Deal Reached On Background Checks; How Easy To Get A Gun; Five Ways You Delay Restaurant Service; First Lady Steps into Gun Control Debate
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it works like -- you actually heat up plastic inside that pen, if you like, and it comes out like that and it immediately cools as soon as it hits the air. And so. it holds the shape that you've been doodling.</s>SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: We want one of those.</s>HOLMES: Yes, we want one of those.</s>MALVEAUX: That's cool (</s>INAUDIBLE.) HOLMES: All right, that'll do it for me. Thanks for watching "AROUND THE WORLD." I'll see you later.</s>MALVEAUX: OK, see you later. President Obama releasing his budget. We're going to look behind the politics beyond the politics to look at what does this mean for you, including cuts to Medicare and Social Security. And two kids abducted by sailboat taken to Cuba now back in the United States. Their parents are sitting in jail. We're live in Florida with the very latest. Plus, he's no more than 30 years old and has the power to launch a missile from North Korea. We're going to take a look at the life of Kim Jong-Un, including his passions, James Bond, basketball, and how he passed up two older brothers to rise to power. This is CNN NEWSROOM, and I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Well, we begin with the breakthrough in the gunfight on Capitol Hill. Two senators, a Republican and Democrat, have now reached a deal on expanding background checks. Across the network today, we are taking a closer look at this issue this is at the heart of the gun control debate. Part of our coverage, "GUNS UNDER FIRE," a CNN special report on background checks. As you know, the debate over stronger gun laws started with the tragedy, this was in Newtown, Connecticut. Twenty children, six teachers, educators, gunned down. Since then, the momentum for new laws has actually slowed. But a new CNN/ORC Poll shows overwhelming support for expanding background checks, 86 percent, almost nine out of ten, favor tougher background checks. Senators who came up with the compromise say, this is a good place to start.</s>SEN. PAT TOOMEY (R), PENNSYLVANIA: The bottom line for me is this, you know, if expanding background checks to include gun shows and Internet sales can reduce the likelihood of criminals and mentally ill people from getting guns, and we can do it in a fashion that does not infringe on the second amendment rights of law-abiding citizens, then we should do it. And in this amendment I think we do.</s>MALVEAUX: The NRA issued a statement saying expanding background checks at gun shows will not prevent the next shooting, will not solve violent crime and will not keep our kids safe in schools. Well, this undermines -- this really underlines, rather, the extraordinary debate that is taking place, because in New Jersey today a six-year-old boy is dead after a horrific accident, this is where it happened, this is a shore town Toms River. Well, yesterday afternoon, two boys just playing, right? Just playing around while their parents stood by. And somehow, one of the boys just four years old got his hands on a rifle and shot the other boy dead. Pamela Brown, she is following this story from New Jersey. And this is why everybody's talking about the gun debate. This is why people are so passionate about this. When you hear another story, something like this happening here, I mean, it begs the question how did something like this even happen?</s>PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're right, Suzanne. In fact, this second incident like this just in the past few days. And what you just asked there is exactly what investigators are looking into right now, still waiting for the answer to that question, Suzanne. Six-year-old Brandon holt was pronounced dead last night at a New Jersey hospital a day after being shot in the head by his four-year- old friend. New Jersey authorities say the two boys were playing in a yard in Toms River, New Jersey Monday night when the four year old went inside his home, picked up a .22-caliber rifle and discharged it accidentally hitting six-year-old Brandon in the head. The children, whose families live in the same neighborhood we're told, were about 15 yards apart at the time of the incident. Authorities say the younger boy's mother called 911 to report the shooting. At this point, authorities are not saying who owned the gun or speculating on how that little boy got a hold of it. As mentioned, this is the second incident in the U.S. in recent days involving a four year old fatally shooting another. In Tennessee during a family cookout last weekend, the nephew of a sheriff's deputy picked up a loaded pistol from a bed as his uncle was showing off his gun collection and fatally shot his uncle's wife, Josephine Fanning, according to authorities there. And now, in that case, officials are saying that charges will not be filed. Authorities in New Jersey haven't filed any charges yet, Suzanne, but they say the investigation is ongoing.</s>MALVEAUX: So, how do they sort this out? I mean, how do -- how do New Jersey authorities figure out who is going to be held responsible?</s>BROWN: You know, it's tough to imagine, Suzanne, a four year old being charged. But according to legal analysts, that could happen. But typically, the legal standards used in a child involved is what's in the best interest of the child? It's more likely, however, that the little boy's parents could face charges of endangering the welfare of a child if the parents kept a loaded firearm unlocked and accessible in that home. Now, that's an offense punishable up to three to five years in state prison in New Jersey -- Suzanne.</s>MALVEAUX: So, do we know, with prosecutors, are they typically charged? I mean, do they charge in these cases like this?</s>BROWN: Well, you know, prosecutors rarely bring such cases because you really have to weigh the pursuit of justice with compassion here, you know. But with the recent shooting incidents involving minors, some legal analysts saying it's time for prosecutors to file cases against parents who don't secure dangerous weapons in their homes.</s>MALVEAUX: All right. Pamela, thank you. We appreciate it. Guns, it's the third leading cause of death for kids between the ages of five and 14. And, of course, this begs the question, what about the parents, really? I mean, do they need to do more? Later, we're going to talk this hour about what parents can do, if they can do anything, to keep their kids safe. And the idea behind background checks on gun purchases, well, this is pretty simple, right, to keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn't have them. We're talking about criminals. We're talking about the mentally ill. So, the deal to background checks pushing the debate forward on Capitol Hill, most don't know what is involved in the process, how easy is it or difficult to actually get a gun? Chris Cuomo, he walks us through it.