When it comes to CNN and gun control, there's only one side that's acceptable. On Monday morning, CNN's New Day show devoted a segment to letting activist and frequent guest Fred Guttenberg trash Republicans and cheer for Democrats to enact more gun laws, supposedly to stop the kinds of shootings that happened over the past weekend.
After running a full report on a spate of shootings, co-host Brianna Keilar fought back tears as she introduced Guttenberg and asked for his reaction. Even though the piece that ran gave no indication of the details of how any of the criminals acquired their guns, the anti-gun activist immediately began by hinting that stricter laws would have prevented the crime wave:
My frustration -- my fury is directed right now at those in Washington, D.C., who keep watching this happen and won't do anything. Listen, Brianna, this weekend was predictable. We have -- those of us in the gun safety movement have been warning that this moment is going to happen, and it's going to continue because the last administration unleashed this gun surge through COVID, and as we come out of COVID, we have all these new gun owners and all these new guns. They said guns were the solution. So here's my advice to anybody who wants to put an end to this. Right now, today, pick up everyone you know working in the gun safety movement and find out what we can do.
Guttenberg's 14-year-old daughter Jamie was killed at Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018. And while that is obviously terrible and tragic, there are plenty of family members of victims (such as those killed by illegal immigrants) that CNN doesn't celebrate.
Tearing into Republicans, he added:
The Republican Party -- I saw it last week, I testified in Congress -- they have checked out of governing. They do not want to be a part of stopping gun violence. They do not want to be part of saving lives. It's time for the Democratic Party to go it alone. We have do this. This will keep happening if we don't change what we're doing.
Keilar gave no challenge to his claims as she followed up by inviting him to complain that President Joe Biden is not doing enough:
Look, the key is legislative, right? Doing something when it comes to laws because you were at the executive order that we saw -- several orders, actually -- that we saw President Biden put out here recently. And what that really highlighted was that it's pretty limited actually what the administration can do. That said, he has the bully pulpit. Is he doing enough?
After praising a few things President Biden had done, the liberal activist demanded more:
I demand the Senate at this point break the filibuster on this issue because if they don't, every single day, every weekend, this is going to be normal. And I -- I again say it. The Republican party has said, "We will not engage in anything to govern." We are all know -- sadly about Marjorie Taylor Greene -- they will not govern. So it is time for the Democrats to do this alone. And so, for those in the Senate who think, "You know, should we or shouldn't we break the filibuster?" do it.
No mention was made of the role of anti-police activism and initiatives by liberals to incarcerate fewer criminals in stoking more crime.
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Transcript follows. Click "expand" to read more.
CNN
New Day
May 24, 2021
7:17 a.m. Eastern
FRED GUTTENBERG, FATHER OF PARKLAND SHOOTING VICTIM: My frustration -- my fury is directed right now at those in Washington, D.C., who keep watching this happen and won't do anything. Listen, Brianna, this weekend was predictable. We have -- those of us in the gun safety movement have been warning that this moment is going to happen, and it's going to continue because the last administration unleashed this gun surge through COVID, and as we come out of COVID, we have all these new gun owners and all these new guns. They said guns were the solution. So here's my advice to anybody who wants to put an end to this. Right now, today, pick up everyone you know working in the gun safety movement and find out what we can do.
The Republican party -- I saw it last week, I testified in Congress -- they have checked out of governing. They do not want to be a part of stopping gun violence. They do not want to be part of saving lives. It's time for the Democratic party to go it alone. We have do this. This will keep happening if we don't change what we're doing.
KEILAR: You -- look, the key is legislative, right? Doing something when it comes to laws because you were at the executive order that we saw -- several orders, actually -- that we saw President Biden put out here recently. And what that really highlighted was that it's pretty limited actually what the administration can do. That said, he has the bully pulpit. Is he doing enough?
GUTTENBERG: You know, listen, that day was a really important day because the executive actions and the appointment of Dave Shipman for the ATF, which much be approved, were big deals. He needs to push the Senate. The House is passing legislation -- the House is holding hearings. The Senate is finally holding hearings -- thank you, Senator Blumenthal.
But no, we need to do more. It's not enough. I demand the Senate at this point break the filibuster on this issue because if they don't, every single day, every weekend, this is going to be normal. And I -- I again say it. The Republican party has said, "We will not engage in anything to govern." We are all know -- sadly about Marjorie Taylor Greene -- they will not govern. So it is time for the Democrats to do this alone. And so, for those in the Senate who think, "You know, should we or shouldn't we break the filibuster?" do it.
