WEBVTT 00:02.033 --> 00:04.366 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% JUDY WOODRUFF: As more becomes known about the alleged shooter's troubled past, lawmakers 00:04.366 --> 00:09.366 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% are looking at ways to address what some critics call a broken background check system. 00:11.366 --> 00:14.433 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, has been one of the most vocal critics for 00:14.433 --> 00:19.433 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% reforming gun laws following the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in his home state 00:20.333 --> 00:22.400 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% in 2012. 00:22.400 --> 00:25.933 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% We spoke a short time ago, and I started by asking him what needs to happen now. 00:25.933 --> 00:27.966 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% SEN. 00:27.966 --> 00:30.300 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% CHRIS MURPHY (D), Connecticut: Well, it's an open secret that the existing background 00:30.300 --> 00:32.333 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% check system is program. 00:32.333 --> 00:36.766 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And people are waking up to the knowledge now that the Department of Defense has not 00:36.766 --> 00:41.000 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% been uploading lots and lots of records of people who shouldn't be able to get guns into 00:41.000 --> 00:43.033 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% the system. 00:43.033 --> 00:47.433 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% But the fact of the matter is, there are many states that upload almost no records to the 00:49.366 --> 00:53.133 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% background check system, leaving the FBI to go out and try to get those records through 00:53.133 --> 00:55.233 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% other means. 00:55.233 --> 00:57.466 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% That means there are hundreds of thousands of people who shouldn't buy weapons who are 00:57.466 --> 01:02.466 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% either seriously mentally ill or who have been convicted of serious crimes who walk 01:04.466 --> 01:07.066 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% into gun stores and are able to walk out with weapons, like the shooter in Texas. 01:07.066 --> 01:11.333 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% Hopefully, this may be one of the few areas of common cause. 01:11.333 --> 01:16.333 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% I talked today with Senator John Cornyn, one of the biggest NRA proponents in the Senate, 01:18.333 --> 01:21.600 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% and we committed to try to work together on tightening up the existing background check 01:22.100 --> 01:24.100 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% system. 01:24.100 --> 01:26.600 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% This guy should have never gotten a gun, and, hopefully, Republicans and Democrats can do 01:26.600 --> 01:29.066 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% something about that. 01:29.066 --> 01:32.600 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: So, Senator, you're suggesting that the loopholes in the background system 01:32.600 --> 01:34.533 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% were well known. 01:34.533 --> 01:37.233 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% If that's the case, why wasn't it brought to the public's attention before now? 01:37.233 --> 01:38.866 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% SEN. 01:38.866 --> 01:41.533 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% CHRIS MURPHY: Well, it has been brought to the public's attention. 01:41.533 --> 01:44.866 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% We have had legislation in Congress for multiple sessions to improve and strengthen the background 01:46.700 --> 01:48.766 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% check system. 01:48.766 --> 01:52.466 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% The House of Representatives passed funding a few years ago to give states more money 01:52.466 --> 01:54.600 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% to upload records to NICS. 01:54.600 --> 01:59.000 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% The Republicans in Congress have never been willing to move this legislation, have never 01:59.000 --> 02:02.633 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% been willing to fund states in order to put records online. 02:02.633 --> 02:05.033 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% In fact, they have been moving the opposite direction. 02:05.033 --> 02:09.733 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% Earlier this year, Republicans passed legislation that was signed by President Trump that took 02:11.766 --> 02:15.466 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% 75,000 people with serious mental illness off the list of people who are prohibited 02:16.433 --> 02:18.533 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% from buying weapons. 02:18.533 --> 02:22.933 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% It seems that, maybe in light of this tragedy, there is some willingness to finally close 02:24.933 --> 02:27.233 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% these loopholes and make sure that the background check system works, but everybody has known 02:27.233 --> 02:30.000 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% about this and many of us have been trying to fix it for years. 