On Tuesday's Piers Morgan Live, CNN's Christiane Amanpour claimed that states with strict gun laws have "lower gun crime" and argued for more gun control. By citing "states" she ignored cities like Chicago, which has strict gun laws along with alarming homicide numbers.
"The fact of the matter is that in states inside the United States where there are tougher gun laws, there is lower gun crime," Amanpour stated. She continued, referencing other countries: "in these other countries which have had their own massacres which then took these measures, there has been very little, if not any, gun crime." [Video below the break. Audio here.]
Host Piers Morgan jumped in and argued for stronger gun laws: "the background check, to me, is just bleedingly obvious. And the idea it's all come down just to that, to me, is offensive to those families in Newtown."
Amanpour may have been citing this Center for American Progress (CAP) report which argues that states with weak gun laws suffer higher gun violence rates than states with stricter gun laws. Yet the focus on states ignores cities with high gun violence rates like Chicago or New Orleans, which may contribute to much of a state's total in gun violence numbers.
Chicago is known for having strict gun control laws, and yet is well-known for its rampant gun violence. Washington, DC also has a high gun homicide rate despite strict gun control laws. So Amanpour's argument doesn't hold up once smaller areas like cities and regions are taken into consideration.
Below is a transcript of the segment, which aired on Piers Morgan Live on April 9 at 9:15 p.m. EDT:
PIERS MORGAN: Very quickly, Christiane Amanpour, I can see you reacting to that debate. What is your view? Because you've traveled in proper war zones around the world.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN host: Well, look, I mean, this debate has been going on for a long time. The fact of the matter is that in states inside the United States where there are tougher gun laws, there is lower gun crime. And I think you are right in saying that, in these other countries which have had their own massacres which then took these measures, there has been very little, if not any, gun crime.
So I think that is -- that is a real fact and I'm watching it on my own program; we know that Thursday is going to be the real showdown day in the U.S. Capitol to see how the Congress reacts; Newtown families are there. They have been talking about it. And they're very committed to sensible gun control, not taking away people's rights to have the guns that they're allowed to have. But look, even the Columbine massacre, they say, wouldn't have happened had there been these background checks, so the third person would not have been able to buy this gun.
MORGAN: Well the background check, to me, is just bleedingly obvious. And the idea it's all come down just to that, to me, is offensive to those families in Newtown.
