Obama: Greater Focus On Gun Control Needed.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I have had to make statements like this too many times. We come together filled with sorrow to pray with you today and we'll stand by you tomorrow to bring whoever is responsible for this heinous crime to justice. All of us are heart broken. The community needs us to be at our best as Americans. The lives that were taken from us were unique. Any shooting is troubling. This has becoming the norm and we take it for granted. At some point, it's going to be important for the American people to come to grips with it.</s>CUOMO: All sad but true. That is President Obama obviously addressing the nation after multiple mass shootings, more than a dozen times in his six years in office. So what do we do about it? Let's bring in President Obama's assistant and cabinet secretary, Broderick Johnson. Johnson is also the chair of My Brother's Keeper Task Force. We do know that you are going to be launching the initiative in part with this documentary that's coming out. I want to talk to you about that, but let's deal with what is right in front of us. The problem is obvious or we should say the problems. What are the solutions? What do you think the president can do to make what we saw in Charleston less likely to happen again?</s>BRODERICK JOHNSON, ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you very much for having me this morning, Chris. You know, Chris, the president called for Congress to pass gun safety legislation now for a number of years. We need Congress to act but, in the meantime, the president has taken action on his own. Since Newtown, we have either adopted or come pretty far along in 23 different gun safety measures in order to keep guns from being in the hands of the wrong people. We really need Congress to act. The American people are calling upon the leaders of this country to make the events like what we saw in Charleston stop happening.</s>CUOMO: You have the law against you. The Supreme Court has evolved to a point that recognized the private right. You have the polls against you after Newtown people started saying they didn't think more gun laws would help. Now you have the critics against you saying the president hasn't done enough on gun control. Is that fair criticism that he didn't do what he did for Obamacare for guns?</s>JOHNSON: Well, I don't think that's fair criticism. The president hasn't given up on these issues by any means. The American people are with the president on this. They want to see more gun safety legislation. We need the Congress. We need other leaders in this country to act. But, the president has not given up on this and this is a very important issue for him.</s>CUOMO: Fair criticism that he had both houses and he couldn't get it done?</s>JOHNSON: No, I don't think that's a fair criticism at all.</s>CUOMO: Why not?</s>JOHNSON: Well, the president has not given up on this, but again, the president can't make the Congress act. The president called upon Congress to act and the leaders of the Congress need to act and bring up gun safety legislation.</s>CUOMO: What do you make of resistance in this country to the idea of this being a hate crime, the idea of this being about race to the idea this should be seen as terrorism. You could think this is everybody on the same page, but it isn't, why?</s>JOHNSON: Well, there are some very important things from a law enforcement to look at here whether or not it was a hate crime or whether or not it was domestic terrorism. The authorities, local and the Justice Department and the FBI are looking at this. They will draw conclusions about how to categorize what happened. There is no question, though, this is a terrible tragedy. That there was clearly a measure of hate here and it was really, really awful.</s>CUOMO: But do you think that the resistance to it is in part a window into the problem we have with race in the first place, that people would rather deny it than deal with it?</s>JOHNSON: No, I don't think so. I think people across this country are so heartbroken about what would happen and they want to see justice done. Let the investigations play out then see the charges that get brought against the person who committed the heinous crimes.</s>CUOMO: I hope you are right, I really do. "Brother's Keeper," you have the documentary coming out.</s>JOHNSON: Yes.</s>CUOMO: What will we learn in the documentary and what is the hope for the program?</s>JOHNSON: You know, Chris, it's an inspiring documentary. When the president launched "My Brother's Keeper," he wanted to make sure that not only that we get private and public sector resources in much greater amounts and levels than we have had before. But the president also said, we need to change the narrative about what boys and young men of color are challenged with and how they are living their lives. He called upon the private and public sector to do things, make commitments. Discovery Communications made a commitment to produce a documentary that looks at how kids across the country, how especially boys and young men of color across the country and their families and schools are facing tremendous odds, but they are being successful. They are making a difference and maybe through that, we can make sure that new programs get started and new initiatives get started and people have greater hope, especially the boys and young men of color themselves about what their lives can be like.</s>CUOMO: Well, the need is great. "My Brother's Keeper" comes with great promise. Good luck with it. Look forward to seeing the doc, Broderick.</s>JOHNSON: Yes, thank you very much.</s>CUOMO: All right, Mich, back to you in South Carolina.</s>PEREIRA: All right, beautiful Charleston, a tough day, a tough week, a tough time here. We have developments for you that are breaking this morning in the Charleston shooting. We are hearing the suspect tell police things. We are going to tell you what he's been saying and also an interesting perspective from one of Dylann Roof's, the gunman's former classmates. A programming note now, on this Sunday's, "PARTS UNKNOWN," Anthony Bourdain heads to Beirut. He checks out the food scene there. This airs Sunday night at 9:00 Eastern on CNN. We give you a preview now.</s>ANTHONY BOURDAIN, HOST, "PARTS UNKNOWN": Here we are, back in Beirut. They got a lot of history in this town, a lot of bad, most of it good. I keep coming back at any opportunity. It's all the good and all the evil in the world in one awesome place -- in the best possible way. You should come here.