NRA's top lobbyist Chris W. Cox: Discussing policy in wake of gun violence goes against “common decency”

From the October 8 edition of  Fox Broadcasting Co.'s Fox News Sunday:

Video file

CHRIS WALLACE (HOST): Well, let's just talk about the underlying behavior, you're the NRA, so we're going to talk to you about the specific technique. Would you be OK with banning bump stocks? 

CHRIS W. COX: Well, we don't believe bans have ever worked on anything. What we've said has been very clear: That if something transfers a semiautomatic to function like fully automatic, then it ought to be regulated differently. Fully automatics are regulated differently in this country. If something copies a semiautomatic into a fully automatic, then those should be related as well. 

WALLACE: Did you get any blowback from some of your members? Because it's unusual for the NRA after one of these incidents to call for more regulation of either guns or parts of guns.

COX: There were NRA members at that concert, there were NRA members that were shot at that concert, and NRA members that were murdered at that concert. So what we're getting from NRA members is grief and fear, the same way Americans are grieving and scared that something like this might happen again. So, will there be disagreements over policy discussions? Of course. There's an ongoing discussion about gun control in this country. We had it during the debates last year. We had it throughout the campaign when the most pro-gun control candidate was defeated by the most pro-Second Amendment candidate. These conversations happen.

What we're concerned about is that we're having a conversation when people are grieving, there used to be a common decency in this country where people paused from talking about policy. Unfortunately, with Dianne Feinstein and Michael Bloomberg, they want to exploit a tragedy from day one. It's shameful, but apparently that's the new normal, and that's why we're here talking to you today.

Previously:

After horrific casualties in Las Vegas, right-wing media say now is not the time to talk about gun violence

Right-wing hosts like Sean Hannity get paid to pitch guns as a way to “survive a mass shooting”

Discredited gun researcher John Lott’s misleading Las Vegas massacre claims are falling apart

How the NRA exploited hurricanes to promote gun ownership