MSNBC Host Joe Scarborough compared efforts to pass gun control to the abolition of slavery on “Morning Joe” Monday.
“It is progress,” Scarborough said. “Slow progress but progress. I’m sure you know … Abraham Lincoln was often criticized for moving too slowly toward ending slavery. Abolitionists like Frederick Douglass noted the view from the genuine abolition ground, Mr. Lincoln seemed tardy, cold, dull and indifferent.” (RELATED: ‘Disarming You Is The Point’: Tucker Slams Biden’s Gun Control Speech)
A bipartisan group of senators announced a framework for gun legislation in the wake of a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 19 children and two teachers, as well as shootings in Buffalo and Tulsa.
The framework would incentivize states to enact so-called “red flag” laws, enhance background checks for those under 21, add more funding for school security and mental health and crack down on “straw purchases,” according to Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut.
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“Lincoln was an incrementalist because his enemies were absolutists in their support of slavery,” Scarborough said. “So today, take a deep breath. Those seeking meaningful public safety reform find themselves surrounded by gun manufacturers and their allies who are trying to block laws that Americans support and laws that could slow down and eventually stop mass killings in our schools.”
“Lincoln once said of his often criticized march toward emancipation, and it being too slow, ‘I am a slow walker, but I never walk back,’” Scarborough said.
A spokesman for the National Shooting Sports Foundation took aim at Scarborough’s comments in a statement to The Daily Caller News Foundation.
“Mr. Scarborough ignores the fact that some of the first gun control laws introduced in this country were laws designed to disenfranchise Black Americans of their Constitutional right to keep and bear arms,” Mark Oliva told TheDCNF. “Mr. Scarborough ignores the fact that African Americans are among the fastest growing demographic group of lawful gun buyers, with a 58 percent increase of African Americans taking ownership of their Second Amendment rights in 2020.”
MSNBC did not respond to a request from TheDCNF for comment.
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