Lawrence O'Donnell Quotes

If we don't get gun-control laws in this country, we are full of beans. To have the National Rifle Association rule the United States is pathetic. And I agree with Mayor Michael Bloomberg: It's time to put up or shut up about gun control for both parties.

As for gun control advocates, I have no hope whatever that any facts whatever will make the slightest dent in their thinking - or lack of thinking.

A woman who demands further gun control legislation is like a chicken who roots for Colonel Sanders.

It seems ridiculous that you can be in one state with your driver's license and buy a firearm, and then in the next state it is totally illegal. There are real problems to that, but as soon as you bring up the subject and say 'gun control,' it sets a red flag.

If you talk to any of my Democratic colleagues who lost that year, they would tell that gun control was one of the major contributory factors in the loss of their seats.

Gun control means being able to hit your target. If I have a 'hot button' issue, this is definitely it. Don't even think about taking my guns. My rights are not negotiable, and I am totally unwilling to compromise when it comes to the Second Amendment.

We all know the NRA's position: guns don't kill people—grapes do.

I'll be honest with you, I really struggle with the conversation around gun control.

I think that we may lose the argument, but I think we have to talk about gun control.

We woke up one day, and all the sudden Starbucks was in the middle of this political crossfire between the people who want to bring a gun into Starbucks and the people who want to prevent it. It is a very difficult, fragile situation.

The left, liberals, believe that if we just have more gun control laws, all the problems are going to go away. Well, I don't think so. I don't think so. I think - yes, it will, it will be reduced. There's no question about that.

I'm liberal on every social aspect, probably. More liberal than people would even believe. But there's still some of that Texas in me, as far as the gun debate. I wish there were no guns; I'm all for gun restrictions. But I'm also of the mind-set, if nothing changes, I'm getting a gun.

Unfortunately, most gun control advocates are not really interested in rational debate, and their political games simply send Alice chasing white rabbits down holes.

The so-called assault weapons ban is a hoax. It is a political appeal to the ignorant. The guns it supposedly banned have been illegal for 78 years. Did the ban make them 'more' illegal? The ban addresses only the appearance of weapons, not their operation.

Moments of crisis, like the shooting in Newtown, tend to produce brief spikes of popular interest in gun control. My research on media attention suggests these spikes are extremely short-lived, and that they may be decreasing in intensity.

This battle for 'common-sense' gun control laws pits emotion and passion against logic and reason. All too often in such a contest, logic loses. So, expect more meaningless, if not harmful, 'gun control' legislation. Good news - if you're a crook.

I feel like I've got feet firmly in different camps. Between the right of gun ownership and public safety.

Just because someone is holding a gun doesn't make an image controversial. It all depends on where you put the gun, who is holding it.

As President Obama is inaugurated for a second time, the biggest political surprise is that gun control is now key to his political legacy.

I have told myself that gun control isn't crime control. But more and more my argument in my own ears sounded threadbare.

If gun control worked, the District of Columbia would be the safest place in America.

Stop using the word’s “gun control”. All the 2nd Amendment enthusiasts hear is CONTROL. Let’s use “gun violence”, “gun safety” and other terms that are less confrontational.

The real firearms argument is not a historical dispute about revolutionary America but a political one about 21st century America.

There is a recognition that Second Amendment rights, like First Amendment and other rights, come with responsibilities and limitations. There is no reason both sides of the gun debate can't support policies that both protect the right to legally own guns for sport and safety, and reduce the likelihood of mass fatalities.

We have to face the fact that meaningful gun control has to be a part of homeland security.