During a March 24 appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre explained that Chicago is big on gun control, small on enforcement of existing gun laws–and he asked why NBC News won’t cover this.
In fact, LaPierre told David Gregory that Syracuse University’s track data on enforcement of federal gun laws in 2012 shows that “out of 90 jurisdictions in the country, [Chicago] ranked 90th.”
This substantiates claims the NRA has been making for years. Namely, that the problem isn’t a lack of gun laws but a lack of enforcement of existing gun laws.
LaPierre then asked Gregory:
Why doesn’t NBC News start with, “Shocking news on Chicago. Of all the jurisdictions in the country Chicago is dead last on enforcement of federal gun laws?” Why doesn’t the national press corps, with they’re sitting there with Jay Carney and the President and the Vice President, why don’t they say, “Why is Chicago dead last in enforcement of gun laws against gangs with guns, felons with guns, [and] drug dealers with guns?”
To this, Gregory’s meager response was: “And you support those as felonies, being charged as felonies?”
LaPierre responded that the NRA absolutely does. And not only that, he wants those who are charged with felonies to be taken off the street so they can’t keep committing crimes for which law-abiding citizens are being blamed.
Said LaPierre: “If you’re the President and the Vice President, and the Attorney General, and your job is to enforce these laws against…drug dealers, gangs, and felons that are walking around with guns in the street, and you don’t do it? [Then] you bear some responsibility. It is a tragedy.”