RadixJournal - January 19, 2020


Gun Nuts


Episode Stats

Length

46 minutes

Words per Minute

113.21531

Word Count

5,227

Sentence Count

339

Misogynist Sentences

3

Hate Speech Sentences

20


Summary

On May 25th, a gunman opened fire at a Texas elementary and middle school, killing at least five children and three teachers. The gunman, identified as a Hispanic immigrant from Mexico, is now in custody and is being questioned by the Texas Department of Public Safety.


Transcript

00:00:00.000 Hello, everyone. This is Richard, and welcome back to my journal. Today is Wednesday, May 25th.
00:00:09.000 I'm recording this in the afternoon, and I'll post it shortly after I finish.
00:00:15.000 Well, another day, another horrifying mass shooting.
00:00:22.000 I think we've all become inured to these to a certain degree.
00:00:28.000 They still shock us, but they also seem to be a part of American life.
00:00:39.000 I was born in 1978, and I came of age in the 1990s. I was in high school.
00:00:47.000 And at that point, Columbine was a shocking innovation, and I think it proved prototypical for these types of shootings going forward.
00:01:02.000 You had the black-clad, alienated, loner type, radicalized on the internet to some degree,
00:01:13.000 lashing out in the most extreme way possible to classmates and teachers, picking soft targets.
00:01:26.000 And what we saw yesterday was attack on the softest target possible, children in second and third grade.
00:01:37.000 Yeah, it is somewhere beyond horror.
00:01:44.000 But I think we should talk about it, and I think it's worth talking about gun control, gun culture, and all that is related to that.
00:01:56.000 I am rather tired of conservatives demanding that no one politicize this event, which I think is absurd and rather self-serving.
00:02:15.000 Apparently, we're supposed to just gaze at the abyss for a week or so, and then just move on.
00:02:23.000 But I guess we'll come together as a country by gazing into the abyss of an event like this.
00:02:28.000 Some of them will say that we should look at some deeper, you could say, cultural causes of this, social alienation and nihilism.
00:02:40.900 They don't use that word, but I do.
00:02:43.340 I agree with that.
00:02:44.900 But they seem to offer the solution of come to God, which was the solution offered by Marjorie Taylor Greene on Twitter.
00:02:59.100 She basically just unthinkingly said, gun control won't work.
00:03:05.200 Well, if it won't work, I don't know why you oppose it.
00:03:07.960 But anyway, she says, gun control won't work.
00:03:11.460 We have to look at the values that led to this, or the loss of values, and we should all come to God.
00:03:17.280 So it's a kind of solution that we have to convert the entire public into her non-denominational version of Christianity, and then this won't happen.
00:03:29.440 I don't know the religious background of the shooter.
00:03:38.300 His name is Salvador Ramos, apparently.
00:03:43.240 He was 18.
00:03:44.800 He was Hispanic, living in a community about 75 miles outside of San Antonio in Texas.
00:03:53.660 He probably had some sort of a Catholic background.
00:03:59.440 He did come from a broken home of sorts.
00:04:05.080 He lived with his grandmother.
00:04:08.040 That might have made him a bit anxious or uncomfortable, but that's reality for millions of people.
00:04:16.880 He bought a gun legally at the age of 18 in Texas.
00:04:23.320 But we don't know much more of him than that.
00:04:26.840 We have an Instagram photo, apparently, of a gaunt figure, a certain kind of darkness or hollowness, is how I would describe my impression of him.
00:04:45.280 That's all we have.
00:04:46.740 According to Governor Abbott, he apparently mentioned that he was going to murder his grandmother, which he allegedly did.
00:04:55.540 And then he might have mentioned on Facebook, I haven't seen evidence of this, but Governor Abbott has claimed this, that he was going to shoot up a school.
00:05:09.960 And he went to the adjoining lower school to his high school.
