Before the suspect was even apprehended, CNN began politicizing today’s mass shooting in Philadelphia, demanding from Democrats new restrictions on guns.
Six police officers were shot after narcotics officers attempted serving a warrant, but quickly came under fire. Another officer was injured in a car accident while driving to the scene.
As the situation played out, with police holed up outside the suspect’s home, CNN turned its reporting into editorializing, asking two Democratic lawmakers if they would push through new gun control laws.
Wolf Blitzer invited Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) on and asked her about the anti-police attack. After Harris immediately pitched her own 2020 gun control policies as a solution to the shooting, Blitzer asked a series of questions attempting to lock her down on the issue.
BLITZER: “Very disturbing development, indeed. You’re a former attorney general of California, what’s your reaction to these initial reports, and I stress the word, initial reports?”
HARRIS: “Look, it’s just — when will it stop, right? Part of my focus on what we need to do around smart gun safety laws is recognize that we have to have more enforcement around gun dealers. Wolf, 90 percent of the guns that are associated with crime are sold by just five percent of the gun dealers in the United States. And so, among the many plans that I have in the form of executive action and also in the form of legislation, one of them is to put more resources into the ATF to take the licenses of gun dealers who violate the law. And that includes a number of things, including when they are responsible for doing background checks, not doing them.”
BLITZER: “So — but does your plan go, from your perspective, far enough?”
A subsequent Blitzer question asked: “So just to be precise, you want to give Congress 100 days and then take executive action. Some people say, you know what, Congress, given the 60 votes needed in the Senate, not going to do it. Why not take executive action on day one?”
As Harris answered, Blitzer interjected: “Because people are going to be killed in those first 100 days.”
Blitzer also turned the unfolding tragedy into an opportunity to push gun control with his next guest, Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.).
BLITZER: “You’re a former police chief in Orlando and you’re following this conversation that we’re all having about gun control in America. What’s missing from the conversation that’s going on right now?”
DEMINGS: “What’s missing from the conversation is that every poll shows you that the overwhelming majority of the American people are in favor of background checks, for example. And so, the question is, why is the Senate refusing to move legislation that we passed in the House months ago? The other part of this conversation, I doubt very seriously, that if this shooter in Philadelphia was armed simply with the handgun, that this gun battle would be going on well beyond an hour. I think we can assume that he is also heavily armed with high capacity rifles or weapons, and also has high capacity magazines. So while we look at passing legislation that requires that every gun sale, every person involved in a gun sale has to go through a background check, we really need to have a serious discussion about getting these weapons of war, and doggone it, today is a clear indication of that as the men and women of blue are under fire in Philadelphia. We need to get these high capacity weapons and magazines off of our streets.”
Blitzer’s colleague, Dana Bash, likewise slipped gun control into her reporting:
Unfortunately I don't want to say it’s the new normal, but it is this kind of situation where you have an active shooter is coming across our phones and coming across the phones and, you know, bulletin alerts of people all across the country very, very frequently, which is why here in Washington there has been a renewed discussion about whether or not finally the Republican and Democratic Party can come together and figure out ways to stop this, whether it is gun control, any form of gun control or other means … Unfortunately, these stories are continuing and it’s happening as we speak.