Bloomberg: Gohmert gun comment "nonsensical"

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday called comments by Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert "nonsensical" in an interview with CBS News Chief Washington Correspondent Bob Schieffer.

In response to the shootings in Aurora, Colorado, Gohmert said, "it does make me wonder with all those people in the theater was there no one who was carrying who could stop this guy more quickly?" Schieffer asked Bloomberg to respond.

"To arm everybody and have the wild west all the time is one of the more nonsensical things you can say," he said. "This person - I don't know what his motives are, I don't know him and I'm not here to impugn him or anyone else. It just does not make any sense."

Bloomberg continued: "The bottom line is if we had fewer guns, we would have a lot fewer murders. And if you go and look, there is no other developed country in the world, Bob, that has as many guns as it has people. Do you really think you'd be safe if anybody in the audience could pull out a gun and start shooting? I don't think so."

Watch more from Schieffer's interview with Bloomberg on Sunday's "Face the Nation."

[OrcoWebmaster]

We have less than 680,000 peace officers "to serve and to protect" the more than 310,000,000 inhabitants in this country. Because they are divided into four crews to cover 24-7, we have only about one on-duty peace officer to protect each 2000 of us against the thugs and deranged killers within our midst that prey upon the defenseless and innocent. As "first responders" these officers usually get to march around in swat regalia after the damage is done. The evil that occurred in Connecticut was made possible by the asymmetry afforded by "gun free zones" that become killing fields. All "gun free zones" without police presence should be posted with the caveat that "This sign will not stop a mad man with a gun. You will be defenseless. Enter at your own risk." Today we have more than eight million citizens with a sense of duty to help deter violent crime by being licensed to carry a concealed handgun as an instant responder. I have personal experience deterring a potentially violent crime with concealed carry. These citizens are prevented from providing this deterrent in all "gun free zones" such as schools and posted theaters as in Colorado. Without providing adequate screening and armed security, these postings constitute reckless endangerment. These "gun free zones" were established under the theory that guns make people bad and dangerous. If that were true, we automatically have about 680,000 people with badges that are bad and dangerous. These are the same people that fired 137 rounds into a car here in Cleveland and killed two unarmed people while jeopardizing the safety of the surrounding neighborhood. These are the same people that shot innocent bystanders on the street in New York City. My fear is that the tragedy in Connecticut will once again allow stupidity to triumph over intelligence in Washington. With over 100 million semi-automatic magazines that hold more than ten rounds and with over 30 million semi-automatic rifles of varying configurations owned by civilians, any herculean effort to register or confiscate these will not prevent another tragedy as occurred in Connecticut. To safeguard our kids we need instant responders and not first responders.

[c3pee0h]

The previous ban on assault weapons has expired. Is there any measure that would show if it was successful in reducing gun violence?

[pejsar]

People like Bloomberg live in a bubble. One with armed bodyguards. The Aurora Police set a record responding to this tradegedy. Still 12 are dead. Bloomberg should not use a time like this to joke about deer wearing body armor. Armor piercing bullets should not be sold? What about the odd weirdo in a movie theatre with body armor? He was not a deer. Bloomberg is most tasteless in his use of the victims of this horrible tragedy as pawns in his agenda.

[lbell20]

Dispite all the laws written in regards to illegal drugs,illegal immigration,I,identity theft or terrorism our government hasn't been able to eliminate the problem. The problem is our laws are written to punish one after the crime was committed. We run the risk of voilating our rights as American Citizens if we begin to write laws in a manner as "you could possibly commit a murder" Law, and that is the only way a law will prevent this type of action from happing again. For example how many of you stoped talking on your cell phones disite the new laws written? How many cops pulled you over?

[onthedelaware]

The issue of stand your ground and the right to buy guns should be on the radar. We now have individuals like Zimmerman, unqualified but living in a community, motivated to be important and to play cop. They drive around in vehicles in groups and patrol to "protect" but in fact, their behavior on the road with cell phones and arm signals and intrusive behavior, evidently trained to do these things by law enforcement, is not helpful to most people who want to live in a safe environment. This constant behavior has changed how we see "community." It has brought worry and fear into the forefront and it has to stop! Now we have to wonder how many have guns in their cars or in their pockets if they truly believe they need this to be "protectors" -- that is what Zimmerman believed and the law was the the point of that belief. I am sure he would have eventually carried a gun to be important no matter what the law. In my town some most of the individuals wear little hats that do this but once every so often males wearing large western style hats join the crowd. What is their psychology? Is this a game? Are they like my 2 year old son who plays cowboy in a black hat with a toy gun? What is going on in this society and when are the leaders in states and the Federal government going to take some action to control Fusion Centers and what evidently is the consequence of changing security for our towns to the operations of the unqualified and the untrained.