00:05:15.380 I've also read that even though he was looked at as a rather dark figure, he does fit the stereotype of the alienated loner who engages in this kind of violence.
00:05:32.580 He also doesn't have a mental health history.
00:05:37.720 Now, you could say that that's because our mental health system is underdeveloped and it's not as proactive as it should be.
00:05:45.080 Maybe that is true in this case.
00:05:46.440 But there was not some immediate warning sign from what we can tell that he was going to engage in this act.
00:05:58.300 This kind of attack is, of course, all too common.
00:06:02.740 There have apparently been 27 school shootings just in 2020 alone.
00:06:14.020 As I came of age in the 1990s, Columbine, as I mentioned, was an aberration.
00:06:22.700 And I guess looking back, it was an innovation.
00:06:26.660 It was unimaginable.
00:06:29.300 There were precedents.
00:06:30.720 Of course, the shooting from the tower at the University of Texas in the 1960s, that was probably the major precedent.
00:06:40.740 But the notion that this would become a regular occurrence and that it would enter the consciousness of schoolchildren.
00:06:50.280 Obviously, dying at school is about as likely as getting struck by lightning.
00:06:57.960 It's not something that any young person should rationally expect.
00:07:04.220 But, of course, we aren't rational.
00:07:06.800 And the fact is, this has entered children's consciousness in a way that I don't think I could fully understand.
00:07:15.960 There's no doubt that all children, even in lower school, are going to become aware of this.
00:07:23.680 They're going to become aware of this trend.
00:07:25.960 Certainly, middle schoolers and high schoolers.
00:07:29.040 And it will inflect their lives in ways that I don't think we quite understand.
00:07:37.600 Many people lament the fact that this young man was able to buy a gun at 18.
00:07:45.600 And, in particular, the type of weapon that can be used in brutal massacres like this.
00:07:55.480 And, to be frank, I agree with them.
00:07:58.700 I'm genuinely tired of making excuses or apologizing for American gun nuts at this point.
00:08:08.340 And, yes, we should have stricter gun control than we do now.
00:08:17.440 Now, whenever an event like this happens, there is a predictable outcome.
00:08:23.280 The conservatives start whining, almost pre-whining,
00:08:27.180 why are you politicizing this?
00:08:29.320 We should all just gaze at the abyss for a while and then look away and move on.
00:08:34.420 And, liberals, including President Joe Biden, will immediately call for gun reform.
00:08:42.340 And, they will make fairly compelling cases for that.
00:08:48.680 You know, for God's sake, in the words of President Biden,
00:08:53.380 there aren't deer out of the forest wearing Kevlar vests.
00:08:56.980 You don't need this type of weapon.
00:08:59.440 And, I think it's pretty unreasonable to say you need this type of weapon to protect yourself from a home invasion.
00:09:09.600 You're not, your home is not going to be invaded by an army.
00:09:15.420 A handgun will suffice in rural areas.
00:09:19.400 It's worth mentioning that a handgun is a rather dangerous weapon for a home invasion in urban areas,
00:09:27.540 just because a bullet will pass through walls.
00:09:30.660 You could definitely shoot your neighbor.
00:09:33.220 A shotgun is better.
00:09:34.300 It's a big, wide spread.
00:09:36.320 And, as many people will tell you,
00:09:37.820 if you do suffer a home invasion,
00:09:41.540 oftentimes,
00:09:44.000 the criminal will walk away when he hears that pump action of a shotgun.
00:09:52.040 Because he knows that this might not be worth it.
00:09:55.880 You know, I'll go burglarize someone else.
00:09:57.860 But, anyway, just some things to consider.
00:10:00.040 But, it is very clear that American gun culture isn't just about protection.
00:10:10.300 That is, when polled,
00:10:12.960 that is the primary reason why gun owners say they own a gun,
00:10:17.780 for protection.
00:10:19.780 And, fewer say for hunting or sports shooting.
