Brooklyn Borough President (And Gun Owner) Wants to Change the Narrative

"I am a gun owner. I own three guns and I believe that Americans should have the right to own guns, but hey – before you get the gun do a background check."

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, a former police officer and one of the elected officials who attended CNN's "Guns in America" town hall with President Obama last night, says a lot of the problem is the persistent false narrative that the president's proposals will make it harder for most people to buy guns.

"When you dig in so deep on your fears and beliefs, you don’t allow yourself the opportunity to be a deep listener and hear exactly what is being said to you. We should seek first to understand and then be understood. And across the county, we’re not seeking to understand."

The borough president said he's a big proponent of using smart technology, both to locate guns that are unlawful but also to prevent individuals who are not registered to use a weapon from firing it.

“A gun is a product, no different from any other. We have not allowed the evolution of hand guns to be a safer tool that is used in a recreational fashion or in a public protection fashion, and that cannot continue to happen.”