset....they want people to feel like, you know, the black helicopter’s gonna land in the backyard and your guns are gonna be taken. Totally unbelievably untrue.”
Here is a transcript of the exchange aired early on the morning of December 11:
12:54 AM ET
(...)
SETH MEYERS: Now, obviously, one of the events that I think spurred this latest chapter of things [Donald] Trump said were the San Bernardino shootings. And you know, we have lived through so many tragic shootings in just – you know, in recent months. You know, obviously, gun control is a big part of your campaign. But how can you convince people now that gun control – considering how many times it’s tried and failed – that it is anything more than a fantasy?
HILLARY CLINTON: Well, it isn't. And in part because most people in America, 92% the last I checked, and 85% of gun owners, support these common sense measures. Universal background checks, closing the gun show loophole, closing the online and Charleston loopholes. And doing whatever we can to repeal the immunity from all liability that gun makers and sellers have.
And this latest example, I think, has really mobilized people. We can't get a vote in the congress to prohibit people who are on the no-fly list from being able to buy a gun in America. Now, if you're too dangerous to fly in America, you ought to be too dangerous to buy a gun in America.
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
And so, I think more people are getting frustrated by, you know, the refusal of representatives to stand with the majority of Americans, the majority of gun owners, and take on the gun lobby. I'm not saying any of this is easy, because they are incredibly powerful. They intimidate people. They really try to make anybody who bucks them pay a political price. But I know we can do this in a way that is consistent with the rights of those who, under our Constitution, can buy and own guns, without opening the door so wide that we have people who should never have a gun – people who are felons and fugitives and stalkers and people with serious mental illness and now potential terrorists – from getting guns.
MEYERS: I do believe there is this core group of gun owners, are responsible gun owners. And yet, I feel like those who want gun control and certainly those in the Democratic Party, have sort of failed to connect with that NRA membership that agrees with the idea of universal background checks. Why has there been such a failure? Is it because the NRA leadership is too strong? Is it because that lobbying arm is too strong? How – because again, this will never happen, gun control will never happen without the help of responsible gun owners. And why hasn't that connection been able to be made?
CLINTON: Well, and I do think we all bear some responsibility for that. Yes, it is a big political risk for people. Because you know, when my husband passed and signed the Brady bill, the assault weapons ban, a lot of the Democrats who joined him because they thought it was the right thing to do lost their seats in the next election. Now, my husband was reelected, because you know, he has a way of being able to talk to people.
[APPLAUSE]
CLINTON: Yes, right?
MEYERS: Good at that.
CLINTON: And so, you know, he went to places and he said, “You know, look.” He hunted, he learned to shoot. I did too. And so it’s not a total foreign alien concept that people, you know, have guns and use them for appropriate purposes. And I do think that we don't have the right approach to it and we do need to reach out to more responsible gun owners. And you know, begin to try to say, “Look, we can do more to prevent as many deaths as possible.” We're not going to prevent them all. That's not likely. But we can sure do a better job than we're doing now.
MEYERS: Yeah, and I don’t think – you know, I think it’s irrational – there's obviously so many guns in this country, I don’t – no one – we're never getting those guns back.
CLINTON: No.
MEYERS: Like those people are gonna have those guns. And I think there’s – the messaging has always been so – and whether it’s the NRA that's framing this or it’s a failure of message – this idea that no one’s coming for anyone's guns.
CLINTON: No, no.
MEYERS: I think it's just, let's try to be a little bit more reasonable with who the next guns go to.
CLINTON: Well, that's exactly right. But you know, if you are trying to keep people paying dues and supporting your organization, you want to keep them upset. And so, the NRA, 30, 40 years ago was not the NRA of today. There were ways for people working together to try to figure out how we can have some common sense gun safety measures. Today, they want people to feel like, you know, the black helicopter’s gonna land in the backyard and your guns are gonna be taken. Totally unbelievably untrue. But it does create doubt, and then they just drive right through that. So, we have to do a better job and we have to do it from the bottom up, where more people in the communities, more local gun owners, stand up for it. And we have to try to do more from Washington.
MEYERS: That's great.
(...)
