After the Las Vegas Shooting, Taking on Myths About Gun Control

FEATURING DENNIS A. HENIGAN – Nearly 60 people were killed and more than 500 injured in the worst mass shooting in modern US history on Sunday night, early Monday morning in Las Vegas at a concert.

The suspected gunman was a 64-year old white man named Stephen Paddock who appeared to have taken his own life by the time law enforcement got to him. He was apparently shooting from the 32nd floor of a hotel into crowds of concert attendees at the 3-day long country music festival at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. So far there are reports that he used at least one automatic weapon that could have been a military style assault rifle.

Because Paddock was not found as yet to have any political motivations connected with foreign organizations, he has been dubbed a “lone wolf” rather than a terrorist.

President Donald Trump gave an address on Monday morning calling the shooting, “an act of pure evil.” He plans to visit Las Vegas on Wednesday after presumably returning from Puerto Rico.

When mass shootings happen, the NRA and their right wing allies often denounce any mentions of gun control as an effort to politicize a tragedy. But if gun control is not raised after a shooting, when should it be raised? So today, as the facts around the horrific Las Vegas shooting are still emerging, we’ll play a recent interview with Dennis A. Henigan.

Dennis A. Henigan, Director of legal and policy analysis at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and formerly the Vice President of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. He spoke with me about his book, “Guns Don’t Kill People, People Kill People,” And Other Myths About Guns and Gun Control.