NRA VP Wayne LaPierre Endorsed ‘Universal Background Checks’ in 1999 (VIDEO)

After Wayne LaPierre’s disastrous appearance on Fox News Sunday, many in the cable news and blogosphere arena were praising Chris Wallace’s hard-questioning of the NRA vice president.

On the MSNBC show “Morning Joe” this Monday morning, conservative host Joe Scarborough and his panel heaped praise on Wallace for confronting the inconsistencies in a widely-criticized ad that was recently released by the NRA.

First, Scarborough criticized LaPierre for using the “class argument” in regards to the Obama comparison in the ad, pointing out that Lapierre’s characterization of only the “rich’ and “elite” as having bodyguards was hypocritical, since LaPierre himself enjoys the exact same kind of protection.

He continued,

“The argument, seriously, that all of our children deserve the same amount of protection as the President of the United States’ children — that’s the problem with Wayne LaPierre and the extremist wing of the NRA’s arguments; they’re stupid arguments.”

The conversation then turned to the President’s proposal of universal background checks for gun purchases. The panel showed a Super Bowl ad sponsored by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, which included footage of Wayne LaPierre testifying on Capitol Hill in 1999, arguing in favor of universal background checks. This was in direct contrast to his statements on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, where he stammered out a rejection of the idea, claiming it was useless since, “the criminals are never going to comply with it.”

After comparing LaPierre’s statements from 1999 to his recent Fox News appearance, New York Magazine’s John Heilmann chimed in.

“The argument that any law that a criminal would violate is a law you shouldn’t pass, is an argument against all laws.” He continued, “And actually what you see in that ad, which I think is so compelling, is you see Wayne LaPierre not on point on everything but making illogical, off-point counter-arguments. That ad is precisely on point.”

Watch the entire segment below, courtesy of MSNBC.

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