CNN Guns In America Town Hall. American Sniper Widow Tells Obama ‘We Can’t Outlaw Murder’ The first question for President Obama comes from Taya Kyle, the widow of Chris Kyle, on whom the book American Sniper was based. She worries that the laws will not be followed by the murderers. “Would it be a better use of our time to give people hope in a different way?” She says that America is at an all-time low for murder rate.