00:10:23.320 Actually, 67%.
00:10:26.240 So, some two-thirds say it's for protection.
00:10:28.900 And, only 40% say for hunting.
00:10:32.440 So, there's...
00:10:34.240 You can see a couple of things from that.
00:10:36.340 First off,
00:10:37.920 there is something going wrong
00:10:40.960 with the country at large
00:10:43.920 when you have many people
00:10:47.080 who have some kind of weapon
00:10:48.600 and have no intent of using it for hunting
00:10:51.160 or skeet shooting or something like that.
00:10:53.320 But, they live in fear to some degree.
00:10:58.620 67%.
00:10:59.380 Beyond that,
00:11:02.420 most people who own a gun own multiple guns.
00:11:06.100 And, I don't need to tell you about a kind of gun culture
00:11:10.940 that has infested a great deal of white America.
00:11:20.600 In particular, rural America.
00:11:23.980 Some 40% of gun owners live in rural areas.
00:11:27.480 It's 30% of the suburbs.
00:11:28.880 19% in urban areas.
00:11:30.480 I guess that's not too surprising.
00:11:31.780 But, there's a culture of not even doing sporting.
00:11:48.980 There's also a culture of not just merely engaging in sporting activities
00:11:53.580 like firing at clay targets
00:11:55.880 or doing a pigeon shoot
00:11:58.640 or going duck hunting
00:12:01.220 or quail hunting,
00:12:03.280 something like that.
00:12:04.680 But, of simply buying very high-powered,
00:12:10.640 effectively military-grade,
00:12:12.960 more or less weaponry
00:12:15.740 and simply firing it
00:12:18.180 at a target.
00:12:21.460 I guess that is a sport to some degree,
00:12:23.460 but I'm not sure marksmanship
00:12:25.580 is what most people are going after.
00:12:28.900 They want to fire this powerful weapon
00:12:33.020 and hit something.
00:12:34.200 And, to be frank,
00:12:42.540 the common liberal slur
00:12:49.140 that people who like to fire big guns
00:12:52.980 are a little bit anxious
00:12:55.560 about the size of their manhood.
00:12:58.500 To be frank,
00:12:59.640 I think that probably has
00:13:00.820 more than a kernel of truth to it,
00:13:03.020 does it not?
00:13:04.740 I mean, you are going to a range
00:13:07.160 not becoming a skilled marksman,
00:13:11.220 not doing something sporting
00:13:14.180 like firing at clays
00:13:15.400 or something like that,
00:13:16.220 but just simply blasting away.
00:13:18.700 That's a weird hobby,
00:13:21.300 to be honest.
00:13:24.260 You're not exactly playing golf
00:13:26.720 or shooting hoops.
00:13:34.220 You know, when I think about gun culture,
00:13:39.560 the first thing that comes to mind
00:13:42.560 is my grandfather.
00:13:44.980 And my maternal grandfather,
00:13:47.260 who lived in relatively rural Louisiana.
00:13:52.580 He was actually a doctor.
00:13:56.300 And he grew up
00:13:59.620 in an even more rural area in Arkansas.
00:14:03.560 And for someone, you know,
00:14:06.660 being born in the 1920s and so on,
00:14:08.980 and particularly in the South at that point,
00:14:11.960 from everything I heard,
00:14:15.020 guns were a way of life.
00:14:16.660 I'm sure he fired a weapon
00:14:18.260 when he was in single digits
00:14:21.400 for the first time.
00:14:23.520 I'm sure he hunted for his food very often.
00:14:28.140 He was a bird hunter.
00:14:29.360 He was not into big game at all.
00:14:31.980 He was an excellent shot.
00:14:33.760 He took me hunting many times.
00:14:35.760 I have many fond memories of him in general
00:14:38.240 and hunting with him as well.
00:14:40.120 And, again, whenever someone just mentions gun culture,
00:14:47.240 that's what I think of my grandfather.
00:14:50.780 He had the remarkable name of Richard Dickenhorst.
00:14:57.260 I'm named after him.
00:14:58.620 And, as you can imagine,
00:15:01.720 yes, it's true.
00:15:02.840 He actually went by Dick Dickenhorst.
00:15:08.400 I remember finding that funny
00:15:11.220 when I was a preteen or something.
00:15:12.940 But I guess as I get older,
00:15:14.500 I think it's a pretty cool name.
00:15:18.500 You've got to own it.
00:15:23.120 He was definitely comfortable in his own skin.
