Nov. 28 Republican debate transcript

Giuliani: I agree with the senator that it didn't make it a safer city. And some of these gun laws do not make a city a safer city.

The things we did in New York, indisputably, made New York City a much safer city. And the law in the District of Columbia and the law in New York are different.

The law in the District of Columbia made it impossible for you to have a firearm. And if New York City went that far, it should also be declared unconstitutional.

The Second Amendment clearly gives you the right to carry and to bear arms. In my reading of it, it's an individual right, and I believe the Supreme Court will declare that. And that protection comes from the Constitution, not just a president.

Cooper: Staying on the topic, another question from a viewer.

Eric Bentson: Hi there. I'm Eric Bentson from Phoenix, Arizona. Got a quick question for all you candidates.

Any of you all want to tell us about your gun collection, roughly how many you own, what your favorite make, model and caliber is, if any of them require a tax stamp?

Cooper: Iif you have a machine gun or a silencer.

Senator Thompson?

Thompson: I own a couple of guns, but I'm not going to tell you what they are or where they are.

(Applause)

Cooper: Senator McCain?

McCain: For a long time I used a lot of guns, including carrying a .45 as a pilot flying in combat over Vietnam.

I know how to use guns. I don't own one now.

Cooper: Congressman Hunter?

Hunter: I have an old 20-gauge L.C. Smith that is just like the gun that my dad used to carry when I would walk behind him as a 9- year-old kid and pick up the shells when he was hunting quail. I finally got a chance to buy one of those a few years ago, the same gun that he had had and given to me when I was nine or ten year old when I bought my first hunting license.

The right to keep and bear arms in the Second Amendment is a large part protection. It is also a large part family tradition.

Cooper: Is there anyone here besides Senator McCain who does not own a gun? Mayor Giuliani? Governor Romney?

Romney: I have two guns in my home. They are owned by my son Josh.

Cooper: All right, there you have it.

We have another question on a similar topic.

Romney: He buys expensive things for me.

YouTube questioner: Hi, this is me and my son Prentiss. We're from Atlanta. I want to ask you guys a question (inaudible) every year. But what about the war going on in our country, black on black crime? Two hundred to 400 black men die yearly in one city alone. What are you going to do about that war? It feels like the (inaudible) is right outside.

Cooper: He's talking about black on black crime, crime in the inner cities.

Governor Romney?

Romney: Well, first of all, Printes is pretty fortunate because he's got a dad standing next to him that apparently loves him by all appearances there, and that's probably the best thing you can do for a kid is to have a mom and a dad.

(Applause)

And it's time in this country that we go back to the kind of values that allow kid to have moms and dads. In the African-American community today, 68 percent of kids born are born out of wedlock. And so we're going to try and once again reinculcate in this country the try of values that have made us so strong: family values.

Secondly...

Cooper: The question is, what are you going to do about the war in the inner city?

Romney: Well, one, about the war in the inner city -- number one is to get more moms and dads. That's number one. And thank heavens Bill Cosby said it like it was. That's where the root of crime starts.

Number two, we've got to have better education in our schools.

I think that the civil rights issue of our time is the failure of inner-city schools to prepare kids in the inner city for the jobs of tomorrow. And number three, of course, you have to do a better job with our policing. And I was very proud that I added one state police class after another.

We had the largest state police in the history of our state during my term. We put in place tough laws related to drunk driving. Sex offenders, they have their pictures now posted on the Internet. We took actions to be tough on crime. And I was pleased that violent crime in my state during my term reduced by 7 percent.