During an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, Democrat presidential hopeful Cory Booker could not say his gun controls would have prevented the Virginia Beach shooting.
Host Jake Tapper said, “The ATF says the two weapons used in the attack were handguns, not semiautomatic ‘assault rifles,’ and they say that they were purchased legally. How would your plan have stopped this tragedy, if at all?”
Booker responded by quickly shifting the conversation: “Well Jake, again, this is a tragedy today, but you know that every single day in the United States of America, in the aggregate, we have mass shootings that go on in neighborhoods like mine. I live in an inner city black and brown community.”
He continued talking, saying things like, “The idea that we’re helpless to stop this” is not supported by evidence. He talked about gun licensing in Connecticut and community projects in Oakland, until Tapper finally stopped him, saying, “I’m sorry to interrupt, but you keep saying things like ‘We’re not helpless.’ So I’m saying, what would have prevented this tragedy?”
Booker responded by talking about all the gun controls he supports, which are designed to “drop the level of violence overall.” But he could not list one that would have prevented the Virginia Beach shooting.
On June 2, 2019, Breitbart News reported that Virginia Beach police chief James Cervera indicated that no gun control would have stopped the shooting in his city from taking place.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.