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."
The Robb Elementary School mass shooting killing 19 children and two adults in Uvalde, Texas pm Tuesday was the deadliest school shooting since the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, and came just 10 days after the grocery store shooting in Buffalo, New York. Nelson Vergara, the founder and CEO of 360 Protective Solutions, joined Cheddar’s Opening Bell to discuss. "Right now what law enforcement is concentrating on is trying to trace his steps as to what motivated the gunman to act the way he did. What it boils down to just trying to figure out what led to his motivation to do such a horrific act.”
An recently conducted AP-NORC poll found that majorities of the Black and Hispanic populations in the U.S. still find themselves either somewhat worried or extremely worried over the pandemic, while more than half of white Americans responded with either being not too worried or not worried at all. Dr. Chris Pernell, the chief strategic integration and health equity officer at University Hospital, joined Cheddar News to talk about how perceptions of COVID-19 differ between groups of Americans. "We’re still seeing people get infected, and because of the toll of the disproportionate impact, we have concerns among the Black and brown community about whether or not they have an increased risk of exposure because of where they work, because of the use of public transportation, because they live in homes that they may not be able to safely quarantine and or isolate in, and because they have at baseline chronic health conditions that may make coronavirus more severe in those persons," she said.
Judith Enck, a former regional administrator for the EPA and the president of Beyond Plastics, joined Cheddar News to talk about the role of plastics in the climate crisis and California's investigation of ExxonMobil and other oil companies for misleading the public on the ability to recycle plastics. "The reason why petrochemical companies like Exxon have gotten away with selling more and more plastic is that they've lied to the public and told us don't worry about all those negative upstream impacts and downstream impacts of plastics. Just be sure to recycle it. Well, guess what? Plastics largely are not recycled," Enck said.
The ongoing war in Ukraine and the Fed's hawkish stance toward reining in inflation might be causing a frenzy among investors. Craig Erlam, a senior market analyst at foreign exchange OANDA, joined Cheddar News to talk about the current "mixed bag" markets. "It's hard to read too much into it. These are just the market conditions we have right now," he said. "Ultimately we're a little directionless at times overall, but these intraday moves are causing a lot of volatility this week."
Catching you up on what you need to know on April 29, 2022, with President Biden asking Congress for a $33 billion aid package for Ukraine, a shrinking GDP potentially leading to a recession, Beijing banning weddings and funerals while closings schools amid COVID, and more.
Buying a new home is tough right now; but for first-time buyers, it's an especially challenging time, with obstacles like rising mortgage rates and record-breaking home prices. The housing market is not expected to get much friendlier, as mortgage rates are expected to continue to climb as the Federal Reserve proceeds with its plans for rate hikes in an effort to stifle inflation. Jonathan Miller, President and CEO of real estate appraiser Miller Samuel, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Tyler Moran, former senior adviser to President Biden on migration, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss the recent controversy around the administration's decision to end the use of Title 42, a public health order allowing the U.S. to expel migrants without going through the asylum process.
Christian Heyne, vice president of policy at the gun safety group Brady, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss President Biden's executive action on so-called "ghost guns," and to reflect on the Brooklyn subway shooting.
Jasmine Burney-Clark, founder of Equal Ground Education Fund and Action Fund, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss the redistricting process in Florida, and how the state's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed a map reducing the power of Black Floridians.
