As the U.S. grapples with the reality that mass gun violence continues on despite politicians' "thoughts and prayers," Americans want to know what can actually be done following a weekend that clocked two headline-grabbing mass shootings, leaving at least 31 people dead.
Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz (FL-01) told Cheddar Monday that a focus on mental health is the answer to stop domestic-based gun violence, not gun control or background checks, although he has been an ardent supporter of a border wall, citing violence in America committed by illegal immigrants.
"There is no one magic elixir that's going to be able to stop gun violence in our country," Gaetz told Cheddar Monday. "Just like background checks wouldn't have been the answer in every circumstance, a wall would not be the answer in every circumstance, obviously, but I think marrying some of these proposals could potentially lead us to a safer community."
Gaetz, an avid Trump supporter who has the President's ear on a variety of issues, did not sign the universal background check bill that swept through the Democrat-controlled House in February. The Republican-controlled Senate has not acted upon the House's H.R. 8 bill.
During a hearing on the bill in February, Gaetz said, "H.R. 8 would not have stopped many of the circumstances I raised, but a wall — a barrier on the southern border — may have, and that's what we're fighting for."
Over Twitter on Monday, Trump broke with hard right-leaning Republicans, suggesting it was time to propose a law that would tie background checks with immigration reform.Yet nearly three hours later at a White House remarks briefing, Trump was largely silent on the issue of background checks.
Gaetz said the President laid a positive framework Monday for bipartisan solutions to curb gun violence and mass shootings in America, but does not think enacting H.R. 8 is the answer.
"I don't know what of these shootings really would have been stopped by the background check bill," Gaetz added.
2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls and sitting senators like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are calling on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to end August recess early to address gun reform. However, Gaetz does not seem hopeful that any of the bills on the table will win approval, saying, "The reason nothing is getting done is because everyone's so polarized."
But Gaetz does show signs of hope that steps can be taken to curb future attacks like the ones Americans have seen play out over and over again.
Gaetz is a proponent of "red-flag laws," which his state has embraced. These laws allow authorities to take guns from people who are deemed to be a threat to themselves or others.
Earlier in the day, President Trump also showed his support for these laws. "The monster in the Parkland high school in Florida had many red flags against him, and yet nobody took decisive action. Nobody did anything. Why not?"
Gaetz said he spoke to the president after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and "saw the advice I've given the president reflected in his remarks today."
"I think that somewhere we've got to identify these mental illness challenges, have red flag laws, and ensure that we're not letting people out of mental health care and then allowing them to go back to their guns," said Gaetz.
That echoed a sentiment from the president Monday morning when he said, "Mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger, not the gun."
But in a statement, American Psychological Assocation President Rosie Phillips Davis, PhD. says blaming mass murder on mental illness is "unfounded and stigmatizing."
For Gaetz, the only way to find a bipartisan solution is moving on from partisan differences, and meeting in the middle.
"Maybe if we come to the middle a little bit and divorce ourselves from the fringes we'll be able to get things done."
President Biden spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the fourth time this year. Biden and Putin spoke for two hours about the massing of Russian troops and materials near the Russian border with Ukraine. Various outlets have reported that the U.S. has intelligence that Russia could be planning an invasion of Ukraine in the next few months. Both countries said the call was productive, but the situation remains tense.
Hagar Chemali, foreign policy expert and host of "Oh My World!" on YouTube, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
A recent Wall Street Journal poll indicated that Hispanic voters are up for grabs for the upcoming midterm elections, with 41 percent of respondents saying they would vote for Democrats and 44 percent for Republicans. Bryanta "Bre" Maxwell, a Democratic Strategist, former political director for Jaime Harrison's senate campaign, and principal and CEO of Indigo Consulting, LLC, joined Cheddar to break down the numbers and to dive into what this specific electorate is looking for as the balance of power in Congress hangs in the balance in 2022.
Vice President Kamala Harris received impressive amount of media coverage in January for making history. However, the media attention waned significantly and some are now even saying she has almost disappeared from public view. Reecie Colbert, founder of BlackWomenViews Media, joined Cheddar Politics to discuss more.
If you thought you heard the last of the Mueller report back in 2019, you'd be wrong. While the bombshell report was the biggest story in Washington for years, much of the report remained redacted. Our friends at BuzzFeed News weren't satisfied, so they sued to have certain passages unredacted. They notched another win when a federal appeals court ordered ten passages from the report to be released.
Matt Topic, BuzzFeed's attorney in the case, and Jason Leopold, reporter at BuzzFeed News, join Cheddar Politics to discuss.
The U.S. reported its first confirmed case of the omicron variant in California on Wednesday. Scientists and health officials are racing to understand the variant, with the WHO saying it's still too early to determine whether it's more contagious, more deadly or more resistant to vaccines than other variants. Omicron has pushed members of the WHO to commit to start talks over a "gobal pandemic treaty" for future pandemic preparedness.
Priti Krishtel, co-founder and co-executive director of the Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
Wednesday was not a good day for those who believe in abortion rights in this country as the Supreme Court heard arguments on a Mississippi abortion law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The majority of the court appears poised to roll back abortion rights, and the questions from the conservative justices seemed to indicate the law for nearly 50 years is likely to change.
Jessica Mason Pieklo, senior vice president and executive editor of Rewire News Group, joined Cheddar Politics to discuss Wednesday's hearing.
Michael Cohen, Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, has been busy since completing his prison sentence in November. He's getting into the NFT space, selling his federal prison badge and the original manuscript of his book "Disloyal" as NFTs. Cohen joined Cheddar to discuss his latest venture and why he thinks there is still much to be revealed about his case.
Jonathan Adler, Law Professor at Case Western Reserve University, joined Wake Up With Cheddar to discuss Tuesday's ruling and provide legal context to recent battles over vaccine mandates.
Carlo and Baker wrap up the week talking about the Biden economic boom that no one seems to notice, a verdict in the Jussie Smollett case, the first Starbucks union in America and the pleasures of the "dude nod."
