On Tuesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” former Obama advisor David Axelrod said that Chicago’s problems with gun violence would be greatly improved if tougher gun control laws were passed at the federal level.
Axelrod cited a CBS poll from last week that showed some deterioration in the public’s support for stricter gun laws, but noted a portion of the poll that showed strong support for universal background checks.
“I’ll tell you what I find remarkable, and not just that 90 percent, including 86 percent of Republicans support background checks. But now they’re going after the trafficking laws — 86 percent of Americans support the background checks, expanded background checks. And more than 90 percent, 86 percent of Republicans.”
“Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough was astonished by the week-old statistic. But Axelrod went on to argue that it was lobbying efforts from the NRA responsible for “young lives in places like Chicago.”
“I just want to say this — I come from the city of Chicago,” Axelrod said. “We know we have had a violence problem there. A lot of it has to do with straw buyers arming street gangs. There is no doubt and every law enforcement person will tell you that stronger trafficking laws combined with universal background checks would make a real difference.”
“People are afraid of the NRA and trading their jobs for young lives in places like Chicago,” he continued. “And it is a terrible blight. You know, hopefully people will step up and do the right thing. It is extraordinary to have all the country on one side and the Congress on the other.”