Louisiana Representative Joins “Meet the Press” for First Sunday Show Appearance Since Las Vegas Shooting
OCT. 5, 2017 — In an exclusive interview airing this Sunday on “Meet The Press,” House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) addresses the issue of bump stocks — devices that rapidly accelerate a weapon’s rate of fire — following the Las Vegas shooting, telling moderator Chuck Todd: “If you talk to anybody about a week ago, most people, including myself, didn’t even know what a bump stock was. … There are people that want to rush to judgment. They’ve got a bill written already.”
“I do think it’s a little bit early for people to say they know what to do to fix this problem,” he added.
On whether legislation should be drafted to outlaw bump stocks, the representative said, “To think that we’re now all experts and know how to write some, you know, panacea law, it’s fallacy. Let’s focus on the facts. Let’s get the facts and let’s go focus on some of the problems.
Watch this exchange, which first aired on MSNBC’s “MTP Daily” today, and see below for the transcript. Tune in this Sunday for more from the exclusive interview.
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CHUCK TODD: Alright, what do you make of this bump stock, of this accessory that takes a semiautomatic weapon and turns it into, virtually, an automatic weapon?
STEVE SCALISE: If you talk to anybody about a week ago, most people, including myself, didn’t even know what a bump stock was. So –
CHUCK TODD: Me too. Me included. I understand. Right –
STEVE SCALISE: Now we’re finding out about it. But again, there are people that want to rush to judgment. They’ve got a bill written already. And I mean, look, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi already said she wants it to be a slippery slope. She doesn’t want to stop at bump stocks. They want to go out and limit the rights of gun owners. And so I do think it’s a little bit early for people to say they know what to do to fix this problem. I know there are people that are asking the A.T.F. to go back and review their 2010 decision to authorize it –
CHUCK TODD:
Do you think they should?
STEVE SCALISE:
And I think they should, and they are. You know, you’ve seen it –
CHUCK TODD:
But you’re not ready to codify it in the law?
STEVE SCALISE:
Well, again, I mean, a week ago most people didn’t know, a few people, but most people didn’t know what a bump stock was. So to think that we’re now all experts and know how to write some, you know, panacea law, it’s fallacy. Let’s focus on the facts. Let’s get the facts and let’s go focus on some of the problems. And frankly, we’ve done some of that already.
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For more information contact:
Joya Manasseh
NBC News
o: (212) 664-2498
c: (917) 587-1284
e: joya.manasseh@nbcuni.com
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NBC NEWS’ “MEET THE PRESS WITH CHUCK TODD”
“Meet the Press with Chuck Todd” is where newsmakers come to make news — setting the political agenda and spotlighting the impact Washington decision-making has on people across the country. The broadcast won the 2016-2017 season as the #1 most-watched Sunday public affairs show across the board, reaching more than three million people every Sunday through its broadcasts and millions more through NBCNews.com, OTT platforms and social media. “Meet the Press” brings its authority and influencer interviews to MSNBC with “MTP Daily” weekdays at 5 p.m. ET and to the “1947: The Meet the Press Podcast”. Chuck Todd is the political director of NBC News and the moderator of “Meet the Press“; John Reiss is the executive producer.
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