CNN "Newsroom" Transcript: Gun Control in Wake of Newtown

Interview

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. It is the top of the hour. I'm Don Lemon. Brooke is off today.

The battle over gun control kicking into high gear. California Senator Dianne Feinstein stood near this wall of guns today flanked by police officers as she unveiled a tough bill that would ban assault weapons. The new bill would ban more than 100 specific models of firearms, semiautomatic weapons with detachable magazines and high- capacity magazines that use more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

The bill faces staunch opposition from the NRA and gun rights advocates like Suzanna Hupp's. Her parents were shot and killed at Luby's Cafeteria in Texas in 1991. Hupp was there and she regrets leaving her gun in the car. She talked about how parents are reacting to the recent shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.

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SUZANNA GRATIA HUPP, DAUGHTER OF SHOOTING VICTIMS: Well, I think there is a normal reaction especially among us parents. You want to do something, something that will prevent this from happening in the future.

I just take a very different view of it. I look at it and wonder how can anybody not see that these things only happen where guns are not allowed. That seems so crystal-clear to me that we have created these killing zones that we call gun-free zones. It makes me very uncomfortable to have my children in them.

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LEMON: I want to bring in now one of bill's co-sponsors, Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal.

Welcome, sir. Thank you for coming on. Are you doing OK?

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D), CONNECTICUT: I am doing great. Thank you.

LEMON: What would you say to Hupp to try to convince her to support the proposed assault weapons ban? She lost her parents.

BLUMENTHAL: She did. And just by way of reassurance, we are not talking about taking guns away from anyone nor any disrespect for Second Amendment rights. I have enormous respect for the Constitution, which includes the Second Amendment and the court's interpretation of it, which provides an individual right to possess firearms. We are talking here about assault weapons, the kind of military-style AR-15s that were used, for example, in Newtown to massacre 20 children and six educators.

These weapons have really no purpose except to kill and maim human beings, plus the high-capacity magazines. And what I have been hearing from law enforcement -- and I'm a former attorney general for 20 years from the state of Connecticut, U.S. attorney, federal prosecutor -- over many, many years is that they're outgunned. Our police are outgunned by criminals, people with mental illness, domestic abusers who have these kinds of military-style assault weapons. That is all we are talking about here.

LEMON: Yes.

Well, Senator, listen, the NRA as I'm sure you are well very aware gearing up for a fight. The new cover of the NRA's official journal, it reads -- here it is right here -- it's "American Hunter." It reads, "Siege," "Siege" here, meaning under siege, meaning gun enthusiasts are under siege.

And there is an article inside that gun owners face an unprecedented assault on their rights. And it says: "Don't be fooled into thinking President Obama wants to ban fully automatic guns. This has absolutely nothing do to do with machine guns. The United States now has the most anti-gun president in its history. "

Senator, how are you going to fight the NRA?

BLUMENTHAL: The NRA unfortunately is marginalizing its involvement, which I regret that because I think we need voices on all sides of this debate, including responsible gun owners, NRA members who are telling me, you know, we need to do something about keeping guns away from people who are mentally deranged or criminals or felons or fugitives or domestic abusers or drug addicts, people who should not have those weapons.

And my hope is that background checks will be supported by members of the NRA, so that we can keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn't have them, better background checks for firearms purchases, but also for ammunition purchases, and improving those background checks by making the database more complete through information that is submitted by the states.

I think there is the potential for real common ground here among responsible recreational shooters, as well as hunters and others who are responsible gun owners whose right to those guns is guaranteed, absolutely guaranteed by the Second Amendment.

LEMON: Senator Richard Blumenthal, thank you for your time, sir.

BLUMENTHAL: Thank you.

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