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CNN NEWSROOM

Gabby Giffords Pushes for Gun Control; Chris Christie's State of the State

Aired January 8, 2013 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: We roll on, good to see you. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Top of the hour.

Moments ago, Chris Christie, outspoken, always blunt, addressing his state of New Jersey this afternoon. Find out what he said about his performance in office.

Plus, AIG took your tax dollars and now they are thinking about suing the government for bailing them out. Yes, all that's coming up.

But, first, I want to begin with this. Actually, I'm going to quote something that Gabby Giffords wrote. This is in this morning's "USA Today" if you read this op-ed piece.

Part of this said -- quote -- "In response to a horrific series of shootings that has sown terror in our communities, Congress has done something quite extraordinary, nothing at all."

Well, now the former congresswoman who nearly died in that Tucson shooting two years ago today is out to change that. Today, she and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, they launched Americans for Responsible Solutions. This is an effort to raise money and laws for gun control.

Since Tucson, there have been 11 more mass shootings. The couple spoke with ABC's Diane Sawyer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIANE SAWYER, ABC NEWS: We saw you in Newtown. How was Newtown?

GABRIELLE GIFFORDS (D), FORMER U.S. CONGRESSWOMAN: Tough.

MARK KELLY, HUSBAND OF CONGRESSWOMAN GABRIELLE GIFFORDS: It brought back a lot of memories about what that was like for us some two years ago today. And you hope that this kind of thing doesn't happen again. But you know what? I have a gun. Gabby and I are both gun owners. We are strong supporters of the Second Amendment. But we have got to do something to keep the guns from getting into the wrong hands.

SAWYER: When it can happen to children in a classroom, it's time to say...

GIFFORDS: Enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Enough, she says. Those two are not the only ones to use the tragedy in Tucson to mobilize the gun control movement. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg with this group, it's called Mayors Against Illegal Guns, released an ad today and it features the mother of 9- year-old Christina Taylor Green, the youngest person killed in the attack in Tucson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My 9-year-old daughter was murdered in the Tucson shooting. I have one question for our political leaders. When will you find the courage to stand up to the gun lobby? Whose child has to die next?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And Roxanna Green joins me live.

Roxanna, welcome back here to the show. And, of course, I want to ask you about your role in that ad in just a moment.

But, first, you lost Christina. You lost your 9-year-old daughter here now two years ago today. How are you? How are you doing?

ROXANNA GREEN, MOTHER OF MURDER VICTIM: I'm well, thank you.

I'm doing the best that I possibly can. Obviously, today is a very tough day. My heart was broken two years ago. And I still feel that pain, a hole in my heart every day. And -- but my family and I are doing good things and we're moving forward and we're doing the best that we can.

BALDWIN: Let me ask you of one of those good things, because, Roxanna, you came on the show, one year ago this month, and you told me about how Christina was an organ donor. She wanted to do that at 9 years of age and you told me at the time that by giving her organs and tissues that she actually saved the eyesight of at least two young children.

I'm just curious, did you ever meet them?

GREEN: No, I haven't met them yet. And obviously I respect their privacy. But if they ever wanted to reach out and meet me or my family, we would be honored to meet them.

BALDWIN: It's amazing. Christina's legacy moving on and helping others.

But let me switch gears and talk guns, because I know that you went to Newtown. You were in Newtown three days after the mass shootings, 20 little lives taken out. Why did you want to go?

GREEN: Because I have that pain in my heart like all those families, unfortunately. I will have it forever. I know that -- the pain that they're going through every day. And I want to reach out to those families and I just wanted to tell them that we're there for them, the whole country is saddened by this horrific tragedy. And we want to do whatever we can to help them heal.

I know it is a long process. I'm still going through the grieving process myself. But I just wanted to offer my support and I plan on going back there, January 14, to offer support to give each, you know, member of the family a book that I wrote, "As Good as She Imagined," about my daughter. It's an inspirational book of hope, and to give them also an angel.

And I just want to reach out to them because I know exactly the pain that they're going through and I think I can help them.

BALDWIN: Do you have hope today?

GREEN: Yes, definitely. Very confident there will be change soon.

BALDWIN: Let me ask you about that, because I know you're in this ad, it is out today. This group is -- this is with the mayor for illegal drugs -- guns, a coalition formed in 2006 by Mayor Bloomberg and the mayor of Boston.

And so in this ad, you know, basically you and others are asking lawmakers to stand up to the gun lobby. Gabby Giffords, she revealed that she and her husband, they have guns. Do you think all guns should be banned?

GREEN: No, absolutely not.

