MSNBC host Joe Scarborough, the network’s resident conservative who famously scaled back his support for gun rights after the Sandy Hook shooting, criticized pro-gun control liberals on Thursday.

“You aren’t going to get 200 million guns off the street,” he said during an interview with former Republican Gov. George Pataki. “A lot of liberals say, ‘No guns, no guns, no guns!'” (VIDEO: MSNBC Pushes Gun Control Half An Hour Into Shooting Coverage)

He continued to say that “in many cases, gun control — I’m saying this as a guy that supports background checks — but in many respects, if you’re an advocate for gun control like a lot of people in New York state are, chances are good you’re only making sure that criminals have them.”

“Only three percent of all crimes with guns are committed by people who bought the guns,” he continued.

“I always wonder why we don’t work harder on — everybody’s ‘gun control, gun control, gun control,'” he said. “Background checks first of all when you buy the guns, and then secondly for the 97 percent that commit crimes with the guns, stop the trafficking. Fight to stop the illegal trafficking.” (VIDEO: Scarborough: GOP ‘Moving Toward Extinction’ After Blocking Gun Control)

WATCH:

Compare Scarborough’s current rhetoric with some of his post-Sandy Hook pronouncements:

“Do they want to be seen … as the party of Glocks? The party of Bushmasters? The party of combat-styled, military weapons? Rapid-fire magazine clips? If they want to go around and debate that for the next four years, good luck.”

“I can’t believe those Republicans are going to allow the entire Republican Party to be the party that basically put rapists’ rights over parents’ rights to keep their kids safe when they go to school.”

“They can either pass a comprehensive gun control package right now and shape it under Speaker Boehner, or they can wait two years when they lose the majority and have Nancy Pelosi write that bill. There are no other choices.”

“Our Bill of Rights does not guarantee gun manufacturers the absolute right to sell military-styled high-caliber semi-automatic combat assault rifles with high capacity magazines to whoever the hell they want. It is time for Congress to put children before deadly dogmas.”

Follow Alex Griswold on Twitter