Speaking from the White House on Monday, Press Secretary Josh Earnest argued that common sense gun control measures should be implemented to "make the country a little safer" only days after nine black churchgoers were murdered in Charleston by a white racist.
When asked by ABC's Jonathan Karl if any of the gun control proposals the president had issued in the past would have prevented the massacre last week, Earnest couldn't give a direct answer — and admitted it was too early to tell.
"No Jon, we are obviously in the very early hours of what was an ongoing investigation that continues to this hour as well. The point that the president is making is that we all know there are some common sense steps that can be taken that don't undermine critically important Second Amendment rights, but would make our country safer, would make our kids a little safe and would make it hard for criminals and those with mental problems to get their hands on a weapon," Earnest said. "There is no piece of legislation that Congress can pass and that the president can sign into law that will eliminate every instance of gun violence in this country. But if there is legislation that Congress can pass that would even slightly reduce the number of incidents of gun violence in this country, then why on earth wouldn't they sign it? Why on earth wouldn't they pass it so the president could sign it?"
"It's too early to say what kind of impact any kind of Congressional legislation would have had on this particular incident," Earnest continued.
The direct answer is no, none of the "common sense" proposals President Obama and his allies in Congress have put forward on gun control would have prevented Charleston.
