In the wake of the shooting on a New York City subway, the cast of ABC’s The View kicked off Wednesday’s edition of the show with absolutely insane anti-gun arguments. One guest claims “most” gun owners shoot themselves while co-host Joy Behar claimed there were 130 mass shootings this year. Dumber yet, Behar warned the Supreme Court was going to “pass a bill” over “New York City State laws” that would make everything “open carry.”
As part of the performance that would make any reasonable person ask “how dumb is this woman,” Behar interrupted an asinine conversation decrying states going to permitless carry to show her ignorance of basic civics:
The Supreme Court is poised to pass a bill contradicting the New York City State laws. We have very strict gun laws here, and they would like it to be apparently somebody has put it on their desk that New York should be an open carry state, and an open carry city with all of the density in this city. They want people running around with guns. People – middle-class people will be leaving in droves if that happens.
Asides from the claim that New York was now suddenly a “city state,” the Supreme Court doesn’t “pass” or sign legislation, they deal with litigation. And the case before them isn’t about “open carry,” it’s reviewing New York’s “may issue” status and could make it a “shall issue” state. This means there is still a permitting process and they must issue a permit if there’s no issue with a background check.
Citing no evidence, Behar started this discussion by claiming “we are 103 days into 2022, and there have already been more than 130 mass shootings in America this year alone.” And despite admitting “that sounded so high to me,” she took it as fact.
By no reasonable measure has there been that many mass shootings. And if it was true, why hasn’t the media covered each and every one of them?
She then parroted the false talking point that gun violence was a “uniquely American problem” and decried the Second Amendment. Guest Julia Haart then cherry-picked a few countries (ignoring their violent crime rates) to assert “When you take away guns, you take away gun violence.”
How do you propose taking away America’s guns Julia?
Declaring the solution be so-called “common-sense gun legislation,” co-host Sunny Hostin quoted an outdated poll saying “something like 85 percent or more” support gun control.
Back in reality, a recent Morning Consult/Politico poll found Republicans leading Democrats in trust on gun rights issues 46-38 percent. Then there’s the fact that younger people are turning away from gun control with about 45 percent supporting it, down 20 points since 2018 according to an ABC News poll.
Ignoring the fact that to buy a firearm in all states one needs to pass a background check, Hostin lashed out at states with permitless carry as the reason for gun violence in America. She then made the ridiculously false claim that all the violent crime in America was happening in Republican-controlled areas and it was just a “messaging” issue for Democrats:
And when you talk about Republican states, there is higher gun violence in Republican-led states and cities, and cities. So, it’s a misnomer somehow to say that these — the rise in gun violence is in Democrat-run cities, and that’s been the Republican Party line for so long, and I think Democrats have to do something about that messaging.
Meanwhile, even swing states like Ohio are going to permitless carry.
Hostin conflated the generic “murder rate” with the suggestion they were all carried out with guns and they largely happened in Red states. “The five states with the highest per capita murder rate, Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky, Alabama, and Missouri, all lean Republican, all voted for Trump, and, in fact, what’s interesting is the study found that murder rates in the 25 states Trump carried in 2020, 40 percent higher overall,” she sneered.
If those fact-free and out-of-context statistics weren’t outrageous enough, Haart chimed in again to claim “most … people who own guns in their house, the person they’re most likely to shoot is themselves.”
As they were nearing the commercial break, Behar was back with another dose of her revisionist theories and asserted President George W. Bush had “lifted the ban” on assault rifles after taking office. “I mean, it’s as clear as the nose on your face,” she chided weak “Republican” Alyssa Farah Griffin who didn’t push back on any of this nonsense.
Only after they came back from the break did Behar make any kind of correction to the record. “I want to correct one small thing I said, which is that George Bush basically overturned the AR-15 law. He just let it expire,” she admitted.
Nothing about the Supreme Court passing laws, Joy? Of course, not. They were living up to those “ABC News standards.”
The nonsense and lies about gun was made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Ensure and Olay. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click “expand” to read:
ABC’s The View
April 13, 2022
11:02:32 a.m. EasternJOY BEHAR: So, we are 103 days into 2022, and there have already been more than 130 mass shootings in America this year alone. Did you know that? That sounded so high to me.
SUNNY HOSTIN: Yeah.
BEHAR: Yesterday a gunman shot ten commuters in the worst mass shooting in New York subway history. Luckily everyone is alive, and the hunt is on for suspect Frank James, but the usual allegations are being thrown around about the left being too soft on crime while at the same time, red states like Georgia are making it even easier to get guns.
This is a tragic and uniquely American problem, it seems. I don’t understand why we can’t solve this problem. I mean, Julia said to me as we were coming out, they don’t have this problem in countries where there aren’t guns all over the place.
JULIA HAART: Right
BEHAR: But those countries do not have a second amendment. I think that’s the difference.
HAART: That’s the problem. You look at the U.K., there’s almost no gun violence. You look at New Zealand; you look at Australia. When you take away guns, you take away gun violence.
BEHAR: Yes.
(…)
11:04:24 a.m. Eastern
HOSTIN: I think that the solve has been here for a long time, right? It’s common sense gun legislation, and it constantly fails because Republicans have blocked that legislation across the board. Americans across the board are supportive of that gun legislation. I think it’s something like 85 percent or more, and you can tell me in my ear what those stats are.
And it’s not about defunding the police. Biden has made it very clear that that is not the position of the Democratic Party. Nancy Pelosi has made it very clear, and to be clear, the NYPD’s budget is $11 billion. $11 billion, which is more than the Ukrainian military has. Right? And so it’s not about funding. It’s about gun legislation.
And Georgia is now one of more 20 states, as Joy mentioned, that allows concealed guns without a permit, without a license, and without any training. And when you talk about Republican states, there is higher gun violence in Republican-led states and cities, and cities. So, it’s a misnomer somehow to say that these — the rise in gun violence is in Democrat-run cities, and that’s been the Republican Party line for so long, and I think Democrats have to do something about that messaging.
(…)
11:06:19 a.m. Eastern
HOSTIN: The five states with the highest per capita murder rate, Mississippi, Louisiana, Kentucky, Alabama, and Missouri, all lean Republican, all voted for Trump, and, in fact, what’s interesting is the study found that murder rates in the 25 states Trump carried in 2020, 40 percent higher overall.
(…)
11:07:44 a.m. Eastern
HAART: Do you know that most – I read this article that people who own guns in their house, the person they’re most likely to shoot is themselves.
HOSTIN: It’s themselves.
BEHAR: Themselves.
HAART: Or a child, God forbid, takes the gun and finds the gun.
(…)
11:08:24 a.m. Eastern
BEHAR: The Supreme Court is poised to pass a bill contradicting the New York City State laws. We have very strict gun laws here, and they would like it to be apparently somebody has put it on their desk that New York should be an open carry state, and an open carry city with all of the density in this city. They want people running around with guns. People – middle-class people will be leaving in droves if that happens.
ALYSSA FARAH: They will.
(…)
11:09:33 a.m. Eastern
BEHAR: But there was a ban on AR-15s, and then when George W. Bush got in, he lifted the ban. And since then, the numbers went up. I mean, it’s as clear as the nose on your face. That Republicans have a – they’ve been pulling to con job for years on us saying it’s Democrats when they’re the ones who support the NRA. The Democrats don’t have the ten rating from the NRA. It’s the Republicans, and many of them have high ratings in the NRA.
(…)