CNN host Chris Cuomo appears to believe no one is calling for the repeal of the Second Amendment and that opponents of gun control create a "bogeyman" in saying gun control activists want to eradicate the right to bear arms.
In a segment with former Republican Sen. Rick Santorum, Cuomo brought up President Donald Trump's Wednesday morning tweet about the Second Amendment and how it "will never be repealed."
"You have the president of the United States tweeting that the Second Amendment will never be repealed. Who is calling for a repeal of the Second Amendment? Who is calling for it?" Cuomo asked.
"Justice Stevens did," Santorum replied.
Santorum was referring to the New York Times op-ed titled, "John Paul Stevens: Repeal the Second Amendment." In the piece, former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens said gun control activists should "demand" a repeal of the Second Amendment.
The op-ed states:
Rarely in my lifetime have I seen the type of civic engagement schoolchildren and their supporters demonstrated in Washington and other major cities throughout the country this past Saturday. These demonstrations demand our respect. They reveal the broad public support for legislation to minimize the risk of mass killings of schoolchildren and others in our society.
That support is a clear sign to lawmakers to enact legislation prohibiting civilian ownership of semiautomatic weapons, increasing the minimum age to buy a gun from 18 to 21 years old, and establishing more comprehensive background checks on all purchasers of firearms. But the demonstrators should seek more effective and more lasting reform. They should demand a repeal of the Second Amendment.
Cuomo doesn't believe Stevens' words mean he is calling for the repeal of the Second Amendment.
"He did not. It was about the fastest route to legal change," Cuomo said. "Of course if you didn't have a Second Amendment, you wouldn't have Heller. It would be easier to change the laws," Cuomo said. "He's not a politician. He's not in office. He is not the head of any significant group."
"He is a former justice --," Santorum tried to interject.
"It is a boogeyman and you know it," Cuomo declared.
Cuomo continued to argue on Twitter that talk about repealing the Second Amendment is a bogeyman.
it is a bogeyman. and fwiw read the full context of what stevens said - even he was discussing what fastest route to legal changes to current laws would be. of course if there were no 2A, regulating access would be easier. https://t.co/6IergPT5UX
— Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) March 28, 2018
if your case for fears of 2a repeal rest on on an op ed from a retired justice, you have no case. read the context and realize it is another bogeyman by you guys who want fear to inhibit change. we need to stop the shootings, right? https://t.co/itkbc7eWjR
— Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) March 28, 2018
he is a retired justice who was talking about ways to get quick legal change on access to weapons. he is not an elected official or part of any effort to repeal 2A. it is a bogeyman to keep people scared and as such resistant to ways to stop the shootings. https://t.co/GpHXVwjcjf
— Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) March 28, 2018
Despite Cuomo's comments, CNN has described Stevens' op-ed as a call for the repeal of the Second Amendment. "Retired Justice Stevens argues for repeal of Second Amendment," an article headline on CNN.com reads.
Stevens isn't the only public figure that has called for the repeal of the Second Amendment. New York Times columnist Bret Stephens wrote an October 2017 op-ed that also called for such a repeal. MSNBC anchor Joy Reid appeared to be sympathetic to Stevens' op-ed. Esquire magazine published a piece arguing more Democrats should call for the repeal of the right to bear arms.
A recent national survey showed one in five Americans support repealing the Second Amendment, which includes the support of 39 percent of Democrats.