00:15:27.580 But his gun culture was very different.
00:15:31.320 First off, he did grow up in a very rural environment.
00:15:34.020 Even when he was a practicing doctor,
00:15:36.240 he lived in a relatively rural environment
00:15:40.100 in kind of a suburb slash rural environment
00:15:43.700 slash small city in Louisiana.
00:15:49.180 But I could say that his gun culture,
00:15:54.120 and I spent quite a bit of time with him,
00:15:56.100 his gun culture was traditionalist
00:15:58.500 on a basic level.
00:16:02.060 He certainly was safe with his weapons.
00:16:04.360 He would, you know,
00:16:06.660 whenever I would do a faux pas
00:16:10.400 or something like that,
00:16:12.420 he would scold me.
00:16:15.540 He was very serious about gun safety.
00:16:17.840 He was never involved
00:16:20.640 in any kind of terrible mishap.
00:16:24.120 He had heard about people who were,
00:16:25.900 and I'm sure had some friend
00:16:27.520 who had some kind of injury.
00:16:28.640 That's to be expected
00:16:29.620 when doing any sport.
00:16:31.620 But he was very serious about that.
00:16:35.240 He collected weapons.
00:16:37.040 He actually told a story
00:16:38.160 about an Englishman
00:16:42.060 who traveled all the way
00:16:43.600 to Louisiana from England
00:16:46.220 who was selling him a Purdy.
00:16:48.420 So if you don't know,
00:16:49.720 Purdy's are maybe the most famous
00:16:52.940 classic gun.
00:16:55.520 They're all handmade.
00:16:56.800 You order one,
00:16:57.640 and I think he said it took him
00:16:59.240 two years to make it or something.
00:17:01.620 Very expensive.
00:17:03.220 And this was a major thing
00:17:05.380 in his life.
00:17:07.940 And he ultimately didn't like it
00:17:10.280 and sold it.
00:17:11.280 But he liked Beretta.
00:17:12.880 So he liked the Italian shotguns.
00:17:17.120 Those were his favorite.
00:17:18.580 But he was a very serious collector.
00:17:21.180 He had a number of beautiful weapons.
00:17:24.840 hunting was his hobby,
00:17:31.160 but you could say way of life.
00:17:32.320 It was just something
00:17:32.920 deeply important to him.
00:17:35.060 And he was very safe with it.
00:17:37.300 He certainly kept also some handguns
00:17:39.900 in the home for protection.
00:17:42.740 And again,
00:17:44.000 he was safe with those too.
00:17:47.180 But you can see that connection
00:17:50.640 with rural life.
00:17:51.660 We actually have a number of paintings
00:17:54.420 that I inherited from them.
00:17:56.820 They're probably not worth a whole lot.
00:17:58.960 They're mostly,
00:18:00.440 they mostly have sentimental value.
00:18:02.340 But there is a beautiful painting
00:18:05.460 that my mother has.
00:18:07.180 And it is of an older man
00:18:10.320 and a younger man.
00:18:11.420 And the older man is teaching
00:18:12.540 the younger man
00:18:13.360 how to load a shotgun
00:18:15.040 and their two bird dogs
00:18:16.580 at their feet.
00:18:18.420 It is very touching.
00:18:22.620 And I think does express
00:18:25.320 a kind of traditional culture.
00:18:30.320 One that was more connected
00:18:31.740 to the land.
00:18:34.380 One that was about values
00:18:36.640 and respect and so on.
00:18:39.760 So, if anyone's predisposed
00:18:43.180 to liking guns,
00:18:45.400 it's me.
00:18:46.180 As you can tell by this digression,
00:18:48.420 I have a great deal
00:18:50.480 of sentimentality about it.
00:18:55.000 But I have to say,
00:18:57.620 when I look at
00:19:00.600 the current gun culture
00:19:03.100 of the United States,
00:19:06.400 I have very different feelings.
00:19:10.740 And you could say
00:19:12.820 that I'm snobby
00:19:14.660 or something like this.
00:19:15.820 That I'm looking down
00:19:16.980 on people,
00:19:19.600 including some representatives
00:19:21.780 in Congress
00:19:23.520 who issue Christmas cards
00:19:27.380 that feature them
00:19:29.460 around a Christmas tree.
00:19:31.020 And every member
00:19:31.940 of their family,
00:19:32.900 including some quite young members
00:19:34.960 of their family,
00:19:36.180 holding a semi-automatic firearm.
