On Monday's Amanpour & Co. PBS and CNN International host Christiane Amanpour cued up her guest, Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, to promote his anti-gun views as the two spoke during a segment that was mostly devoted to the pandemic.
Amanpour fretted over President Donald Trump using the word "liberate" in recent tweets in which he sympathized with right-leaning protesters who want some of the anti-pandemic restrictions lifted:
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Well, look, it's interesting because even as I said, you know, it's effecting some Republican governors -- Larry Hogan of Maryland. He's been a target of these small protests. He says, quote, "It is not helpful for President Trump to encourage demonstrations against his own policy," but how do you assess the word "liberate"? I mean, that is a pretty dramatic word to use. It just is. "Liberate your state" conjures up all sorts of images frankly -- I don't even want to go there.
Senator Murphy then complained about the President being critical of recent anti-gun efforts by Democrats in places like Virginia:
SENATOR CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): Well, in one of those tweets he used the word "liberate," and then quickly followed up with a suggestion that the liberation should be connected to the liberation of Second Amendment rights which, of course, is an invitation for citizens to engage in armed rebellion against their government. Listen, the President is treading on very dangerous ground. He is encouraging in some cases the armed revolt of citizens against the government, and, as you mentioned, the President is encouraging people to revolt against the very policies that his administration is recommending.
In her final question of the segment, Amanpour brought up the gun issue and asked for reaction from her guest:
AMANPOUR: North of your border, as you know, there was a terrible, terrible shooting in Canada -- 16 people have been killed -- it's their worst ever. And you'd mentioned that, you know, some of these protests are also talking about Second Amendment rights -- these are the protests in the United States against the governors. I just want to know -- you're such a gun safety advocate, especially after Sandy Hook in your own state. Just your comment on what happened in Canada and just even bringing gun rights into this current, you know, real health crisis?
After her liberal guest responded by complaining about the recent increase in people buying guns that they might then use to commit domestic violence, suggesting that there are not enough background checks, Amanpour merely nodded her head as she then wrapped the segment.
Below is a transcript of relevant portions of the Monday, April 20, Amanpour & Co. on PBS and CNN International:
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: Well, look, it's interesting because even as I said, you know, it's effecting some Republican governors -- Larry Hogan of Maryland. He's been a target of these small protests. He says, quote, "It is not helpful for President Trump to encourage demonstrations against his own policy," but how do you assess the word "liberate"? I mean, that is a pretty dramatic word to use. It just is. "Liberate your state" conjures up all sorts of images frankly -- I don't even want to go there.
SENATOR CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): Well, in one of those tweets he used the word "liberate," and then quickly followed up with a suggestion that the liberation should be connected to the liberation of Second Amendment rights which, of course, is an invitation for citizens to engage in armed rebellion against their government. Listen, the President is treading on very dangerous ground. He is encouraging in some cases the armed revolt of citizens against the government, and, as you mentioned, the President is encouraging people to revolt against the very policies that his administration is recommending.
(…)
AMANPOUR: Can I just shift directions just slightly, but it is really important? North of your border, as you know, there was a terrible, terrible shooting in Canada -- 16 people have been killed -- it's their worst ever. And you'd mentioned that, you know, some of these protests are also talking about Second Amendment rights -- these are the protests in the United States against the governors. I just want to know -- you're such a gun safety advocate, especially after Sandy Hook in your own state. Just your comment on what happened in Canada and just even bringing gun rights into this current, you know, real health crisis?
SENATOR MURPHY: Well, I mean, we have to talk about the role that guns play during a crisis like this. Remember, home is not always a safe place, and so when you have two spouses or a boyfriend and girlfriend that are now locked together in a home with an inability to leave, that arises dangerous situations. And what we also know is that there has been a spike in gun sales in this country, and many of those guns were bought online without a background check being done.
So we need to understand that right now there probably are a lot more people with felony records -- a lot more people that have serious mental illness that have guns in their possession, and there are a lot of abused spouses or girlfriends that are at home with their abuser fearing for their life. And so we always have to be talking about the threats that firearms present to our country, but especially now that a lot of folks can't get away from the very person that they fear.
AMANPOUR (nodding in agreement): Senator Chris Murphy, thank you very much indeed.
