Don Lemon's CNN Panel on Gun Control Goes Off the Rails

Don Lemon led a discussion on gun control on CNN Tuesday that quickly devolved into a shouting match between the liberal and conservative panelists.

Igor Volsky from ThinkProgress and CNN Republican contributor Ben Ferguson started off amicably, but soon the two were screaming over one another to get points across.

Things started to go south when Ferguson began comparing the NRA to other lobbying groups, such as the failed green energy company Solyndra. Volsky immediately took exception, saying “What does Solyndra have to do with this?”

Also Read: President Obama Cries During Gun Control Address

Ferguson then went on to critique President Obama’s executive actions on gun control, claiming that if the measures had been enacted at the start of his presidency, they would not have prevented any mass shootings like the one at Sandy Hook elementary school.

Volsky then tried to break in as Ferguson was speaking, leading to one of many exchanges peppered with “Let me finish!”

Ferguson went on to reveal that he was once shot at by a three-time felon who had purchased a gun on the black market. He said that the shooting would not have been prevented by the President’s actions, but Volsky fired back that it would have.

Also Read: Spike Lee Says Politicians Opposed to Obama's Gun Control Plan Are Taking 'Blood Money' From NRA

“Thirty thousand people are killed every year because of gun violence and ensuring that people go through background checks, instant background checks before they purchase a gun is not taking anything away from anybody,” Volsky said as the panel concluded.

Mass Shootings in America That Horrified All of Us (Photos)

Newtown, Conn. - On December 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School. They were between the ages of six and seven years old. He also killed six adult staff members.
John Moore/Getty Images
Washington D.C. — A former Navy reservist shot and killed 12 people on September 16, 2013, at a military facility. The gunman was killed.
Getty Images
Tyrone, Mo. - On Feb. 27, 2015, Joseph Jesse Aldridge killed seven people — four of them relatives — in a door-to-door shooting spree before killing himself.
Getty Images
Waco, Tex. - Nine people were killed and many more were injured after two biker gangs began firing at each other at a motorcycle club on May 17, 2015.
Getty Images
Charleston, S.C. - Dylann Roof shot and killed nine people during a racially motivated shooting in a predominantly African-American church on June 17, 2015.
Getty Images
Chattanooga, Tenn. - A gunman named Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez entered two military facilities on July 16, 2015, and killed four Marines and injured others, before he was killed.
Getty Images
Umpqua, Ore. - On October 1, 2015, Chris Harper Mercer killed nine people and injured seven to nine more at Umpqua Community College before two police officers shot him. Mercer then committed suicide.
Getty Images
San Bernardino, Calif. - 14 people were killed and another 21 injured after Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik opened fire during a holiday party on December 2, 2015. The pair were later killed during a shootout with police.
Getty Images
Orlando, Fla. - 50 people were killed and 53 wounded on June 11, 2016, at Pulse, a gay nightclub. Just before the shooting, suspected killer Omar Mateen called 911 and pledged his allegiance to the terror group ISIS. Mateen was also shot an killed by police on the scene.
Gerardo Mora/Getty Images

1 of 9

TheWrap looks back at recent mass shootings that have happened on U.S. soil

Newtown, Conn. - On December 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School. They were between the ages of six and seven years old. He also killed six adult staff members.

View In Gallery

Mass Shootings in America That Horrified All of Us (Photos)

7DAYFREETRIAL

7
DAY
FREE
TRIAL