White House Tells TheBlaze: 'Tragic' That America Is 'Awash' in Guns

White House press secretary Josh Earnest told TheBlaze Thursday that the United States is "awash" in guns, which he believes is "tragic irony."

The spokesman cited the surge in Black Friday gun sales, which reportedly resulted in more than 185,000 legal background checks for the FBI.

The Obama administration has long contended that loopholes were the problem, in which sales could occur bypassing the background checks.

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

TheBlaze asked why the number itself is tragic if the customers legally purchased the firearms and went through the federal background check.

"What I’m observing is that it’s tragic that in the immediate aftermath of a series of high-profile mass shootings people feel like they have to go out and purchase a gun," Earnest told TheBlaze, "because it’s our view, and backed up by common sense, our nation is awash in guns."

"There are statistics that the large quantity of guns on street corners and gun stores all across America, that access to guns and that proliferation of violent weapons of war has not led to fewer gun deaths," Earnest continued. "In fact, that doesn’t seem to be the effect we are witnessing here. So it’s tragic in a situation where even when we have lots of guns on the streets that lead to lots of innocent Americans being killed, that the response to that is a lot more guns end up on the streets. It’s tragic and ironic."