Days after a gunman opened fire at Los Angeles International Airport, documentary filmmaker Michael Moore was spotted outside of a terminal and asked about the incident. In a video obtained by TMZ, Moore discussed the ongoing gun violence in the U.S. and why similar incidents are so prevalent here.


"Nothing changes. It's the country we live in. Again, these are legally purchased guns, bullets ... what are you going to do?" Moore asked. "Well I think there's a reason why this doesn't happen in Canada, in Ireland, in France, and elsewhere. They have the occasional craziness but it's not on a weekly or a monthly basis. So why us? Cause they're not better than us. So why us? What is it about us? That's the question to ask."


Moore famously addressed the issue of gun violence in the U.S. in 2002 with his Academy Award-winning film "Bowling for Columbine." The documentary focused on the 1999 shooting at Colorado's Columbine High School, looking for causes and explanations.


"They have mentally ill people in those countries. In Canada hunting is a bigger sport than hockey. There's a lot of guns in Canada, but why don't they kill each other?" Moore continued. "I think the NRA, they've got it half right when they say 'Guns don't kill people, people kill people.' But I change it to guns don't kill people, Americans kill people, cause we're really the only ones that do it on this level and this scale."


To see the full video of Moore speaking on the shooting, head over to TMZ.




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  • 1981: The Attempted Assassination Of President Ronald Reagan


    on March 30, 1981, President Reagan and three others were shot and wounded in an assassination attempt by John Hinckley, Jr. outside the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. Reagan's press secretary, Jim Brady, was shot in the head.




  • 1993: The Brady Handgun Violence Act


    The Brady Handgun Violence Act of 1993, signed into law by President Bill Clinton, mandated that federally licensed dealers complete comprehensive background checks on individuals before selling them a gun. The legislation was named for James Brady, who was shot during an attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981.




  • 1994: The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act


    The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994, instituted a ban on 19 kinds of assault weapons, including Uzis and AK-47s. The crime bill also banned the possession of magazines holding more than ten rounds of ammunition. (An exemption was made for weapons and magazines manufactured prior to the ban.)




  • 2004: Law Banning Magazines Holding More Than Ten Rounds Of Ammunition Expires


    In 2004, ten years after it first became law, Congress allowed a provision banning possession of magazines holding more than ten rounds of ammunition to expire through a sunset provision. Brady Campaign President Paul Helmke told HuffPost that the expiration of this provision meant that Rep. Gabby Giffords's alleged shooter was able to fire off 20-plus shots without reloading (under the former law he would have had only ten).




  • 2007: The U.S. Court of Appeals For The District Of Columbia Rules In Favor Of Dick Heller


    In 2007 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled to allow Dick Heller, a licensed District police officer, to keep a handgun in his home in Washington, D.C. Following that ruling, the defendants petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.




  • 2008: The NICS Improvement Amendments Act


    Following the deadly shooting at Virginia Tech University, Congress passed legislation to require states provide data on mentally unsound individuals to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, with the aim of halting gun purchases by the mentally ill, and others prohibited from possessing firearms. The bill was signed into law by President George W. Bush in January of 2008.




  • 2008: Supreme Court Strikes Down D.C. Handgun Ban As Unconstitutional


    In June of 2008, the United States Supreme Court upheld the verdict of a lower court ruling the D.C. handgun ban unconstitutional in the landmark case <em>District of Columbia v. Heller</em>.




  • Gabrielle Giffords And Trayvon Martin Shootings


    Gun control advocates had high hopes that reform efforts would have increased momentum in the wake of two tragic events that rocked the nation.

    In January of 2011, Jared Loughner opened fire at an event held by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), killing six and injuring 13, including the congresswoman. Resulting attempts to push gun control legislation <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/09/trayvon-martin-shooting-gun-debate_n_1413115.html" target="_hplink">proved fruitless</a>, with neither proposal even succeeding in gaining a single GOP co-sponsor.

    More than a year after that shooting, Florida teenager Trayvon Martin was <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/trayvon-martin" target="_hplink">gunned down</a> by George Zimmerman in an event that some believed would bring increased scrutiny on the nation's Stand Your Ground laws. While there has been increasing discussion over the nature of those statutes, lawmakers were <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/09/trayvon-martin-shooting-gun-debate_n_1413115.html" target="_hplink">quick to concede</a> that they had little faith the event would effectively spur gun control legislation, thanks largely to the National Rifle Association's vast lobbying power.

    Read more <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/09/trayvon-martin-shooting-gun-debate_n_1413115.html" target="_hplink">here</a>:




  • Colorado Movie Theater Shooting


    In July of 2012, a heavily armed gunman <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/20/aurora-shooting-movie-theater-batman_n_1688547.html" target="_hplink">opened fire on theatergoers</a> attending a midnight premiere of the final film of the latest Batman trilogy, killing 12 and wounding scores more.

    The suspect, James Eagan Holmes, allegedly carried out the act with a number of handguns, as well as an AR-15 assault rifle with a 100-round drum magazine.

    Some lawmakers used the incident, which took place in a state with some of the laxest gun control laws, to bring forth legislation designed to place increased regulations on access to such weapons, but many observers, citing previous experience, were <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/20/batman-shooting_n_1690547.html" target="_hplink">hesitant to say</a> that they would be able to overcome the power of the National Rifle Association and Washington gun lobby.




  • Sikh Temple Shooting


    On August 5, 2012, white supremacist Wade Michael Page opened fire on a Sikhs gathered at a temple in Oak Creek, Wis., killing six and wounding four more before turning the gun on himself.