00:19:39.760 you can tell
00:19:42.980 in these kinds of things,
00:19:44.140 first off,
00:19:44.680 it is this weird showing off,
00:19:50.180 tasteless.
00:19:51.060 But also,
00:19:54.240 there is no way
00:19:56.780 that you are going to use
00:19:58.100 a weapon like that
00:19:59.300 in any sort of
00:20:01.420 traditionalist hunting lifestyle.
00:20:04.520 And I guess you could use that
00:20:07.160 for home defense
00:20:08.240 if, you know,
00:20:10.620 an entire Mexican drug cartel
00:20:12.720 decides to take over your house.
00:20:14.460 and you just blow them away.
00:20:21.120 But no,
00:20:22.380 it's a kind of gun fetishism.
00:20:25.680 So it is not about
00:20:27.660 having a beautiful classic item
00:20:30.280 that is part of the manly sport
00:20:34.860 of hunting.
00:20:35.440 No.
00:20:36.800 It's about a fetish
00:20:38.620 of a big gun.
00:20:41.100 One that
00:20:42.040 is either going to be used
00:20:44.880 in a military situation
00:20:46.500 or one that
00:20:49.240 could be used
00:20:50.520 in a massacre
00:20:52.120 at a school.
00:20:53.240 I find it sick.
00:20:58.780 I think there's probably
00:21:00.460 some truth
00:21:01.260 to
00:21:01.980 the
00:21:03.500 liberal
00:21:04.360 slander
00:21:05.460 about people
00:21:06.700 who
00:21:07.140 take photos
00:21:08.660 of themselves
00:21:09.300 with giant firearms.
00:21:12.020 I
00:21:12.780 can't conclude
00:21:14.560 otherwise.
00:21:16.740 There is nothing
00:21:18.240 traditionalist about it.
00:21:20.000 It actually
00:21:21.060 reeks
00:21:22.020 of
00:21:22.780 suburban
00:21:23.500 consumerism.
00:21:26.140 You know,
00:21:26.960 look at my
00:21:27.680 new
00:21:29.240 jet ski.
00:21:31.080 Look at my
00:21:31.940 semi-automatic
00:21:32.900 weapon.
00:21:35.680 I'm a real
00:21:36.420 badass.
00:21:38.800 It
00:21:39.620 is just
00:21:40.740 tasteless
00:21:41.640 and
00:21:42.420 gross
00:21:43.060 and stupid.
00:21:44.980 And I
00:21:45.460 think that
00:21:46.100 I mean,
00:21:46.720 I think we would
00:21:47.280 probably all agree
00:21:48.220 that
00:21:48.820 we would all agree
00:21:50.080 with Marjorie Taylor Greene
00:21:51.280 to some extent
00:21:52.140 that
00:21:52.760 any type
00:21:54.000 of shooting
00:21:54.820 like this
00:21:55.660 does come
00:21:56.320 from a very
00:21:56.840 dark place
00:21:57.580 and one
00:21:57.980 which
00:21:58.320 meaning is
00:21:59.200 lost
00:21:59.700 and the
00:22:01.060 shooter
00:22:01.320 seeks some
00:22:02.100 kind of
00:22:02.500 false
00:22:02.980 horrible
00:22:03.660 authenticity
00:22:04.480 by engaging
00:22:05.480 in this
00:22:06.620 violent
00:22:07.380 lashing out
00:22:08.560 at soft
00:22:09.320 targets.
00:22:11.160 So it
00:22:12.020 does come
00:22:12.600 from a
00:22:12.940 nihilistic
00:22:13.480 place.
00:22:14.080 but so
00:22:16.900 does
00:22:17.100 gun
00:22:17.400 culture.
00:22:22.580 Again,
00:22:23.740 it's not
00:22:24.420 rooted in
00:22:24.980 the land.
00:22:25.720 There is
00:22:26.100 no animal
00:22:26.880 that you
00:22:27.460 hunt
00:22:27.840 with these
00:22:28.400 weapons.
00:22:29.820 And
00:22:30.460 instead,
00:22:31.560 it becomes
00:22:32.700 this
00:22:33.480 false
00:22:34.900 showing off
00:22:36.140 of either
00:22:36.700 your big
00:22:37.320 dick
00:22:37.800 or just
00:22:39.200 how conservative
00:22:40.260 you are,
00:22:41.040 just how
00:22:41.840 much of
00:22:42.160 a
00:22:42.680 Rambo
00:22:43.580 badass
00:22:44.120 you are.
00:22:45.100 It's
00:22:45.580 childish,
00:22:46.680 silly,
00:22:47.260 bizarre,
00:22:48.620 and needless
00:22:49.160 to say
00:22:49.740 expresses
00:22:50.820 an
00:22:51.500 extremely
00:22:53.380 bad
00:22:53.840 taste.
00:22:59.780 I think
00:23:00.760 one could
00:23:01.220 say
00:23:01.720 that
00:23:02.560 the
00:23:04.060 gun
00:23:05.620 control
00:23:06.580 legislation
00:23:07.500 that would
00:23:09.020 have prevented
00:23:09.760 a shooting
00:23:10.280 like this
00:23:10.960 is unlikely
00:23:13.120 to happen
00:23:13.880 due to
00:23:15.180 this
00:23:15.660 disconnect
00:23:17.080 we have