02:30.000 --> 02:34.500 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: So do you think there is a genuine change of view on the other side? 02:34.500 --> 02:36.533 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% SEN. 02:36.533 --> 02:40.066 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% CHRIS MURPHY: Well, I know that Senator Cornyn has been the strongest opponent of many of 02:40.066 --> 02:45.066 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% the commonsense gun safety changes, like universal background checks, that we have tried the 02:45.766 --> 02:47.766 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% make. 02:47.766 --> 02:51.233 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And, today, he and I talked seriously about working together to try the make sure that 02:51.233 --> 02:56.233 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% states are uploading this information about criminals and people with serious mental illness 02:56.233 --> 02:58.366 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% into the database. 02:58.366 --> 03:02.700 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And that's not sufficient in order to protect Americans, in part because that only applies 03:02.700 --> 03:04.766 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% if you buy your gun at a gun store. 03:04.766 --> 03:09.100 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% If you buy it at a gun show or online, even if you're on the prohibited list, you will 03:09.100 --> 03:11.133 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% still walk out with a weapon. 03:11.133 --> 03:13.633 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% But it's a step in the right direction, if you can work together on this. 03:13.633 --> 03:17.500 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: And you're prepared to work with Senator Cornyn and others on this? 03:17.500 --> 03:19.033 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% SEN. 03:19.033 --> 03:21.766 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% CHRIS MURPHY: I think you have the crawl before you can walk. 03:21.766 --> 03:26.766 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And I am willing to do anything to try to show the American public that we are not just 03:28.566 --> 03:32.500 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% going to sit idly by and allow shooting after shooting to happen. 03:32.500 --> 03:37.500 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% I think, if Republicans can flex that muscle a little bit and tighten up our gun laws, 03:39.400 --> 03:42.000 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% maybe show a little bit of resistance to the gun lobby, they will find out that it's not 03:42.000 --> 03:47.000 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% that hard and they actually get a lot of applause from a cross-section of their constituents 03:48.366 --> 03:50.433 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% back home. 03:50.433 --> 03:54.366 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% JUDY WOODRUFF: But, just to clarify, the Air Force acknowledging that there was an error, 03:55.833 --> 03:57.200 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% you're suggesting it's more than just a single error? 03:57.200 --> 03:58.733 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% SEN. 03:58.733 --> 04:01.333 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% CHRIS MURPHY: It is much more than a single error. 04:01.333 --> 04:05.333 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% The data that I have seen suggests that, while the military is uploading information relative 04:07.333 --> 04:11.400 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% to people who have been given dishonorable discharges, those that have been bad conduct 04:12.833 --> 04:15.433 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% discharges are very often not put into the system. 04:15.433 --> 04:20.300 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% It doesn't look to me like this was an individual act of oversight. 04:20.300 --> 04:24.233 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% It looks to me like there's a much bigger systematic problem that we need to fix. 04:24.233 --> 04:28.866 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: President Trump, for the second day in a row now, he has commented on the 04:28.866 --> 04:30.900 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% shooting. 04:30.900 --> 04:34.866 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Today, he is arguing again that it's fortunate that someone had a gun and was able to use 04:36.033 --> 04:38.066 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% it on the shooter outside the church. 04:38.066 --> 04:42.200 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% He's gone on to say more gun restrictions might have prevented this neighbor from doing 04:42.200 --> 04:43.200 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% what he did. 04:43.200 --> 04:45.233 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% SEN. 04:45.233 --> 04:47.300 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% CHRIS MURPHY: Yes, I don't know if anybody has told the president that 26 people died 04:47.300 --> 04:51.966 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% inside that church and that he was only pursued by civilians once he had murdered 26 people, 04:54.166 --> 04:56.200 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% including children and seniors. 