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Gun Control Backers Defeated; Syria Moves to Avoid U.S. Strike; Starstruck Lawyer Brings Trial to Halt; Miss America Contestant with Tattoo; Roller Coaster Reopens Amid Lawsuit; Fit Nation Member Drops 190 Pounds

Aired September 12, 2013 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Here we are just past the bottom of the hour. I'm Brooke Baldwin. And we ought to know by now, but when politics, guns, and the second amendment all meet, to paraphrase, journalist, Hunter S. Thompson, things get strange and maybe none stranger than what happened in Democrat-leaning Colorado where voters have ousted the Democratic head of the State Senate, that's him on the right, and a second Senate Democrat from a heavily Democratic district because they helped pass some fairly modest firearms restrictions.

But that in and of itself isn't even as big a deal when you consider that one of the two races was a war by proxy between gun control advocate, Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire mayor from New York, and a pueblo plumber by the name of Victor Head. He is a political novice and a gun rights supporter with no real money to speak of here.

And you know the end of the story here. The plumber won. How? By organizing this recall election that toppled State Senator Angela Giron, despite the fact that Bloomberg's group spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on her behalf.

So Angela Giron joins me now from Colorado Springs. And Mr. Giron, you know, two days after this surprise defeat, we have you here. You were considered this heavy favorite. Yesterday, you were quoted as saying that you weren't sure quite what had happened. Have you figured that out yet?

ANGELA GIRON, LOST COLORADO RECALL ELECTION: Well, yes. And I think that was really a misquote and that we know what really happened here. I mean, yes, we had a strong NRA and you have a person like Mr. Head. But really, what this story really is about, it's about voter suppression. When Colorado has voted by mail, 70 percent of Coloradans vote by mail, and we didn't have access to that mail ballot --

BALDWIN: OK, forgive me, but I'm going to cut you off right there because if we talk voter suppression, I've read reports of lack of popularity on your behalf. Let's not go there, let's get to the meat of the story, which is this gun control --

GIRON: That is the meat of the story. BALDWIN: Let's talk, though, about the stance that you and your colleague, the head of the Senate, a former police officer, have taken. And here you have mega, mega cash from Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Mayor Bloomberg versus this grassroots effort. What happened?

GIRON: I'm telling you what happened is that you had only 30,000 of the voters who in the last election, off-year election, was 45,000. So the people that are in support of very common sense gun legislation weren't able to get to the polls. They vote by ballot, and they had been doing that for 25 years. I mean, we have to call it for what it is.

When I was talking to people at the doors, and in their homes, it was that, this is what this is about? Because you want universal background checks and you voted for that and you're limiting magazines to 15. I don't see anything wrong with that. I don't see that that's any infringement on the second amendment. So people didn't know what it was about.

There was voter confusion. We didn't even know what the rules of the game were. This is the United States of America. We didn't know what the rules of the game were a week out from the election, where to vote, how to vote, where are you going to get a ballot in the mail.

So it was just that confusion led to the voices of people in Pueblo County and El Paso County not having their voices heard, yet they're going to have to pay for the election, the most expensive in the history of the two counties.

BALDWIN: I understand that's one side of this. The other side is the Republican who you lost to. Let's hear from him and some of his supporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE RIVERA, WON COLORADO RECALL VOTE: Politicians can and should be held accountable when they vote to infringe on our rights as citizens.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The people will not go against the constitution or our second amendment rights.

VICTOR HEAD, ORGANIZED RECALL CAMPAIGN: I still want to give my girlfriend my shotgun that sits in my closet. That's been it from the start.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So the last guy there, that's Victor Head, the political novice who organized the recall against you. I know you want to talk about, and I hear you on voter suppression, but do you believe, Ms. Giron, that gun control supporters in other states could fall prey to these grassroots urgencies like the one this guy, Victor Head, mounted in your state?

GIRON: Well, I don't think certainly in Colorado -- BALDWIN: But in other states?

GIRON: In other states, that depends on what their voter turnout is because that's what happened here.

BALDWIN: You believe this is all voter turnout, forgive me for interrupting --

GIRON: It's about having the voices of the people being represented heard. So this would be a different story, and I will tell you, it would be a very different story, the results would have been different, if people would have been able to vote like they have voted for the last 25 years.

So for other legislators across the country, I don't believe they're going to have any fear about doing the right thing, whether it's on gun legislation, gun safety legislation, or anything else that's important to their constituency because hopefully in their states, they have -- they'll have voter access. In Colorado, we did some major changes.

BALDWIN: Let me jump in. Two sides of the conversation here, and in retrospect, do you think your association with Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his money, his out of state money, might have tainted you among your constituents, among those who voted against you?

