In the anti-gun hurricane that has been the liberal media’s response to the tragic Texas school shooting all week, including calls for sweeping bans on everything from rifles to handguns to shotguns, the eye of that storm seemed to pass over CNN’s The Lead on Thursday as anchor Jake Tapper brought on the founder of The Reload (the home for “sober, serious firearms journalism”) former MRCTV writer, MRC Bulldog Award winner Stephen Gutowski to take a sober look at what policies proposed by Democrats and Republicans could have chance to be enacted.
Tapper began by noting that “Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says he told Texas Senator John Cornyn to work to find a bipartisan solution, to work with Democrats,” and looked to Gutowski as “a supporter of the Second Amendment” for what “might work.”
“I don’t think there’s a single switch that you can flip that’s going to solve the issue. Right? Yes, it’s something politicians often say. But I think it’s absolutely true,” Gutowski said.
He also pointed out that no matter what gets proposed “there’s always going to be some example of a shooting where whatever you’re trying to apply to prevent it wouldn’t have worked.”
Tapper thought he had found an important conflict between state laws regarding age requirements for purchasing handguns. Tapper demanded clarification. Gutowski set things straight on both the age restrictions and how handguns were statistically used most often in crimes and mass shootings (click “expand”):
GUTOWSKI
TAPPER: To get a Wyoming handgun, you must be at least 21.
GUTOWSKI
TAPPER: But 18 for a more dangerous weapon seems – it doesn’t make sense.
GUTOWSKI Long guns are far less likely to be used for crimes by handguns than they are long guns. Because handguns are used more often in crimes than long guns, this is traditionally why they have been more closely scrutinized.
On the prospect of red flag laws, Gutowski felt “the possibility for passing them in Texas or at the state level, or at the federal level, I think there’s more chance of that happening than something like an assault weapons ban, you know, a total ban on sales.”
With a graph showing a “52 percent” increase in “active shooter incidents” from the FBI (which shows a much smaller number than the false 213 mass shootings number the Gun Violence Archive peddles), Tapper wanted to know why we’ve seen such an increase.
But before getting to the why, Gutowski explained that “active shooter” meant “attempts at mass shootings – active shooters, situations are not necessarily successful in carrying on an attack like we saw in Texas.”
After that, he moved on to the why. He pointed out the fact that many of these shooters had troubled families.
There are some commonalities among many of these young shooters. They’re often men with a past of domestic violence or family problems. You know what? They are often troubled individuals and leave warning signs long before anything happens. However, it can be easier to identify a number of warning signs in certain cases.
Tapper agreed hindsight is 20/20 and catching them beforehand is “not easy.” “But the conversation is important and we appreciate you being here,” he concluded.
Below is the transcript. Click “expand to read:
CNN’s The Lead
April 26, 2022
Eastern at 4:22 p.m.JAKE TAPPER – Stephen Gutowski joins us to talk. He founded the website. [The]Reload.com. He is also a gun safety teacher. His knowledge is extensive and I was interested in having him come to talk with me about the possibilities and how they could be used.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell stated that he has told Texas Senator John Cornyn, the Senate’s Deputy Leader, to seek a bipartisan solution and to cooperate with Democrats. Democrats are discussing a number of issues, including a national red-flag law, which would alert others when somebody acts in a manner that could be dangerous to themselves or others. Also, having a judge say, “Let’s ensure this person cannot buy guns for any short time” or increasing background checks.
Since long, you’ve reported on firearms. You support the Second Amendment. How do you see the Second Amendment working?
STEPHEN GUTOWSKI (The Reload, founder): You know, I don’t think there’s a single switch that you can flip that’s going to solve the issue. Right? Yes, it’s something politicians often talk about. But I think it’s absolutely true, there’s always going to be some example of a shooting where whatever you’re trying to apply to prevent it wouldn’t have worked. It’s not possible to identify a single policy that could have stopped this shooting in Texas.
Given what we know now about the events, it is easy to imagine how hardening schools could have been a help.
TAPPER: Right.
GUTOWSKI
TAPPER: To obtain a Wyoming handgun you have to be at least 21.
GUTOWSKI
TAPPER: But 18 for a more dangerous weapon seems – it doesn’t make sense.
GUTOWSKI Long guns are far less likely to be used for crimes by handguns than they are long guns. This is why handguns have been subject to greater scrutiny.
But like I said, after Parkland they did pass an age restriction on certain types of rifles like the AR-15 and other—
TAPPER: Florida
GUTOWSKI is in Florida. It’s possible Texas might follow this path. However, it is unclear if this would have prevented the shooting. He did indeed use the AR-15. You could also kill many people using another type of gun. Which, of course, we’ve seen repeatedly. Handguns are actually the most common firearms used in mass shootings – of this scale: four or more people killed.
TAPPER: How about a red-flag law? They told police that it was something the shooter — evidently, in Buffalo — had stated. Yet, no one alerted the judge to notify red flag laws. He was then able to legally buy guns.
GUTOWSKI There are many people who will claim that red flag laws, assault weapons bans or arming teachers would resolve the issue. It’s false.
Concerning red flag laws and the likelihood that they will be passed in Texas or at a state level or at federal level, I feel there are more chances of it happening than an assault weapons ban or a complete ban on the sale.
However, red flag laws have many concerns over due process protections. While they do restrict access to firearms but not help you in ways that could be useful if you are a threat to your safety or the lives of others, They aren’t used all the time, as you mentioned. Buffalo has a red flag law
TAPPER : It is something that I feel a lot more people do not know.
GUTOWSKI: Right. That’s the problem.
TAPPER: The number of mass shootings increased by 52 percent between 2020 and 2021. COVID was clearly a factor in people being indoors. But the number of active shooter incidents – if you look at the chart right there – are going up. What theory could explain this?
GUTOWSKI: I think that’s one of the big questions, is why are we seeing an increase in these types of attempts at mass shootings – active shooters, situations are not necessarily successful—
TAPPER: Right.
GUTOWSKI — In carrying out an attack such as we witnessed in Texas. The FBI identified people who were attempting to carry out an attack like the one in Texas.
Yes, they’ve increased. The year-overyear figures are probably skewed due to COVID. We didn’t see a lot more mass shootings than in 2018, where at most four victims were killed. There were also lockdowns. This is obviously not the solution. You need to keep your hands locked down.
TAPPER: [Chuckle] Right. Right.
GUTOWSKI Many of these gunmen are young men, with histories of violence and family problems. You know what? They are often troubled individuals and leave warning signs long before anything happens. However, it can be easier to identify a number of warning signs in certain cases.
TAPPER : I think so.
GUTOWSKI: It’s hard work.
TAPPER: This is not an easy task. It isn’t. We appreciate the dialogue and your presence, Stephen Gutowski.
GUTOWSKI – The Reload. TheReload.com.
TAPPER The Reload
GUTOWSKI: Sober, serious firearms journalism.
TAPPER: I’m a subscriber to the — program. Stephen, I am so grateful. I appreciate it.
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