00:23:18.080 between
00:23:18.620 gun
00:23:19.280 owners
00:23:19.880 and
00:23:21.400 gun
00:23:23.620 control
00:23:24.040 advocates.
00:23:24.700 And I
00:23:25.000 think it's
00:23:25.340 even more
00:23:25.760 of a
00:23:25.960 disconnect
00:23:26.300 between
00:23:27.020 rural
00:23:28.100 Americans
00:23:28.680 and urban
00:23:29.380 Americans.
00:23:30.480 They have
00:23:31.380 two different
00:23:32.280 senses of
00:23:33.220 what the
00:23:33.480 gun is.
00:23:34.660 So
00:23:35.180 someone who
00:23:35.920 lives in
00:23:37.020 rural
00:23:37.780 Texas
00:23:38.280 might very
00:23:40.560 well have
00:23:41.420 a conception
00:23:42.020 of the
00:23:42.400 gun
00:23:42.780 that's
00:23:43.400 similar to
00:23:43.860 my
00:23:44.020 grandfather's.
00:23:44.980 It's
00:23:45.560 about
00:23:46.080 hunting
00:23:46.880 with his
00:23:47.320 grandfather.
00:23:49.320 He might
00:23:50.240 also be
00:23:51.020 one of
00:23:51.380 these
00:23:51.900 loons
00:23:52.900 who is
00:23:54.960 a part
00:23:55.440 of gun
00:23:56.480 culture
00:23:56.920 as well.
00:23:58.040 and he
00:24:00.180 just can't
00:24:00.820 imagine
00:24:01.260 not spending
00:24:01.920 a Saturday
00:24:02.380 afternoon
00:24:03.020 firing an
00:24:04.320 automatic
00:24:04.700 weapon at
00:24:05.280 a target.
00:24:07.060 On the
00:24:07.840 other hand,
00:24:09.340 gun control
00:24:10.320 advocates
00:24:11.020 don't see
00:24:12.760 the gun
00:24:13.280 in the same
00:24:13.760 way.
00:24:14.080 It doesn't
00:24:14.360 mean the
00:24:15.020 same thing
00:24:15.600 for them.
00:24:16.020 when they
00:24:17.880 think of
00:24:18.300 the gun,
00:24:18.820 they think
00:24:19.340 of urban
00:24:19.900 crime.
00:24:21.980 And if
00:24:22.920 we're
00:24:23.140 brutally
00:24:23.940 honest,
00:24:24.480 they probably
00:24:24.860 think of
00:24:25.660 black
00:24:26.700 gang
00:24:27.340 crime.
00:24:27.920 They think
00:24:28.260 of living
00:24:29.040 in a
00:24:29.440 big city
00:24:30.020 and there
00:24:31.660 was a
00:24:32.340 gang
00:24:32.800 land
00:24:33.340 shootout
00:24:34.160 near
00:24:35.920 their
00:24:36.440 condominium.
00:24:40.200 Why,
00:24:41.100 from their
00:24:41.380 perspective,
00:24:41.900 would they
00:24:42.240 not support
00:24:42.940 some kind
00:24:43.680 of gun
00:24:44.000 control?
00:24:44.440 And I
00:24:46.480 don't think
00:24:46.880 many of
00:24:48.000 those
00:24:48.940 types of
00:24:50.880 urban
00:24:51.220 liberals
00:24:51.700 want to
00:24:53.060 eliminate
00:24:53.800 skeet
00:24:54.420 shooting
00:24:54.780 or
00:24:55.420 duck
00:24:55.940 hunting.
00:24:56.940 I don't
00:24:57.300 think
00:24:57.560 they,
00:24:57.820 maybe a
00:24:58.660 very small
00:24:59.220 percentage
00:24:59.640 of them
00:24:59.980 do,
00:25:00.820 but the
00:25:02.180 brunt of
00:25:03.840 them
00:25:04.200 probably
00:25:05.880 think that
00:25:06.760 that type
00:25:07.300 of thing
00:25:07.780 is okay
00:25:09.040 and maybe
00:25:09.920 even they
00:25:10.440 participated
00:25:11.520 in it
00:25:12.560 themselves.
00:25:13.700 I don't
00:25:14.140 think they
00:25:14.600 are
00:25:14.780 abolitionist
00:25:16.000 in that
00:25:16.340 sense.
00:25:17.620 But when
00:25:18.800 they think
00:25:19.460 of the
00:25:19.700 gun,
00:25:20.020 they think
00:25:20.420 specifically
00:25:21.080 of urban
00:25:21.540 crime and
00:25:22.260 why not?
00:25:23.140 Why can't
00:25:23.920 we reduce
00:25:25.040 crime in
00:25:25.880 this way?
00:25:26.700 And I
00:25:27.140 think the
00:25:27.540 absurdity
00:25:29.000 of the
00:25:29.480 conservative
00:25:29.900 argument that
00:25:31.060 more guns
00:25:32.420 equals less
00:25:33.280 crime really
00:25:34.840 is an
00:25:36.900 absurd argument
00:25:37.680 that they
00:25:38.020 would make
00:25:38.460 about no
00:25:39.040 other subject.
00:25:40.580 Obviously,
00:25:41.700 removing guns,
00:25:43.120 a massive
00:25:44.060 buyback of
00:25:44.960 handguns and
00:25:45.740 semi-automatic
00:25:46.340 weapons would
00:25:47.740 reduce gun
00:25:48.460 crime.
00:25:50.060 It would
