April 12, 2013 by David K. Sutton
Quote: Anderson Cooper Schools Republican Senator On Background Checks
“From a logic standpoint, how do you know if they’re a criminal, or have a serious mental issue, if you’re not doing any kind of check, if their relative who is an idiot decides to sell them a weapon or their friend decides to sell them a weapon? If nobody’s checking, how do you know they’re a good guy or bad guy?” – Anderson Cooper
And what was the response by Senator James Risch (R-ID) (after saying background checks don’t work)? — “Well, there’s no question that by expanding the background check, you will pick up some more of those people.”
Hook, line, and sinker.
Gun-loving Republicans = lousy arguments against sensible gun safety legislation.
Risch is a walking NRA talking point, which is typical for Republicans, but especially ones from Idaho. GOP politicians love their guns, especially in Idaho, unless you bring a gun to their workplace, legally, then they kinda sorta freak out. Idaho Republicans are more likely to ban vaginas than to ban guns.
Here’s the full exchange as posted on AMERICAblog.
COOPER: Why not control a relative selling a gun to a relative, or a friend selling a gun to a friend? Why not have a background check?
RISCH: The thing that really bothers me is, number one it doesn’t work, and number two it places the burden on law-abiding citizens. The person who’s gonna use a gun for illegal purposes is not gonna go through the background check system.
COOPER: But how do you know that somebody’s a law-abiding citizen, and who’s buying a gun from a relative, if they haven’t gone through a background check? — From a logic standpoint, how do you know if they’re a criminal, or have a serious mental issue, if you’re not doing any kind of check, if their relative who is an idiot decides to sell them a weapon or their friend decides to sell them a weapon? If nobody’s checking, how do you know they’re a good guy or bad guy?
RISCH: Well, there’s no question that by expanding the background check, you will pick up some more of those people.
