New York Times finance columnist and CNBC host Andrew Ross Sorkin admitted Tuesday that his new gun-control proposal would likely make it harder to track firearms, creating difficulties for investigations into gun crimes.
Sorkin proposed in his latest column that financial institutions, such as JP Morgan Chase and Mastercard, not allow credit-card owners to use funds to buy guns. MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle asked Sorkin whether this would simply lead to more untraceable gun sales and be a "boon" for blockchains such as Bitcoin.
"Maybe—" Sorkin responded before Ruhle interrupted.
"Maybe? definitely! " Ruhle interjected, later adding that investigators will "never be able to track" gun sales under Sorkin's system.
This prompted Sorkin to reluctantly agree that his proposal has shortcomings.
"Right," Sorkin said. "Look, the bad news about the proposal I've made—I've been very straightforward about it—is you will move, to the extent that these guns will still be sold somewhere, they will be moved to cash or people will use Bitcoin, and it will be harder to track. I don't disagree."
He went on to say that the strength of his proposal is that it would be more complicated and difficult for citizens to buy guns legally.
Sorkin also said in the interview that he spoke to "well-known CEOs" about his proposal, and he said they were wary of boycotts and even potential violence if they enact his plan.
"I did have a lot of conversations with a lot of very well-known CEOs that you know," Sorkin said.
Sorkin added that CEO's said they "don't want to put employees in harm's way" because angering gun owners could lead to a violent "incident."
"Wow," Ruhle replied.
"That's a very, very scary thing," Sorkin added.
He then cited the protests that occurred when Starbucks issued a recommendation that gun owners not carry weapons while at Starbucks establishments. Those protests did not see any violence, but having protesters with guns "created a very scary environment for employees," Sorkin said.