Scarborough: Challenge is explaining background checks don't equal registration

>> here are some opportunities. the nra will pressure senators, most of them democrats, who have 2014 races. the initial strategy, local newspaper ads. according to " roll call " starting today, full-page ads will go up in markets across the country including maine where republican senator susan collins is the incumbent. they will also target other states with digital advertising and full-page ads in " usa today " regional editions all part of a campaign estimated at nearly $375,000.

>> which by the way, you say okay, $375,000, that's pretty impressive. digital ads until you realize michael bloomberg spends $375 million in all of those areas. whatever they put in, bloomberg's going to put in more. the giffords are going to raise more. this is a losing cause.

>> why don't they say the nra might not be as powerful as it used to be now because of the forces against it? can they say that?

>> you know, the thing is, you've got wayne lapierre .

>> yeah.

>> who really was a lot closer to where americans are today.

>> almost aware.

>> than he is right now. because 92% of americans want universal background checks . i think that's coming.

>> all right. meanwhile, president obama gained an ally in his efforts to pass new gun legislation in the wake of the newtown shootings. congressman joe heck , republican from nevada, backed universal background checks for firearms saying, quote, i think the idea of background checks across the board, i'm not opposed to them. and i disagree with people who say that this is going to be the first step to gun registration, which leads to gun con physician indication. c con physician

>> they go through a background check . and guess what? they're not part of a national registry .

>> right.

>> nobody's coming to get their guns. the black helicopters around circling their house. nobody's taking their livestock. you can do this. you can make sure that felons can't walk into a gun store or go to a gun show and buy weapons.

>> this is one of the points that's been made, james and mike and you over and over again on the show. it's hard to square this with common sense. how is it that you would want someone to buy a firearm and not know if they have beaten their children, if they have robbed from something in their neighborhood, if they've attempted murder , or if they suffer from a mental imbalance? for anyone --

>> wait, hold on a second. that may disqualify you and most of us.

>> we shouldn't joke about that.

>> that actually is going to be the most serious part. you've got to make sure that it's not --

>> i was not joking about that. it's a very serious issue. but the fact that any republican or democrat could be opposed to that kind of check --

>> yeah.

>> -- is what you speak of. it's not only style, it's substance, and it makes you sound stupid, democrat or republican.

>> north florida , in tennessee and louisiana, bill clinton from arkansas says you have to be careful that you're not attacking gun companies.

>> yeah.

>> what can happen is the democrats can shoot too far here.

>> do you think they are?

>> i don't think they are yet, but look, i've been around this joint for a long time. and they get full of themselves, and they get out there.

>> is background checks too much, more how should it be tailored?

>> talk about specific things you can do, and don't attack gun culture . guns are a big part of the culture in a large part of this country. where i grew up, it was.

>> it still is.

>> it's big here in new york state. people can drive 80 miles outside.

>> we're talking about gun culture , not assault weapon culture, right?

>> i agree. but once you go -- that stuff really bites back politically. i've seen it bite democrats back. there's this big thing in a poll and you become excessive in your language.

>> you know it happens all the time. it's the overreach that always kills you. and i've got to say, when you talk about what the president's doing right now on sequestration, i think he's overreaching on the taxes. he's going back to talk, we need a more balanced approach. he's saying the same thing he said before. i don't want to get off track, but that's where the great danger is. i think in this case, if you're talking about universal background checks , you're good. if you're talking about gun trafficking, you're fine. i think even middle ground , the magazines, there you get into the middle ground . and then when you get into assault weapons , it gets into this ugly fight where is it cosmetic? are we really talking about, you know, semiautomatic? that's where it starts to get a little messy.

>> some the shenandoah valley , the opening of deer season is second only to christmas day . it is bigger than thanksgiving.

>> yeah.

>> it's bigger than anything. that is -- and that's just not an isolated thing. i'll bet you in 25% of the country, the biggest holiday in pennsylvania, those guys, they shoot people out of the tree half the time.

>> pennsylvania, wisconsin, northwest florida . western massachusetts . this isn't just a southern thing.

>> duck season in arkansas .

>> you've got to talk about this in a way that is not threatening.

>> you never know. you never know what's going to connect. you know, when i ran in 1994 , i was running against the tax increase, right?

>> i remember it well.

>> yeah. it was an ugly time. but you know what? you know what i found? i would go over to funiac springs, they weren't talking about tax increase. they were talking about nafta and guns. because the brady bill had passed, and nafta had passed. you know, i remember wandering around north florida , and i'm, like, nafta ? why are they worried about nafta ? it symbolized something very big that was happening.

>> no doubt about it.

>> a changing culture that they and americans , whether it's wisconsin or northwest florida , were concerned about.

>> democrats need an 800 number . they have to establish an 800 number . call this 800 number if anyone threatens to come and confiscate your guns. we'll take care of it. no one's going to confiscate your guns. call this 800 number .

>> the great challenge is right now, a great challenge is just being able to explain to americans that universal background checks to keep guns out of felons' hands does not equal registration, gun registration, and nobody's coming for your guns. by the way, the second amendment tells us, scalia tells us, the supreme court tells us, they can't come for your guns.

>> there's a lot of skeptics out there.

>>> still ahead, we have a lot to get to. chairman and publisher of "the new york daily news," mort zuckerman , congressman steny hoyer , gail collins and actor don cheadle will join us. also, the case against olympian oscar pistorius . the top detective is himself facing attempted murder charges? and that's not the only thing threatening to undermine the case.

>>> up next, this morning's "politico playbook" takes us inside the major backlash to karl rove among some in the republican party .

>>> but first, here's bill karins tracking a major storm heading east. bill.

>> yeah, mika, i'm starting off by telling people travel is not recommended in portions of six different states in the middle of this country, especially kansas . no one should be on the roads now. the worst of the storm is right over the top of you. this is how it's going to play out over the next 24 hours . an ice storm . portions of arkansas , southern missouri into southern illinois . a snowstorm, though, from kansas to northern missouri. nebraska, iowa and eventually tonight into illinois. so the worst of it this morning, wichita , kansas . it's just getting nailed. they've had thundersnow and sleet mixing in for the last two or three hours. i-35 almost impassable now from around the wichita area up to emporia. it is soon going to be snowing in kansas city . the morning rush hour there is going to be very, very troublesome. snowfall totals, again, this pink color is 6 to 12 inches . a very large area. somewhere a little band just north of wichita and kansas city near topeka will end up with a foot of snow. that three to six inches is huge. it goes all the way to green bay to chicago to st. louis. my big-city snowfall totals when it's all said and done, a foot possible in kansas city . omaha, wichita , a little less than that. just a glancing blow really for our friends in minneapolis and chicago. you can probably deal a little better than your friends to the south with three to six. and everyone in new england, we're okay the next two days. i'm still tracking that potential storm for you as we go throughout this upcoming weekend. it looks like it's going to hit saturday night into sunday morning. significant snow interior sections of new england. more on that later during " morning joe ." you're watching " morning joe ." we're brewed by starbucks. many