MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry says “a lot of people shoot their wives with perfectly legal guns” and that “they wouldn’t if they did not have them.”
Harris-Perry made the comments on her show Saturday during a panel discussion about guns in America and Quintonio LeGrier, who was shot and killed in Chicago by police after his father reported the 19-year-old for threatening him. (RELATED: MSNBC Host: When Republicans Say The Phrase ‘Hard Worker’ They’re Being Racist [VIDEO])
Panelist Jon Shane, a former cop who’s now a professor of criminal justice at John Jay College in New York, questioned Harris-Perry’s assertion, saying, “we’re not going to take guns away from people.”
Melissa Harris-Perry: It seems to me that part of what happened in each of these cases is — and the question of fear — is it in part because we live in a country where really anybody at any moment might, in fact, have a gun. Again, I keep thinking about Quintonio’s father in Chicago calling for help for his son, calling the police, and his son ends up shot and killed by the police. Now I don’t know exactly what happened, we will be learning more. But I presume some part of it is that these police officers think that this kid might be armed because we think everybody might be armed. Shouldn’t officers be the number one folks behind gun control?
Jon Shane: Well, you do have a lot of second amendment officers. I happen to favor carrying a gun myself. I don’t think there’s much wrong with it. The reality is how are we going to keep the illegal guns away from people? It’s a very easy thing to do to keep guns …
Harris-Perry: A lot of people shoot their wives with perfectly legal guns.
Shane: And?
Harris-Perry: So they wouldn’t if they did not have them. So, so …
Shane: But we’re not going to take guns away from people. We’re just going to make it harder for law-abiding citizens to get them.