My husband and I are also gun owners and strong supporters of the Second Amendment. We just think there should be, you know, stricter laws, and laws that are in place should be enforced more, whereas there is a background check for every gun purchase, right now, that 40 percent of the guns purchased in America there is no background check.

We just want to save the lives and keep guns out of criminals' hands and people that are dangerous and shouldn't have them in the first place.

BALDWIN: So, universal background checks. What else?

GREEN: I think that drug trafficking should be a federal crime. I think there should be more help for the mentally ill.

But mostly I think the background check will help us the most in saving lives.

BALDWIN: You know, I talked, Roxanna, to this gun advocate, just a couple of weeks ago, and she had survived this mass shooting in this diner back in the early '90s in Texas and she was with her parents. Her parents didn't make it. And she basically was saying to me, had she been armed, she could have helped protect them and possibly others.

This is Suzanna Hupp.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUZANNA GRATIA HUPP, FORMER TEXAS STATE REPRESENTATIVE: Let me make something or point something out that is just so painfully obvious to me. Where do all these mass shootings occur? They -- creeps go to places where they know they can shoot people like fish in a barrel.

These mass shootings don't occur at gun shows, the dreaded gun show that I keep hearing so much about. They go to places where they can shoot people like fish in a barrel until the cops, bless their hearts, finally arrive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Roxanna, what do you make of that argument? Had more people been armed in that diner, maybe in that parking lot in Tucson two years ago today, that fewer lives would have been lost? Do you ever think about those what-ifs?

GREEN: Well, the way I understand it, there were people that were armed there. It just happened so fast and there was mass confusion that the people that were trained and armed didn't want to start shooting innocent people.

So my argument to that is, you're just going to start -- everyone is going to start pulling out a gun and you don't know who is innocent and who is the criminal. Sometimes, it happens so fast. I wasn't there, but from the witnesses that were there, some of them were shot, some weren't. A retired colonel, I have to believe what he said, that the people that were armed, there were some, said that there was -- through the confusion, it happened so quickly.

These weapons that they use are made for mass destruction, to kill people fast and quickly, that there was nothing that could have been done.

BALDWIN: Roxanna Green, I appreciate you sharing your story. It's nice to hear that you do have hope. Thank you.

GREEN: Thank you very much.

BALDWIN: Now to the other side here, why gun control is not the way, and you will hear it from a man who wanted to kick Piers Morgan out of the country.

Last night, radio host Alex Jones got into Piers' face. Jones co- wrote this petition to deport the CNN host after Piers' repeated calls to ban military-style guns. Now, Piers admits he's lashed out at many gun advocates. Just last night, it was Piers' turn to take some heat and Alex Jones held nothing back.

At first, Jones was reasonable. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX JONES, HOST, "THE ALEX JONES SHOW": I have FBI crime statistics that come out a year late, 2011, 20-plus percent crime drop in the last nine years. Real violent crime because more guns means less crime. Britain took the guns 15, 16 years ago. Tripling of your overall violent crime. True we have a higher gun violence level, but overall, muggings, stabbings, deaths, you -- those men raped that woman in India to death with an iron rod four feet long.

You can't ban the iron rods. The guns -- the iron rods, Piers, didn't do it, the tyrants did it. Hitler took the guns, Stalin took the guns, Mao took the guns. Fidel Castro took the guns.

PIERS MORGAN, HOST, "PIERS MORGAN TONIGHT": OK. How many --

JONES: Hugo Chavez took the guns, and I'm here to tell you, 1776 will commence again if you try to take our firearms. It doesn't matter how many lemmings you get out there on the street begging for them to have their guns taken. We will not relinquish them. Do you understand?

That why you're going to fail and the establishment knows no matter how much propaganda, the republic will rise again when you attempt to take our gun. My family in the Texas revolution in Santa Ana. My family was at the core on both sides starting that, because Santa Ana came to take the guns at Gonzalez, Texas.

Piers, don't try what your ancestors did before. Why don't you come to America, I will take you out shooting. You can become an American and join the republic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Then Jones got louder.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: Why don't you tell folks -- yes, you fled here. Why don't you go back and face the charges with the hacking scandal?

MORGAN: Answer this question. How many guns --

JONES: Why did you get fired from "The Daily Mirror" for putting that fag stories?

MORGAN: How --

JONES: You're a hatchet man of the new world order. You're a hatchet man. And I want to say this right here, you think you're a tough guy? Have me back with a boxing ring in here, and I will wear red, white, and blue, and you can wear your Jolly Roger.

MORGAN: OK.

