‘Actually’: Witness Hits Back At Republican’s Leading Question on Gun Violence By Citing His Own State’s Abysmal Statistics

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) had some home-state statistics thrown back at him by a witness on Tuesday when he asked about gun violence in Chicago during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on “the gun violence epidemic.”

“May I ask you this?” Kennedy began, addressing Dr. Megan L. Ranney, the dean of Yale’s School of Public Health.

“Why do you think that Chicago has become America’s largest outdoor shooting range? You think it’s because of Chicago citizens? Who have no criminal record, but but who have lawfully a gun in their home for protection. Or perhaps for hunting. Or do you think it’s because of a finite group of criminals who have rap sheets as long as King Kong’s arm?” Kennedy asked, echoing common GOP talking points.

“So, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Missouri actually have higher firearm death rates,” Ranney replied.

“What about Chicago?” Kennedy shot back.

“Sir I don’t live in Chicago. It’s not my primary area of research,” Ranney said in response.

“You don’t have an opinion on that?” Kennedy followed up.

“I think there’s easy access to firearms compared with combined with environmental conditions. Lack of great education. There are actually been studies showing that when you green vacant lots and repair abandoned buildings in urban neighborhoods, you see decreases in gunshots, in violence as well as in stress and depression in the neighborhoods around them,” Ranney replied.

“No disrespect, doc, but that sounds a lot like word salad to me,” Kennedy replied.

Axios reported in October that according to one study, in 2022 New Orleans, Louisiana had the third highest gun death rate per capita in the U.S. — followed by St. Louis, Missouri and Birmingham Alabama.

Watch the full clip above.