CNN's Chris Cuomo is hilariously confused during a Virginia Republican's argument against background checks


CNN's Chris Cuomo was having the hardest time Monday wrapping his head around why anyone would be opposed to universal background checks for gun purchases — and his guest on Monday's New Day, Rep. Scott Taylor (R-Va.), wasn't exactly helping. "If you want to sell your gun to your son, or give it to your son, how do you actually enforce [background checks]?" Taylor asked Cuomo.
"You have to do paperwork," Cuomo answered, looking nonplussed. "You have to say, Here's who bought it, here's who the guy is, here's who's going to get it, and have it processed." To put it simply, Cuomo said: "If I sell a boat to you, to my son, there's paperwork, right? You've got to put through paperwork. Why not put through paperwork on any sale when it comes to a gun?"
"I do not think you're going to be able to enforce that," insisted Taylor.
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Cuomo continued to be completely lost by that argument: "Why would you only have certain sales affected by background checks? I don't get why that's a good thing. You said, 'Well, it's hard to enforce.' That's not a standard of whether or not to put a law in place. You put a law in place and figure out how to enforce it."
Taylor again insisted that he doesn't support universal background checks while failing to offer any reason why, despite Cuomo's pressing. When Taylor tried to pivot the debate to Cuomo's "support" of the policy, Cuomo quipped: "I don't support anything except you answering my question, my friend." Watch the whole debate below. Jeva Lange
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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