JONES: You know --

MORGAN: Let's try again. How many gun murders were there --

JONES: You're going to bang your fist now?

MORGAN: -- in Britain last year? JONES: How many chimpanzees can dance on a head of a pin? I already went over those statistics.

MORGAN: You know the answer?

JONES: No, I don't.

MORGAN: You said hundreds.

JONES: It's very low.

MORGAN: You said hundreds.

JONES: Yes.

MORGAN: It's actually 35.

JONES: Well, the point is you can --

MORGAN: Against 11,000. Do you understand the difference in 11,000 and 35?

JONES: Yes, England wants to ban knives now because tens of thousands are getting stabbed.

MORGAN: Do you understand the difference --

JONES: The knives? The knife doesn't kill people. The gun doesn't kill people.

MORGAN: Do you understand -- yes. Do you understand the difference?

JONES: Do you understand --

MORGAN: Between 35 --

JONES: You're not going to pull on America's heartstrings.

MORGAN: -- and 11,000?

JONES: They know your script. OK? You're not going to get our guns. By the way, you guys always say we just want to take the semiautos. OK? And all this other stuff. The semiautos aren't even -- rifles aren't even used but in a fraction of the crimes. You can pull those numbers up, OK?

No, no, no. Hold on.

MORGAN: Let me ask you one question, which weapon was predominantly used in the Aurora movie theater shooting?

JONES: An M-4 AR-15 variant.

MORGAN: So it was a semiautomatic assault rifle.

JONES: Yes. Again -- MORGAN: OK. Next question.

JONES: But statistically, it's very, very low.

MORGAN: That was -- do you agree it was the single biggest shooting in the history of America in terms of people hit by a shooter? Do you know that?

JONES: Now I believe that there were others --

MORGAN: No, no. It's --

(CROSSTALK)

JONES: Some other students over 30.

MORGAN: No, no. This was the single biggest mass shooting --

JONES: Well, listen, you just don't want --

MORGAN: No. I'm going to --

JONES: There have been bombings of Wall Street.

MORGAN: Let me ask you a second question.

JONES: Are we going to -- listen, why can't --

(CROSSTALK)

MORGAN: Let me ask you a second question.

JONES: We trust them to fly the planes.

MORGAN: You've had a lot to say, just answer this question.

JONES: No, my point is that the Second Amendment is sacrosanct.

MORGAN: Do you know --

JONES: And you're not getting it.

MORGAN: Do you know which weapon was used in the Oregon shopping mall mass shooting recently?

JONES: I understand that people who were mentally ill on all the --

MORGAN: Do you know what weapon --

(CROSSTALK)

JONES: Taken inhibiters who play the shoot them up games --

MORGAN: Alex.

JONES: -- want to go out and do this. MORGAN: Alex.

JONES: Because there's criminals, I don't lose my rights, Piers.

MORGAN: Alex. Alex.

JONES: Because there's criminals, I don't lose my rights.

MORGAN: Alex. Just answer the question.

JONES: Yes.

MORGAN: Do you know what the weapon used was?

JONES: Listen. Let me ask you a question.

MORGAN: No, no. Answer --

JONES: I have got the FBI statistics.

MORGAN: Alex.

JONES: Listen.

MORGAN: No, no.

JONES: That the so-called semiautos that you're talking about --

MORGAN: Let's take a break. Let's take a break. When we come back try --

JONES: Again, you're not going to get the guns --

MORGAN: When we come back, try and answer my question. OK?

JONES: Yes. All you're going to do is -- governments have staged terror attacks throughout history or allowed terrorists to attack as a pretext to invade and enslave a population.

MORGAN: How many gun do you own? How many guns do you own?

JONES: I probably own more than 50 firearms. Many of them have increased in value two or three, or even four times. I sleep very comfortably outside Austin, Texas.

MORGAN: Alex --

JONES: Knowing that I can defend my family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So the White House says it will respond to the petition for Piers' deportation. By the way, for those of you keeping count, the number of signatures after two weeks, 107,000.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) BALDWIN: You bailed them out. Now AIG execs are thinking about suing the same folks who rescued them.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

(voice-over): He's got sky-high approval ratings, he takes on both parties, and just moments ago, Chris Christie gave a speech about his performance in New Jersey.

Plus, a wedding celebration takes a dramatic turn. Find out what happened inside this balloon just before it crashed.

And very soon, the Disney experience is about to change, no cash, no credit cards, no room keys. Instead, hear why a bracelet is your pass to fantasyland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: And in case you're curious, signs of life in the nation's luxury housing market have erupted into a full-fledged rally.

