Van Hollen on MSNBC: ‘We need to get serious about gun violence in this country

Congressman Chris Van Hollen | Jun 2, 2015

Universal criminal background check should be common ground to prevent violence

Today Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen joined MSNBC’s Thomas Roberts to discuss Gun Violence Awareness Day and the need for Congress to get serious about gun safety. A transcript and video of the interview is below:

video: https://www.facebook.com/chrisvanhollen/videos/10153043649643878/

THOMAS ROBERTS, MSNBC: Across the country, you may notice people wearing orange today. This is all part of a campaign to end gun violence, at least start a dialogue about it. And it comes as we see sobering new reports and numbers on the rising trajectory of gun violence.

Congressman Chris Van Hollen of Maryland joins me now. Sir, it’s great to have you with me, and I want to show everybody the stats that we have in. We’ve got the NYPD reporting that shootings were up almost 9 percent so far this year. Your hometown of Baltimore, Maryland has had 116 homicides this is year, it may be one of the deadliest years on record because May was the deadliest month in 40 years. Are these anomalies, or is violent crime on the upswing nationally, in your opinion?

REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN: Well Thomas, I think it's too early to tell whether this is anomaly or not. But whatever it is, it’s another sign that we need to get serious about gun violence in this country. Every year over 30,000 Americans die as a result of gun violence. And so we should be taking a number of steps to address it. One of the simplest being a universal criminal background check which we've tried to pass through the Congress. It’s overwhelmingly supported by the American people -- 85 percent, 90 percent in some surveys. And yet it's been bottled up here in Congress. And in the House, we never even had a vote on a universal criminal background check.

ROBERTS: When we talk about that, where does NRA come down? Because these are the type of organizations that you’re going to need to find that a common ground or compromise between those that would want to defend the right to bear arms, the second amendment, and the progressives that want to try to clean up guns and get them off the streets. So is there that common ground to be found?

VAN HOLLEN: The universal criminal background check actually should be that common ground. If you look at those same surveys I talked about, over 75 percent of the members of the National Rifle Association support that idea because it protects law abiding citizens’ right to have a gun to defend themselves. It’s just designed to make sure that people who have criminal histories can't get their hands on guns. Which is why you have that broad support, including among NRA members. The national NRA headquarter Washington lobbyists always use their scare tactics to pretend this is simply the first step to take away the right of law abiding citizens to have handguns. That scare tactic helps fill the coffers of the NRA, but it also adds to the death toll from gun violence in this country.

ROBERTS: Congressman Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, sir thanks for your time. I appreciate it.

VAN HOLLEN: Thank you, Thomas.