[fitstshu]

If Gohmert was in that theater, he would have been hiding under anything he could find, carrying or not.Nothing but a loud mouth dipsht.

[Jack575857686906858]

So you know all this stuff how? Tea leaves? Tarot cards?

Teach us, o wise one.

I need to know why it would have been impossible for Seeger (as example) to shoot the SOB -- she was only 4 feet away from him, and he was silhouetted against the screen.

And there were others.

No resistance equals high body count -- Cho, Breivik and simple logic prove that.

[Larnan5]

A vote for Romney will be a vote for more of this nonsense. When will he speak out against this bigotry? The ultra right wing zealots of the GOP make us off any opportunity to try to change our democracy into a theocracy. A theocracy is a dictatorship by one religion over all others. Beware of the Gohmerts, Bachmann's and Becks as they are out to take your rights away if you do not believe in their God. Jesus would not approve.

[TheFoundersLive]

Nothing you said here is the truth.

Everyone just move along.

[Canadian_T_Bone]

You're an ididot

[Canadian_T_Bone]

You're an ididot

[lesserof2evil]

What a bunch of nut cases, just like your representative from Texas.

[mcmustang2]

Let me try to make sense of the comment for you, Mr. Bloomberg, since you can't seem to do it yourself. It's common sense. If there was an armed cop in the audience, don't you think the gunman could have been stopped before he killed 12 people? Sure you do. Maybe the death toll would have only been 4. Now, let's shift the armed cop to an armed citizen. Same result, don't you think? Or do you think an armed citizen would be less effective than an armed cop? Okay, maybe with the armed citizen only 8 people would have been killed. How about two armed citizens? Three? Four? Maybe the gunman could have been stopped after the first shot? But the laws you have enacted in your city don't allow any armed citizens, do they Mr. Bloomberg? So you'd have to have an armed cop in every theater showing, wouldn't you? Cops can't be everywhere, Mr. Bloomberg. You know that. You just don't trust your subjects, er, citizens with guns. Good job on the brainwashing, Mr. Bloomberg. Good luck in the next election!

[Jack575857686906858]

You are making sense -- Bloomberg won't like that.

To He!! with him...

[skeezix06]

An armed citizen is an amateur. An armed policeman/policewoman is a trained professional. Odds are that it wouldn't be the same result.

[ranko7]

Seriously? You want to add three or four (you probably think the-more-the-better) armed amateurs (shooting proficiency does not equate to professionalism) into a panicked crowd in a dimlit auditorium to which tear gas/smoke has been added? Yeah, that'll reduce the death toll --not, to say nothing of the additional trauma of the experience from knowing there were multiple gunmen, (whose motives the frightened moviegoers would have had know way of knowing).

[Ron37Skel]

Have you ever heard of All in the Family? It was a groundbreaking TV show from the 70's. In one episode, Archie Bunker explained during a TV interview how to stop airplane hijackings. You hand out handguns to all passengers upon takeoff and collect them upon landing. No terrorist would dare hijack a plane. From a sitcom extremist this was hilarious. From real people it is alarming.

[robbyr2]

So, you really think that a civilian with a concealed weapon is going to say to himself or herself, okay, I know I will make myself and my family a target for this guy shooting 100 rounds a minute because I know that in a dark theater I'm going to shoot the shooter and not the 100 people between me and him? The death toll would have been much greater.

[ralphziggys]

I used to shoot in NRA bullseye competitions. the city police dept also used our range and shot at half the distance in their competitions. they sprayed bullets all over the place, horrible accuracy compared to we "amateurs" who fired 500 or more rounds a week in practice. I can hit what I aim at under pressure; the cops not so much. The tradegy is that our culture is leaning toward everyone just being a victim, and not having the means to defend oneself.

[US-Patriot]

Bloomberg conveniently presents the issue as "arming everybody and returning to the wild wild west." No responsible citizen would advance arming "everyone"; only law-abiding and properly trained citizens should have the right to carry concealed firearms. Taking the guns away from law-abiding citizens will do nothing to prevent criminals from using guns in the commissio of their crimes. I'm sure as Mr. Millionaire is seeking to disarm the law-abiding population he is safe with all the armed security he pays to protect himself. He just doesn't want to dirty his own hands by owing a firearm and personally taking responsibility for his own safety. What a hypocrite!