SALON

Sunday, Mar 24, 2013 4:57 PM UTC

Sunday Show round-up: Bloomberg vs. LaPierre

Bloomberg says "insane" things about guns, argued Wayne LaPierre; and more from the Sunday shows

By

Topics: DoMA, Sunday shows, Michael Bloomberg, Rand Paul, Gun Control, Wayne LaPierre,

Sunday Show round-up: Bloomberg vs. LaPierre (Credit: AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

This week’s Sunday shows put New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Wayne LaPierre, the CEO of the National Rife Association, on opposite sides of the gun control debate. Here are the highlights:

On gun control:

Michael Bloomberg, who launched a $12 million ad blitz to push for gun control, promised that Congress would have a vote on an assault weapons ban. “We’ve been fighting since 2007 to get a vote. We are going to have a vote for sure on assault weapons and we’re going to have a vote on background checks,” he said on “Meet the Press.” Bloomberg added: “If we were to get background checks only, it wouldn’t be as good as if we got both, but look, we demanded a plan and then we demanded a vote. We’ve got the plan, we’re going to get the vote.”

Wayne LaPierre later slammed Bloomberg’s effort. “He can’t spend enough of of his $27 billion to try to impose his will on the American public,” LaPierre said on “Meet the Press.” He added that Bloomberg is “so reckless in terms of his comments on this whole gun issue.”

“We have people all over, millions of people, sending us 5, 10, 15, 20 dollar checks saying stand up to this guy that says that we can only have three bullets, which is what he said,” LaPierre said. “Stand up to this guy that says ridiculous things like, ‘The NRA wants firearms with nukes on them.’ I mean it’s insane the stuff he says.”

Colorado’s Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper, who recently signed into law a strict crackdown on guns in the state, admitted on “State of the Union” that an assault weapons ban is a “tough sell.”

“I think the feeling right now around assault weapons, at least in Colorado, is that they are so hard to define what an assault weapon is… there’s a lot of questions whether the 10 year federal ban was in existence, made a difference,” he said.

On gay marriage:

Though Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., wouldn’t say whether he thinks the Supreme Court should strike down DOMA, he did say that he believes federal laws should be more “neutral” on gay marriage, and leave it up to the states. ”I think there’s a chance the court could strike down the federalization of part of it,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.” “If they do, I think the way to fix it is maybe to try to make all of our laws more neutral towards the issue — and I don’t want the government promoting something I don’t believe in but I also don’t mind if the government tries to be neutral on the issue.”

David Boies, one of the lawyers arguing against Proposition 8, predicted that opponents of the ban would win the case before the Supreme Court. ”I think we’re gonna win,” he said on “Meet the Press.” “I don’t think we’re gonna win five-four.”

“I don’t think that this is the kind of issue that’s going to divide the court the way some other issues divide the court,” he added.

On Syria:

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, said that the “red line has been crossed” by Syrian President Bashir al-Assad. “When you look at the whole body of information over the last two years, there is mounting evidence that the Assad regime has used at least a small quantity of chemical weapons throughout the course of this conflict,” he said.

Jillian Rayfield is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on politics. Follow her on Twitter at @jillrayfield or email her at jrayfield@salon.com. More Jillian Rayfield.

Next Article

Related Stories

More Related Stories

Featured Slide Shows

The week in 10 pics

close X
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11
  • This photo. President Barack Obama has a laugh during the unveiling of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Tx., Thursday. Former first lady Barbara Bush, who candidly admitted this week we've had enough Bushes in the White House, is unamused.
    Reuters/Jason Reed

  • Rescue workers converge Wednesday in Savar, Bangladesh, where the collapse of a garment building killed more than 300. Factory owners had ignored police orders to vacate the work site the day before.
    AP/A.M. Ahad

  • Police gather Wednesday at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to honor campus officer Sean Collier, who was allegedly killed in a shootout with the Boston Marathon bombing suspects last week.
    AP/Elise Amendola

  • Police tape closes the site of a car bomb that targeted the French embassy in Libya Tuesday. The explosion wounded two French guards and caused extensive damage to Tripoli's upscale al-Andalus neighborhood.
    AP/Abdul Majeed Forjani

  • Protestors rage outside the residence of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday following the rape of a 5-year-old girl in New Delhi. The girl was allegedly kidnapped and tortured before being abandoned in a locked room for two days.
    AP/Manish Swarup

  • Clarksville, Mo., residents sit in a life boat Monday after a Mississippi River flooding, the 13th worst on record.
    AP/Jeff Roberson

  • Workers pause Wednesday for a memorial service at the site of the West, Tx., fertilizer plant explosion, which killed 14 people and left a crater more than 90 feet wide.
    AP/The San Antonio Express-News, Tom Reel

  • Aerial footage of the devastation following a 7.0 magnitude earthquake in China's Sichuan province last Saturday. At least 180 people were killed and as many as 11,000 injured in the quake.
    AP/Liu Yinghua

  • On Wednesday, Hazmat-suited federal authorities search a martial arts studio in Tupelo, Miss., once operated by Everett Dutschke, the newest lead in the increasingly twisty ricin case. Last week, President Barack Obama, Sen. Roger Wicker, R.-Miss., and a Mississippi judge were each sent letters laced with the deadly poison.
    AP/Rogelio V. Solis

  • The lighting of Freedom Hall at the George W. Bush Presidential Center Thursday is celebrated with (what else but) red, white and blue fireworks.
    AP/David J. Phillip

  • Recent Slide Shows

  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Facebook
  • Thumbnails
  • Fullscreen
  • 1 of 11

Related Videos

Comments

 1 Comments

Comment Preview

Your name will appear as username

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href=""> <b> <em> <strong> <i> <blockquote>

follow salon

Most Read

Popular on Reddit

links from salon.com

vote
Would we give up burgers to stop climate change? New study suggests if we reduce our intake of animal products by 25%, we can halt climate change
754 points755 points | 366 comments
vote
Facebook has been used to find ex-lovers, childhood BFFs or the one who got away. He used it to find the guy who, without his consent, made him his drug mule.
247 points248 points | 23 comments
vote
“This could be a career ender for Michele Bachmann”
151 points152 points | 65 comments
vote
Poll: 3 in 10 voters say “armed revolution might be necessary” - 29% say they believe they'll have to act "in order to protect our liberties" in the next few years
44 points45 points | 16 comments
vote
"New evidence reveals big banks still illegally foreclosing on thousands of homes – and weak settlement allows it."
29 points30 points | comment

From Around the Web

Presented by Scribol
listener_new_rect The Listener: "The Shelter Cycle": Raised in a cult

Recommendations