CNN "Newsroom" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. McBath
Interview
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WHITFIELD: Welcome back. The deadly shooting in Aurora, Illinois, that claimed the lives of five people came just two days after the house Judiciary Committee advanced its first gun violence legislation bill in years. The bill, which would require federal background checks for all gun purchases, was championed by committee member Lucy McBath, a newly-elected Democrat from Georgia. Congresswoman McBath tragically lost her own son, he was 17 at the time, Jordan, to gun violence in 2012.
I'm joined by Congresswoman Lucy McBath. Good to see you.
REP. LUCY MCBATH, (D) GEORGIA: Thank you for having me.
WHITFIELD: So this is really very bittersweet, because today would have been Jordan's 24th birthday.
MCBATH: Yes. Thank you so much.
WHITFIELD: How have you been galvanized by his death, all that you have experienced, to say instead of lobbying, going after lawmakers, I'm going to help effect change?
MCBATH: Well, I began to recognize, most specifically after the Parkland shooting, I wept waiting for our legislators to really push back with President Trump, pushing him to do something about this culture. And I thought there would be something done when I saw President Trump sitting with all of our federal legislators at the round table and they were joking and laughing about the NRA gun lobby, and President Trump said you don't need to be afraid of the NRA gun lobby.
[14:40:07] And he says we need background checks. And then within 24 hours, he flipped. And I recognized then that who was going to stand up. And if I had already been working so diligently with survivors and lawmakers and other legislators in other states, trying to enact some commonsense solutions, so that no one would suffer a tragedy like myself, or the Parkland families, I had already lost enough. I had nothing else to lose, and I myself was going to stand up to challenge Washington.
WHITFIELD: So then what does it feel like today, what would have been your son's 24th birthday, and while there is this slice of victory, at the same time, you're thinking about your son. You're doing it for your son.
MCBATH: It is bittersweet. Today would have been Jordan's 24th birthday, and I wonder who would he have become, what would he be doing, how would we be celebrating him today. But in a sense, I believe that I am celebrating his life as well as his death, working for commonsense solutions, being able to be a part of the legislative body that can really help push the policy forward to save as many lives as we can. And every day that I'm there on the Hill, every day that I'm talking to constituents, every day that I sit in the Judiciary meetings and hearings, I am reminded over and over again that what I'm doing really matters. And it still matters for Jordan even though he is not here with us.
WHITFIELD: He is with you.
MCBATH: Yes, he is, spiritually.
WHITFIELD: You feel that he is helping you do all of this.
MCBATH: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: So a very similar bill of expanding background checks was defeated in just 2013, particularly in the Senate. While you have this support now in your committee, in the House, are you worried about the next steps for it?
MCBATH: I'm not worried about the next steps. Of course they're going to be challenging. We do believe that we'll have full support in the House when we go before the floor. We'll have the number of votes to pass it on the house. Of course, we've got to take the bill, of course, to the Senate.
But I truly believe that there are enough of our senators that really believe that this is a public health crisis, and that anyone can suffer what happened to Parkland. Any community can suffer that. No one is immune to gun violence. It's in every space of America. And I think that constituents even within their own districts are beginning to say, this is a scourge on America, and do you have an accountability and responsibility to keeping us safe. And let's find a way, without infringing upon people's Second Amendment rights, to make sure that we can balance those rights with common sense solutions to keep us safe.
WHITFIELD: So talk to me about the frustration that comes when another shooting takes place. It was hard enough, devastating enough, continues to be so, with the passing, with the killing of your son, and then Parkland. And then Aurora just yesterday. Talk to me about the frustration that comes with collectively a nation saying this is horrible, this is terrible, this shouldn't happen, but then nothing powerful seems to happen.
MCBATH: There is a frustration, because for me, I recognize that this is becoming our new normal, and that's not good. And I recognize that every single day, there are about 100 people every day that continue to die unnecessarily due to our extremist culture. And with our inability to act on these measures and to push them forth to keep people safe, we're going to continue to be this, this country and this nation, that puts guns over God and public profit with guns over public safety. And I just refuse to believe that we are a nation that will continue to live this way.
WHITFIELD: Do you feel like this is a national crisis that needs addressing with a declaration of an emergency?
MCBATH: I don't like to say that -- personally, I believe this is a public health crisis. Personally, I believe that, yes, we are at an emergency state. But I think that we need to make sure that we use the checks and balances, the constitutional responsibility that myself and my colleagues have, to make sure that we're following all of the checks and balances without deciding that this is an emergency that really when we're circumventing executive oversight. And I don't think that we should be doing that. I think that we should make sure that we're following the system, the checks and balances, putting forth these bills and these measures constitutionally in the correct way to make sure that we're really making the best decisions, the most sound decisions, as to what really constitutes an emergency, a national emergency.
[14:45:13] WHITFIELD: This is how House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sees it.
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WHITFIELD: Do you see those are ominous words of what potentially is on the horizon?
MCBATH: I'm fairly sure that there's going to be far more talk about making sure that we keep Americans safe going forward. I know that Chairman Nadler who I sit under with the Judiciary Committee is very, very committed to making sure that we're keeping Americans safe. I know that Speaker Pelosi and a lot of the leaders are very committed. And there are some Senate members that are also, Republicans that are also very committed. And so I'm committed to reaching across the aisle to everyone that is willing to make sure that we do the right thing, and do the right thing by our constituents.
WHITFIELD: Congresswoman Lucy McBath, congratulations again.
MCBATH: Thank you very much.
WHITFIELD: Good to see you.
And we'll be right back.
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