National Review writer Charles C.W. Cooke apeared on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" this morning to discuss the president's immediate call for more gun laws following the deadly mass shooting in Oregon yesterday morning.



The debate between Cooke and Bloomberg's Mark Halperin gets heated after Cook stumps Halperin by asking for one specific gun control policy that the U.S. should try.



"I completely agree with the president," Halperin said. "People need to find solutions to this and not talk about what won't work, and why it's so complicated. We can't be the only country in the world that's like this..."



"Then, with respect, what is your plan?" Cooke asks.



"Finding solutions, short term, in terms of finding legislation, state and federal, coming up with ideas--" sputters Halperin.



"Which ideas?" Cooke quickly follows up.



Halperin gives up the pretense of attempting to come up with ideas: "I'm not an expert in this field, I'm trying to be civil, not to criticize or attack you, but as I listen to your tone... I want everybody in the country to be saying we need to find solutions, not talk about how complicaed it is... We need passion to solve this, not talk about complexity or how the ther side's ideas aren't good."



"So you don't have any more ideas that I do, we've now established that," responds Cooke. "It is complicated, and it is difficult, and there are no ideas. What I'm suggesting is that Mark Halperin and President Obama and Biden and now you keep saying we need to do something, and that is it. What? ... At least we could have a debate, what is it you are proposing?"



At this point, Howard Dean jumps in to the conversation and proposes making gun sellers liable for selling to potential criminals.



"And now we can have a debate," jokes Cooke.





Please enable Javascript to watch this video

Transcript (part one)



CHARLES CW COOKE: There's a difference in saying, "are we upset? Yes, we are," and, "is the president upset? Yes he is," and does the president have the slightest clue to fix this.



Let's look at what he proposed in the past: universal background checks. Oregon had background checks as you said.



The argument for universal background checks is that guns can come in from other states, but that is an anti-crime measure. No mass shooter seems to get their guns in any sense that would intersect with private sales. They either buy them from a dealer or get them illegally.



Obama also wanted a ban on assault rifles, that doesn't seem to have much of an effect either; the shooter had three hand guns...



We have a problem in the United States with stopping contraband. We have never done it effectively. Not during the prohibition, the drug war. If anything, if you look at the way our police attitudes are changing, we're more reluctant to go after people, especially minorities and those more vulnerable, and search them, check them for items, drugs, guns we don't want them to have...



It's not true that the majority of mass killers and serial killers are white. It's equally distributed. What they are always is men. Always young men. What we have in America is a problem with young men killing a lot of people when they get the chance and I think an increasing copy cat problem because at some point someone decided hey, when you're upset with people you feel as if you're alone, you can do this...



It is distributed across all races evenly... but women do not commit these sorts of things...



If we want to focus on one thing, it should be this: Why are young men between 15-30 taking out their anger and sense of isolation on schools and other soft targets. There's a copy cat problem, but there is also a problem with masculinity, which is part of this sort of violence.

Transcript (part two)

MARK HALPERIN: There's no question this is a difficult problem. I want to engage Charles a little bit in a civil way.



You know, everyone in the country in a leadership position, journalism, politics, etc. should have a thirst and hunger and passion to try to come up with solutions. To just talk about how other people's solutions won't work, or this is a complicated sociological issue. I don't think that's enough. I completely agree with the vice president. people need to find solutions to this and not talk about what won't work, and it's so complicated. We can't be the only country in the world that's like this...



CHARLES COOKE: Then, with respect, what is your plan?



MARK HALPERIN: Finding solutions, short term, in terms of finding legislation, state and federal, coming up with ideas--



CHARLES COOKE: Which ideas?



MARK HELPERIN: Well, we can talk about specific policies in a minute, but here's a second point. You say part of the issue involves young men. Well, again, public policy people should come up with long term ideas to deal with the question of what is causing young men to do this.



CHARLES COOKE: So you don't have any more ideas that I do, we've now established that.



HALPERIN: I'm not an expert in this field, I'm trying to be civil, not to criticize or attack you, but as I listen to your tone... I want everybody in the country to be saying we need to find solutions, not talk about how complicaed it is... We need passion to solve this, not talk about complexity or how the ther side's ideas aren't good.



COOKE: It is complicated, and it is difficult, and there are no ideas.



MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Well what are you saying, no one has the answer? No one can do anything, so let's not do anything.



COOKE: What I'm suggesting is that Mark Halperin and President Obama and Biden and now you keep saying we need to do something, and that is it. What? ... At least we could have a debate, what is it you are proposing?



MIKA BRZEZINSKI: I agreed with the Vice President, sorry.



COOKE: He didn't make any proposals.



HOWARD DEAN: I think I can be helpful... First of all, universal background checks might be helpful...



You make the people who sell guns to people who are crazy liable in law suits, criminal prosecutiins, that might help, putting dealers onthe hook... There are ways we can put pressure on people who supply the guns... To make them understand they have some responsibility to who they sell to.



COOKE: And now we can have a debate.

The debate between Cooke and Bloomberg's Mark Halperin gets heated:***