GIRON: Those people would have voted against me no matter what. They didn't vote for me in 2010 when I ran my first election and they wouldn't vote for me if I would have had my regular election in 2014. So that's just a group of people that don't have the same values as myself and the rest of -- the majority, I would say, of people in Pueblo County, which is the district I represent.

BALDWIN: Quickly, since you were up in 2014, this guy won't be in for very long. Are you throwing your hat back in the ring down the road?

GIRON: You know, we're looking at, you know, just a lot of options and so I haven't made any decisions on that. Again, this is really new. We worked really hard. We certainly found a tremendous amount of supporters and identified those, so there are some people have to look at some of the things that we looked at ourselves and say, what happened here? But I tell you, in the analysis we looked at now, it's about the high percentage of people who vote by mail --

BALDWIN: I hear you loud and clear.

GIRON: Who didn't have the option. I talked to people just coming out of the hospital, going into the hospital, people who had -- were in wheelchairs that none of them had the opportunity to get to the polling centers.

BALDWIN: Angela Giron --

GIRON: And that's a sad day.

BALDWIN: Thank you. Tune in to CNN tonight. The debate over gun control continues. Here's what's on tap.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: CNN tonight, at 7:00, Erin Burnett "OUTFRONT," raising questions about Iowa gun permits for the legally blind, and at 9:00, on "PIERS MORGAN LIVE," Piers talks to Senator John McCain about where America stands with Syria. Plus, Sheryl Crow tells Piers Morgan about her life with Lance Armstrong. It's all on CNN tonight, starting with Erin Burnett "OUTFRONT" at 7:00, "ANDERSON COOPER 360" at 8:00, and "PIERS MORGAN LIVE" at 9:00. Tonight on CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Meantime, coming up, breaking news in the Syrian crisis. The U.N. said they have not received papers from Syria. Syria wants to join the global ban on chemical weapons, but there is a deadline. We're going take you live to the U.N. next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A lot of fast developments here on the crisis in Syria, brand new information coming in from the U.N. Secretary-General's Office. Syria says it wants to join this chemical weapons ban, this global ban on chemical weapons.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is live at the U.N. Nick, this isn't a big step in the plan here to avoid military action. Isn't that really what this is all about? They don't want the pressure coming from the U.S.?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In many ways. Let me talk you through what this actually means. This means that Syria has written to the U.N. secretary-general, according to the secretary- general's spokesman and delivered a letter saying it wants to be part of these chemical weapons convention established in 1993. That basically means it has to destroy all its chemical weapons, anything that can be used to make a chemical weapon or any facility that can be used to make chemical weapons, too, so a big step for them.

We have heard from Bashar Al-Assad. His caveat, we haven't seen the full text of the letter, but we do understand from the U.N. spokesman that that is what they have received. Now how does this work? Well, effectively once you this sent the letter, you're part of the convention. You have accepted its terms.

So within 30 days it's legally binding on Syria and they could be subject to inspections or verification from the organization that carries out this particular convention. And then 60 days from now, they have to make a declaration of all the chemical weapons they have. By sending this letter, Syria has agreed to a whole series of time tables and deadlines in the forthcoming couple of months.

BALDWIN: And destroying, and incinerating of said chemical weapons could take years, according to experts. Have a long way to go. Nick Paton Walsh at the United Nations. Nick, appreciate it. Coming up, Tom Hanks performing his civic duty. He served on a Los Angeles jury this week and a lawyer says he actually affected the outcome of the trial. What happened? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right, we all have at least one celebrity that we are star struck over. Maybe some of us think of rock stars and astronauts as super cool, but whatever, I digress. When you're a lawyer, you have to check your emotions, especially during a trial. Now insert two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks into the picture here. He was serving as a juror in this domestic violence trial in Los Angeles. That was until a lawyer got so blinded by his stardom that she broke the golden rule causing a dramatic end to this trial. Lynn Berry, tell me what happened.

LYNN BERRY, HLN ANCHOR: Yes, exactly, Brooke, the golden rule being, you are not allowed to have any contact with jurors in any capacity.

BALDWIN: Total no-no.

BERRY: A total no-no, and she broke it. This is a prosecutor from the D.A.'s Office. She was associated with the trial. She was not a main attorney. But she at a lunch break went up to Tom Hanks, total good intention here and it was like, thank you for doing your civic duty. You're setting such a good example. It's so nice to meet you.

And they admit, she was startrucked. Who wouldn't be, it's Tom Hanks? We get it. But the defense jumped on this in a hot second. They said, we demand a mistrial. Eventually, the two parties, the defense and the prosecution, came to a plea deal. So he was facing originally a year in jail. He now has a $150 fine and a ticket.

BALDWIN: And he has Tom Hanks to thank for that.