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE)

BALDWIN: Coming up here: Moments ago, Chris Christie gave a speech about his performance in New Jersey. This is the state of the state we are talking about -- so all of this happening after a Democrat suggested Christie prayed for superstorm Sandy to cover up his policies.

We are going to talk about that and his incredible approval ratings next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: He has unemployment running at 9.6 percent. He has the second highest rate of statewide foreclosures. And despite some of these we will call them meddlesome facts, New Jersey's tough-talking governor, Republican Chris Christie, is riding high today.

Here he is. He has just completed his state of the state speech. And he recently shattered a record. Listen to this. His approval rating post-Sandy stands at 72 percent, 72 percent. That's the highest ever for a New Jersey governor. It is also up 16 points since before the storm hit on October 29.

While Chris Christie has shocked fellow Republicans, he has earned plaudits from others for heaping praise on Barack Obama for the federal response to Sandy. And just recently, he blasted House Republicans, including House Speaker John Boehner, for holding up that storm relief bill containing tens of billions of dollars. Let's listen to Chris Christie. This was just last week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: And our delegation asked for a meeting with the speaker at that time. They were refused. I called the speaker four times last night after 11:20, and he did not take my calls.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, Chris Christie has just given his state of the state speech, as we mentioned. He's facing reelection this November and he's leading all comers so far. He's also looking at a possible, looking at a possible run for president in 2016.

Joining me now from New York, CNN contributor Errol Louis, former columnist for "The New York Daily News."

Errol, welcome to you.

ERROL LOUIS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good to see you, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Question out of the gate: Has Chris Christie simply become the Republican that Democrats love the most?

LOUIS: Well, I don't know if they're going to necessarily love him the most, but, you know, this is an election year, as you mentioned, in a state where there are a million Republicans, 1.7 million Democrats, and 2.6 million people who are in neither party.

This is a guy who is trying to get elected in a state that doesn't particularly love Republicans, Democrats or anybody else. He's got to really prove himself, and that's the way you can expect him to run for the rest of the year.

BALDWIN: How about this, Errol? You had this top New Jersey Democrat essentially saying that Hurricane Sandy was a godsend for Christie as basically a distraction from the state's unemployment rate. We said it at the top, 9.6 percent.

Before he apologized and took what he said back, State Senate President Stephen Sweeney said -- quote -- "I guess he prayed a lot and got lucky a storm came."

Crass, for sure, but is there any hint of truth in what he said?

LOUIS: Oh, certainly. There is an element of undeniable political truth there. Three-quarters of the speech that the governor just gave was devoted to the rebuilding process, the post-hurricane rebuilding process and it distracts from some of the things that you mentioned.

Look, for almost his -- virtually his entire term, unemployment has been above 9 percent in New Jersey, while it has been coming down elsewhere around the country. They have got a huge foreclosure problem. They have got a disastrous deficit problem that he promised to solve and has not solved.

So, you know, the fact that he must, because realistically he has to, talk about something other than this really rough economic situation in New Jersey that happened on his watch is a political gift to Chris Christie. Now, would he rather not have had the storm and all of the enormous devastation that came from it? Obviously. But you run on the record and the situation that you have, not the record and the situation you wish you had.

BALDWIN: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

He was quoted just over this past weekend as saying he's more prepared, this is the word that everyone is jumping on, more prepared now than he was last year for a possible run at the White House. And given what we saw happen with Mitt Romney, might it hurt a Chris Christie? You know, you have this right-center candidate, coming out of the Northeast, or -- Romney had the similar problem.

LOUIS: Well, he's got a -- he's certainly got a similar challenge. If the Republicans in the Northeast who are almost an extinct, endangered species at this point, if they are going to have a recovery, it will be somebody like Christie.

And it is a rocky path. I think we can all see that. Step by step, when he tries to be independent or he tries to criticize the Republican establishment, he makes a bunch of enemies. And some of those problems will come back to haunt him when he -- if he does indeed hit the presidential campaign trail.

On the other hand -- again, I gave you the numbers for his state -- there aren't too many ways to be a governor in the Northeast that don't involve making some kind of compromises and appeals to Democrats and especially to independent voters.

BALDWIN: Errol Louis, thank you, for us from New York there.

And now to this. This woman, married to another woman, she's married to this lieutenant colonel in the Army, says the support group for military spouses told her, sorry, you can't join. Ashley Broadway reveals the reason the club gave for denying her admission, why she thinks they denied, next.

Plus, my goodness, a wedding celebration takes this dramatic turn. I'm about to talk with one of these newlyweds who was inside that hot air balloon and said his "I do" moments before it crashed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)