04:56.200 --> 05:00.733 align:left position:20%,start line:71% size:70% And despite the fact that Texas allows you to carry a concealed weapon almost anywhere, 05:00.733 --> 05:05.733 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% explicitly inside churches, this shooter, by using a military-style assault weapon, 05:07.633 --> 05:11.800 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% was able to engage in one of the worst mass shootings in American history. 05:11.800 --> 05:16.800 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% So, clearly, a good guy with a gun didn't stop a bad guy with a gun this weekend in 05:18.033 --> 05:20.066 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% Texas. 05:20.066 --> 05:24.033 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% It is part of this absurd mythology that the gun industry has tried to perpetuate in this 05:25.233 --> 05:27.233 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% country, which is never, ever true. 05:27.233 --> 05:31.933 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% Plenty of places that have lots of good guys with guns have mass shootings that are not 05:31.933 --> 05:33.966 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% stopped in that manner. 05:33.966 --> 05:36.266 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: I'm sure you know, Senator, even some Democrats have this view. 05:36.266 --> 05:40.866 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% On the "NewsHour" last night, there was a Democratic congressman, Henry Cuellar, who 05:40.866 --> 05:44.466 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% pointed out that people with guns could help prevent things like this. 05:44.466 --> 05:45.733 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% SEN. 05:45.733 --> 05:48.400 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% CHRIS MURPHY: It's just not what the data shows. 05:48.400 --> 05:51.266 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% And it's not what the anecdotal evidence shows. 05:51.266 --> 05:56.266 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% There were plenty of people in Dallas with weapons when a sniper started firing from 05:56.866 --> 05:59.066 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% above the scene. 05:59.066 --> 06:03.800 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% There's the ability in Nevada to carry weapons in public spaces. 06:03.800 --> 06:05.833 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% They didn't stop that sniper. 06:05.833 --> 06:09.733 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% And, similarly, in Texas, some of the loosest gun laws in the world didn't stop him. 06:09.733 --> 06:13.300 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% If you own a gun, whether you like it or not, the data tells you that that gun is much more 06:13.300 --> 06:18.300 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% likely to be used to kill you than it is to be used by you to kill an assailant or an 06:19.600 --> 06:20.600 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% intruder. 06:20.600 --> 06:21.733 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% That's not my opinion. 06:21.733 --> 06:23.766 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% That's the facts. 06:23.766 --> 06:26.533 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: And, finally, Senator, the question of bump stocks, they got a lot of 06:26.533 --> 06:29.600 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% attention after the Las Vegas shooting. 06:29.600 --> 06:31.000 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% Where does that stand right now? 06:31.000 --> 06:33.033 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% SEN. 06:33.033 --> 06:36.466 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% CHRIS MURPHY: Well, Republicans say that they want to work on it, but we have not seen any 06:36.466 --> 06:38.533 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% willingness to put legislation forward. 06:38.533 --> 06:42.566 align:left position:10%,start line:83% size:80% The problem is the existing statute is truly ambiguous. 06:42.566 --> 06:47.566 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% It is not clear-cut that the ATF has the ability to ban these after-market modifications by 06:48.966 --> 06:49.966 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% themselves. 06:49.966 --> 06:52.533 align:left position:10%,start line:89% size:80% And they have told us that. 06:52.533 --> 06:56.433 align:left position:10%,start line:71% size:80% Thus, it's up to Congress to make clear what we have always agreed upon, that people shouldn't 06:57.166 --> 06:58.600 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% have automatic weapons. 06:58.600 --> 07:00.800 align:left position:20%,start line:83% size:70% The ATF likely can't do this by themselves. 07:00.800 --> 07:02.766 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% Congress has to do it. 07:02.766 --> 07:05.966 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% But Republicans who say they're open to it don't seem willing to actually put forward 07:05.966 --> 07:07.700 align:left position:30%,start line:89% size:60% the legislation. 07:07.700 --> 07:10.733 align:left position:20%,start line:77% size:70% We're going to try to hold them to it in the coming days and weeks. 07:10.733 --> 07:14.266 align:left position:10%,start line:77% size:80% JUDY WOODRUFF: Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, thank you very much. 07:14.266 --> 07:15.266 align:left position:40%,start line:89% size:50% SEN. 07:15.266 --> 07:15.433 align:left position:20%,start line:89% size:70% CHRIS MURPHY: Thanks.