00:25:51.100 reduce violence.
00:25:55.580 The notion
00:25:57.220 that we
00:26:00.780 just need
00:26:01.460 more guns
00:26:02.360 and that there
00:26:03.300 wouldn't be
00:26:04.060 serious violent
00:26:05.200 urban crime
00:26:06.080 if everyone
00:26:07.580 had a right
00:26:08.180 to carry
00:26:08.660 permit is
00:26:09.740 simply
00:26:10.380 absurd.
00:26:11.460 And you
00:26:11.900 see them
00:26:12.360 do this.
00:26:12.900 Their answer
00:26:13.560 to any
00:26:14.560 kind of
00:26:15.220 tragedy like
00:26:15.940 what we
00:26:16.240 saw or
00:26:16.660 really any
00:26:17.280 kind of
00:26:17.920 social ill
00:26:19.200 is just
00:26:20.120 this
00:26:20.400 escalation.
00:26:22.140 There was
00:26:22.380 actually a
00:26:22.800 Texas
00:26:23.100 official who
00:26:23.760 was saying,
00:26:24.080 well, we
00:26:24.340 might want
00:26:24.640 to consider
00:26:25.160 arming
00:26:25.640 teachers.
00:26:27.460 I mean,
00:26:28.080 are you
00:26:28.380 going to
00:26:28.560 arm
00:26:28.760 students?
00:26:29.980 I mean,
00:26:30.180 where does
00:26:31.140 that end?
00:26:31.900 It's just
00:26:32.460 an insane
00:26:33.740 escalation where
00:26:35.580 once we just
00:26:36.700 get everyone
00:26:37.460 armed,
00:26:37.920 everyone
00:26:38.240 will be
00:26:38.480 so terrified
00:26:39.580 that they
00:26:40.360 won't engage
00:26:40.980 in this.
00:26:41.420 It is
00:26:41.920 absurd.
00:26:43.760 And it
00:26:44.700 does not
00:26:45.660 represent the
00:26:47.460 kind of
00:26:47.780 world that
00:26:48.420 most normal
00:26:49.240 people want
00:26:49.980 to live
00:26:50.360 in.
00:26:55.020 But back
00:26:56.060 to the
00:26:56.320 disconnect,
00:26:57.200 there is
00:26:57.920 this profound
00:26:59.260 disconnect
00:27:00.020 between the
00:27:02.620 rural
00:27:03.540 Americans'
00:27:05.040 conception of
00:27:05.580 the gun
00:27:05.900 and the
00:27:06.180 urban
00:27:06.440 Americans'
00:27:06.860 conception of
00:27:07.540 the gun.
00:27:07.920 And so
00:27:08.980 they, in
00:27:10.220 a way,
00:27:10.720 can't talk
00:27:11.720 to one
00:27:12.000 another.
00:27:12.360 It's
00:27:12.500 incommiserable.
00:27:14.680 And that,
00:27:16.280 more than
00:27:17.580 anything,
00:27:18.460 is why
00:27:19.460 gun
00:27:20.700 control
00:27:21.360 just seems
00:27:22.580 to be an
00:27:23.300 unsolvable
00:27:25.120 issue.
00:27:27.780 Now,
00:27:28.640 there is
00:27:29.100 another
00:27:29.340 reason.
00:27:29.740 and that,
00:27:33.900 of course,
00:27:34.640 is the
00:27:35.340 Constitution
00:27:37.000 of the
00:27:37.660 United
00:27:37.880 States
00:27:38.360 and the
00:27:39.200 Second
00:27:39.760 Amendment
00:27:40.320 in
00:27:41.340 particular.
00:27:41.780 other.
00:27:45.900 I think it's
00:27:46.380 worthwhile
00:27:46.820 looking at
00:27:49.680 the Second
00:27:50.200 Amendment and
00:27:51.360 taking it
00:27:52.020 seriously.
00:27:54.200 Obviously,
00:27:55.420 the founding
00:27:57.740 fathers and
00:27:59.840 Madison, who
00:28:01.520 was the
00:28:02.160 author of
00:28:02.600 these
00:28:02.760 amendments,
00:28:03.120 never could
00:28:06.220 have imagined
00:28:07.620 the type
00:28:09.720 of violence
00:28:10.580 that we
00:28:11.160 experience
00:28:11.780 today.
00:28:12.140 I don't
00:28:12.540 think they
00:28:12.880 could possibly
00:28:13.740 imagine a
00:28:15.900 teenager
00:28:16.740 taking a
00:28:18.420 semi-automatic
00:28:19.140 weapon and
00:28:20.040 attacking lower
00:28:21.480 schoolers.
00:28:22.040 That is just
00:28:23.080 beyond comprehension.
00:28:25.160 I also
00:28:27.360 don't think
00:28:27.960 they could
00:28:29.240 have imagined
00:28:29.880 a completely
00:28:30.620 disarmed
00:28:31.460 society,
00:28:32.280 particularly
00:28:32.600 when America
00:28:34.520 was, you
00:28:36.120 know,
00:28:36.360 predominantly
00:28:36.940 rural.
00:28:38.900 The notion
00:28:40.240 that a
00:28:41.580 homesteader
00:28:42.340 wouldn't
00:28:42.800 carry around
00:28:43.620 a rifle,
00:28:44.320 have a
00:28:45.160 rifle at
00:28:45.720 hand,
00:28:46.120 was also
