New York paves way on tighter gun laws

>>> one correction to make. i told you that 91% of americans support back ground checks. that's no longer true. a new poll shows that, in fact, 92% support background checks . 92% of americans agree. 92% of americans can't agree on anything. they can't debate whether the toilet seat should be up or down. they agree on this one very important thing. 92% of americans want to make the country safer with background chers. and they have the full support of the president. he made a personal commitment to that and to gun safety . and, today, we learned the first lady will be attending the funeral of hadiya pendleton. she was shot and killed just a week after participating with her band mates in the festivities at president obama 's inauguration. this fight is for her. and for all the innocent victims. today, house democrats unvailed their proposal for real gun control . last night, president joe biden talked about the need to act now.

>> i can't imagine how we will be judged as an individual, judged as a congress, judged as a nation if we do nothing. that i can't imagine. it's simply unacceptable.

>> enough is enough is enough. we have to stand up.

>> enough is enough. 92% of americans want to see real change . and that change is going to come. joining me now is eric snyder, the attorney general of the state of new york . you're at the top of law enforcement in the state of new york and one of the biggest states in the country. is there real momentum now to fix these gun laws nationwide?

>> absolutely. i think that my own experience, traveling around the state talking to people, confirms the 92% number. and i would add, 92% of americans , that includes a lot of gun owners . we've made real progress here in new york. i think they can make progress here in washington .

>> a lot of people around the country think of people just as new york city . but you're the top law enforcement person in the state that has rural as well as urban that has gun shows. so this is not an easy lift, yet you've become one of the champions of this. tell us how you deal with the gun show laws.

>> one of the toughest in the country.

>> one of the toughest in the country, good example. we've got to get action, also, at the federal level . one of the things i've done is we did an undercover sting on gun shows. found that they were not doing the background checks . . nra members has strong advocates. not only did they advocate, they're unsuring 100%. so the people of good conscience who are sports men and women who are gun owners , they understand this. they know background checks keep guns away from criminals and people with mental health problems. that what happened in newtown has galvanized them, as well. i think a lot of the people out there are responsible gun owners that do not feel protected by the leadership in washington .

>> isn't the problem about enforcement? there are some laws that are on the books that have not been in force. now, toughest in the country right now, new york state. but it doesn't matter if it's people like you, and you're the toughest.

>> at least we developed a way with gun shows and it's a major source of guns. we've found a way to replicate nationally. and if the gun show operators like it, if they feel that they're doing their part, we can do that. but we have to get the federal laws fixed. we're not even allowed to get information from the bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives. the laws in washington are with handcuffs. the time for change is coming to washington . you see the president. you see the commitment there.

>> you see 11 states are considering gun laws . you're going to washington soon. what's your message going to be to the nation? you're a national figure in this area.

>> i'm working with our federal counter parts. i'm taking the information on what we've been ablg to do at gun shows. we have some other ideas that can help the national campaign. but from his re- election campaign , he's going out, he's advocating, he's using his voice. if the people are fairly represents, we're going to get change in washington . i'm going down there to talk to my federal colleagues, help them do whatever we can do to rally support.

>> since newtown , 1612 people have been shot and killed in the 55 days since the newtown tragedy. 26 of those day were children under the age of 12. they're not making headlines the same way, but that's 29 people a day. after newtown , we're still in the middle of a crisis here.

>> newtown has galvanized a lot of people in the country. but 29 people a day, every day, like the little girl in chicago, you see this, and disproportionately in poorer communities, this is an epidemic. if this were automobiles, we would do what we did with cars. but because of the opposition of some militants who have been really shortsighted and they're losing support, i'm telling you, rev, of gun owners across america as well as others, they have limited the federal government 's ability to act. we are going to overcome that in the months ahead. i'm confident that we can do it.

>> well, we're making progress. i want you to come back and talk about that.

>> love to do it.

>> all right. thank you and thank you for your time tonight. the monster they created won't go away. the tea party is revolting against karl rove . oh, how the mighty have fallen. and chris christie tells a doctor to shut up about his weight. i have something to say about this and it may surprise