In the wake of the shooting deaths of two Virginia journalists, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Thursday morning argued that the U.S. does not need stricter gun control laws to reduce the rate of gun deaths.
“It’s just an awful tragedy,” Christie said on “CBS This Morning” while responding to the murders. “My heart goes out to those folks who suffered that loss. It’s a terrible thing. I think most Americans are tired — tired of violence, tired of lawlessness. They want folks to do something about it.”
Co-host Norah O’Donnell asked Christie if he attributed the low rate of gun death in New Jersey to the state’s strict gun control laws.
“No, that’s because they have a governor who enforces the law and also supports community policing,” he responded, adding that community policing techniques have helped the crime rate in Camden.
He called for a focus on mental health and law enforcement.
“We need to have more information about people’s mental health background. But we don’t need new laws in this country to do that,” he said on CBS. “All you hear now is: Let’s have new laws, new laws, but we don’t enforce the laws we have.”
In a separate interview on “Fox and Friends,” Christie responded to President Obama’s Wednesday statement that “the number of people who die from gun-related incidents around this country dwarfs any deaths that happen through terrorism.”
“I don’t know that anybody in America believes that they feel more threatened by this than they feel a threat by ISIS or by other terrorist groups around the world,” Christie said on Fox News.
Or…y’know…the mafia just doesn’t like using guns…
In all seriousness, police and law enforcement is all well and good, but without laws limiting gun purchases and use, it doesn’t matter a hill of beans how many police officers you have.
I should add that this comes after my state had a woman kill four people with a stolen gun which was not reported to the police. I figure that lobbying my state legislators to put in place a law which makes anyone who does not report a stolen weapon to the police be considered an accessory or in some way be considered culpable for the crime would be useless since it would never pass thanks to the gun industry.
Wait. What???
N.J. homicides soared to seven-year high in 2013 after surges in Newark, Trenton
That’s it, Chris, grovel and pander and lie more than anyone else. That’s the mark of a true leader.
“We need to have more information about people’s mental health background. But we don’t need new laws in this country to do that,”
Yes you do, fucktard. Ever heard of HIPAA? Ever looked at what actually gets done for a background check?
As for people not enforcing the laws we have, who and where do you think these people are who are ever so recalcitrant about gun laws? Which states? Which geographic regions? Who do they fucking vote for? Hmmmmmmmmmmm?
Without comparisons vs other states, or a timeline of gun deaths vs laws, or something, this is one data point that doesn’t make much of a point.