</s>MIKE MARINELLO, OWNER, SOUTH SHORE SPORTSMAN: Chris, Mike. What can I do for you?</s>CHRIS CUOMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): I'm looking for a home protection shotgun.</s>MIKE: OK. I'm going to bring you down to our shotgun section.</s>CUOMO (voice-over): Seems simple but there's more to it than you might think. Every purchase from a licensed dealer requires a federal background check. (on camera): Are you under indictment? No. Have you been convicted of any felony? No. (voice-over): Twenty-seven personal questions including criminal and mental health history, all requiring government confirmation. Add potential state and city laws, thousands across the country, and it could feel like an obstacle course.</s>MARINELLO: There's a background check for the rifle. Then if you live in the city, there's the rifle shotgun card. Then if you have a pistol, there's also a pistol license.</s>CUOMO: But this pales in comparison to the pain the nation felt on December 14th in Newtown, Connecticut. The most vulnerable victimized by dangerous weapons in the wrong sick hands. CNN's latest poll shows people want it to stop. Calls to do something resulting in demanded background checks, despite the fact they wouldn't have stopped the Newtown shooter.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We know that background checks can work, but the problem is loopholes in the current law let so many people avoid background checks altogether.</s>CUOMO: Gun control advocates want all gun sales, not just those by dealers, subject to background checks.</s>COLIN GODDARD, BRADY CENTER TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE: This background check law that we're talking about is enforcing the law.</s>CUOMO: Colin Goddard works for the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. He is a gun violence victim, shot four times at Virginia tech six years ago.</s>GODDARD: How are you supposed to know if someone's got a felony record? How are you supposed to know if someone's got a restraining order or dangerous mental illness without doing a background check? You're supposed to, what, look at them really hard?</s>CUOMO: Gun rights advocates fear checking all sales could lead to a national gun registry and maybe confiscation. The larger concern, making it harder to buy a gun lawfully may not stop massacres and handgun violence. Before owning this Long Island gun store, owner Mike Marinello was a police officer for 11 years. (on camera): In your experience as a cop, did that hold true?</s>MARINELLO: In 11 years, I have never had a legal pistol licensee use his gun in a crime.</s>CUOMO (voice-over): Gun control advocates say the nearly two million people who have been denied guns is proof of effectiveness.</s>DAVID KEENE, PRESIDENT, NRA: Most of those people, it turns out, were not on a prohibited lists. Most of them were false positives, their name looks like somebody else, there was records in there that were incomplete. The first thing you have to do is take the system you have and get it fixed and make it work.</s>CUOMO: Mike says, the big issue isn't the law but enforcement.</s>MARINELLO: If somebody comes in and they're hell bent on buying a gun, we let them fill out the form, and they fail. And then, in a perfect world,</s>CUOMO (on camera): That's the big catch, right?</s>MARINELLO: Current laws on the books would make this state the safest in the union if they were enforced.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In my case, the system worked. After25 minutes of completing forms and waiting for approval, I had my shotgun. Thank you very much.</s>MARINELLO: We appreciate it.</s>MALVEAUX: Wow. Chris Cuomo joining us live from New York. So, Chris, you got the gun pretty quickly there. There are folks who say, look, you know, what are we going to do about addressing some of the problems when you talk about mental illness or the fact that some of these existing gun laws, they don't really enforce them? Do they address that, in any way, these gun owners expanding these background checks? Could that do anything to kind of solve some of the other issues that are out there that are very, very important?</s>CUOMO (live): Well, arguably, Suzanne, one has mothering to do with the other, right? I mean, the check --</s>MALVEAUX: Yes.</s>CUOMO: -- is a good idea. If you're going to do checks, obviously you would want to check as many different types of sales as possible. But remember this, it is an odd situation where our first step, what we're saying is the most important fix, is to go after the good guys, people who want to buy guns lawfully. A big part of the resistance here is not only do we already have extensive checks, as you saw in the piece, and that doesn't even include state and city and other municipalities that put on checks, --</s>MALVEAUX: Oh.</s>CUOMO: -- but that most crime is done within a legally obtained weapon. So, you want to hear about how we treat the mentally ill, not just those who are looking for guns, but those who just need to be treated because that's what we saw in Sandy Hook. A kid who was known to be sick who wasn't getting help. What do we do about that? It's expensive. A lot of health care companies won't give you the help you need. What about enforcing criminal laws as they stand today?</s>MALVEAUX: Yes.</s>CUOMO: The biggest deterrent to gun crime, Suzanne, is to put people who use a gun unlawfully in jail.</s>MALVEAUX: All right. Chris, thank you. We appreciate it. And, of course, the first lady is going to be addressing that as well. Michelle Obama, she is joining now the White House push for tighter gun control. Today, she's in Chicago. She's at a luncheon and it is all about reducing violence among the city's young people there. The violence in Chicago, I mean, unbelievable, hitting close to home for the first lady. This happened back in January, a 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton shot and killed. This was just days after performing during the inauguration in Washington. The shooting happened just blocks from the Obama's Chicago home. She is also going to be at a school rocked by violence. The statistics in Chicago are sobering, 535 people killed last year. That was up from 433 back in 2011. And the school where the first lady is visiting, 29 current or former students shot this year. This is what we're working on as well for this hour. The president just releasing his budget including raising taxes on the rich as well as smokers. We're going to break down those details up ahead. Plus, have you ever waited for what seemed like an eternity for your meal, wondered where your waiter went when you need a drink to be refilled? Well, it might not be their fault. It's right, we've got five ways you could be delaying your food. And a huge surprise for a Canadian family that's been struggling financially. This is what a $40 million happy dance looks like.