BERRRY: Exactly. Tom Hanks actually took a picture with him after the trial. He was kind of a good sport about it.

BALDWIN: Give the nitty-gritty, which is did Tom Hanks even try to get out -- not that we would ever try to get out of jury duty.

BERRY: I wouldn't never -- but a lot of people, we don't know who, but a lot of people say certain things to get them out of jury duty. Tom Hanks would have kind of a good out.

BALDWIN: Did you see me in "Big?"

BERRY: He was the opposite, really into it. He was very attentive. The defense and the prosecution both commented on what a nice guy he was. They did have a few concerns. They talked to CNN. This is the defense. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW FLIER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I was concerned that he would take over the jury deliberation. In other words, there was no doubt in my mind that he was going to be the jury foreman. Even if someone was close, 50/50, they weren't sure, I think because of his celebrity status and his personality, I think they would have followed him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERRY: And of course, they never had to do that because they never got to deliberations, but it was quite a seen outside of the courthouse. There were people everywhere trying to get a picture of Tom Cruise.

BALDWIN: Tom Cruise, who's on your mind, Lynn Berry? Lynn Berry, thank you very. I appreciate it.

Coming up, a contestant in the Ms. America beauty pageant makes waves, you see what's on her right side, for doing something that's never been done before on the stage. Can we say ink? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Tattoos. Let's be real. Do you have one? They're not very unusual these days, but this is a first, a Ms. America contestant showing off this huge tattoo on her right side. This is Theresa Veil, Ms. Kansas. Her tattoo up close is actually the serenity prayer. She's believed to be the first contestant in a national pageant to have a visible tattoo. The pageant has no problems. The spokeswoman said they're happy with contestants showing off their individuality.

And back up and running this weekend, a Texas giant, Six Flags of Texas is reopening that roller coaster the same week a lawsuit has been filed over a deadly fall. The 52-year-old Rosa Esparza was visiting the park in July. It was her first time. Esparza slipped out of her lap bar going down the Texas Giant's first huge hill.

The lawsuit says Esparza was upside down, holding on for dear life, and then fell 75 feet to her death. The lawsuit says passengers held in only by lap bars face a bigger risk of being thrown off these kinds of roller coasters and that Six Flags knew it. Esparza's family wants a jury to award them more than $1 million.

Coming up, speaker of the House John Boehner said he is insulted. A Democrat said he almost threw up in his mouth. Backlash is growing today over Vladimir Putin's op-ed to Americans. Does the letter threaten a possible deal on Syria?

Plus, she lost 190 pounds, and now she's competing in a triathlon. Find out how in the "Human Factor," next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: For most of her life, Annette Miller has been burdened by her weight. After losing 190 pounds, she just completed the Malibu triathlon as a member of CNN's Fit Nation team, and Dr. Sanjay Gupta has her story in today's "Human Factor."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Growing up in Tennessee, Annette Miller always dreamed of playing basketball. So as soon as she was old enough, she decided to sign up for the team.

ANNETTE MILLER, CNN FIT NATION 2013 TRIATHLETE: I got a permission slip from our coach at school and came running home that day. I was so excited to get to play basketball. Instead of getting a signature from my parents, I was told you're too fat to play.

GUPTA: At 10 years old and more than 200 pounds, she says, that mantra instantly changed her life.

MILLER: You're too fat followed me into adulthood and I didn't realize how much it held me back.

GUPTA: But years later, when her twin sister, Bobbette needed a kidney transplant --

MILLER: I was not even tested or considered to be a donor because of my weight. That was the kick in the pants I need.

GUPTA: So she changed her diet. She started walking. She hit the gym. She was determined to get the weight off. By November of 2012, she was well on her way.

MILLER: I'm proud to say at this point, I've lost over 100 pounds.

GUPTA: And she wasn't finished.

MILLER: There's a little 10-year-old kid in here that still wants to play, wants to be a part of something, be a part of a team.

GUPTA: Miller applied for the CNN Fit Nation Challenge and she was accepted in January.

(on camera): Congratulations. We've already picked you --

(voice-over): For eight months, she trained, swimming, biking, running, to compete in the Nautica Malibu Triathlon. And she got below 200 pounds for the first time in decades.

MILLER: I didn't stop, 198, and then I have never had a breakdown on a scale, but I started crying.

GUPTA: And on Sunday, September 8th, Miller got her chance to play, crossing the finish line in Malibu, squarely in the middle of the pack.

MILLER: Amazing. I made the turn around on the bank. I knew I had it. If I can do it, you can do it.

GUPTA: Next up for Miller, surgery to remove the excess skin left over from her years of being overweight to complete her transformation. And as far as the basketball game, that dream came true as well. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting. (END VIDEOTAPE)