00:28:46.620 unimaginable.
00:28:47.700 So I
00:28:48.580 simply think
00:28:49.660 they lived
00:28:51.000 in a
00:28:51.860 very different
00:28:52.680 age and
00:28:54.400 to expect
00:28:57.020 them to
00:28:57.720 offer
00:28:58.080 guidance
00:28:58.820 on this
00:28:59.940 issue is
00:29:00.720 simply asking
00:29:01.600 too much.
00:29:02.420 It's not
00:29:02.820 reasonable.
00:29:04.300 It's not
00:29:05.220 something they
00:29:05.900 could conceivably
00:29:06.860 talk about.
00:29:10.960 Now,
00:29:12.040 it's
00:29:13.040 worthwhile
00:29:13.440 looking at
00:29:15.680 that amendment
00:29:16.200 itself,
00:29:17.260 and I
00:29:17.780 will read
00:29:18.300 it,
00:29:20.260 1791,
00:29:21.580 of course.
00:29:23.120 A well-regulated
00:29:24.360 militia being
00:29:26.200 necessary to
00:29:27.480 the security
00:29:28.120 of a free
00:29:28.840 state.
00:29:30.120 The right
00:29:30.820 of the people
00:29:31.420 to keep
00:29:31.940 and bear
00:29:32.360 arms shall
00:29:33.320 not be
00:29:34.160 infringed.
00:29:36.540 Now,
00:29:37.440 there was a
00:29:38.520 Heller decision,
00:29:39.640 the Heller,
00:29:40.280 I think it was
00:29:40.820 the District of
00:29:41.460 Columbia versus
00:29:42.240 Heller from
00:29:42.780 2008,
00:29:43.560 there was a
00:29:43.860 Heller decision
00:29:44.440 in which
00:29:46.200 the gun
00:29:49.180 rights advocates
00:29:50.520 prevailed,
00:29:51.340 and in a
00:29:52.700 very similar
00:29:53.460 way to
00:29:54.800 the
00:29:57.100 more liberal
00:29:59.000 courts
00:29:59.600 discovering a
00:30:00.460 right to
00:30:00.880 privacy and
00:30:01.580 thus a
00:30:01.980 right to
00:30:02.540 abortion in
00:30:03.120 the 14th
00:30:03.640 Amendment,
00:30:05.180 Scalia and
00:30:05.920 company
00:30:06.400 discovered an
00:30:07.860 individual
00:30:08.620 right to
00:30:10.740 bear arms.
00:30:13.100 They did
00:30:13.980 accept that
00:30:15.100 these could be
00:30:15.800 regulated to
00:30:16.680 some degree,
00:30:17.340 but there was
00:30:17.680 an individual
00:30:18.400 right within
00:30:19.660 the text of
00:30:21.800 the Constitution
00:30:22.780 and that we
00:30:24.300 shouldn't look
00:30:25.420 too hard at
00:30:28.520 the first
00:30:31.340 predicate of
00:30:32.060 that sentence,
00:30:32.480 the preface to
00:30:33.480 that sentence,
00:30:33.980 a well-regulated
00:30:35.060 militia being
00:30:35.940 necessary to the
00:30:36.820 security of a
00:30:37.360 free state,
00:30:38.280 the right of the
00:30:39.140 people to keep
00:30:39.780 and bear arms.
00:30:40.340 It's the right of
00:30:41.000 the people that
00:30:41.640 is significant,
00:30:42.320 and that is an
00:30:42.840 individual right to
00:30:43.880 bear arms.
00:30:44.760 Now, none of
00:30:45.220 these rights are
00:30:45.800 absolute, of
00:30:46.680 course.
00:30:48.400 That is, you
00:30:49.260 don't have the
00:30:49.800 right to a
00:30:50.280 rocket launcher,
00:30:51.300 and if you
00:30:52.200 are a violent
00:30:52.860 criminal, your
00:30:53.660 right to bear
00:30:54.260 arms can be
00:30:55.020 taken away,
00:30:55.840 much as your
00:30:56.340 right to vote
00:30:57.040 and your right
00:30:58.520 to do all sorts
00:30:59.160 of things can
00:30:59.580 be taken away,
00:31:00.360 but they did
00:31:01.440 see that within
00:31:03.200 the text.
00:31:06.920 It is
00:31:07.680 interesting to
00:31:08.600 look at some
00:31:09.680 earlier drafts
00:31:11.320 of the
00:31:12.000 Amendment, as
00:31:13.200 well as some
00:31:14.340 contemporaneous
00:31:16.400 Second Amendment
00:31:18.180 movements, quote
00:31:18.740 unquote, that
00:31:19.680 were occurring
00:31:20.240 at the time.
00:31:21.420 This was
00:31:21.920 actually an
00:31:22.420 original draft.
00:31:23.840 The right by
00:31:24.860 Madison, the
00:31:25.540 right of the
00:31:26.040 people to keep
00:31:26.700 and bear arms
00:31:27.280 shall not be
00:31:27.820 infringed.
00:31:29.040 A well-armed
00:31:29.980 and well-regulated
00:31:31.000 militia being the
00:31:32.220 best security to a
00:31:33.680 free country, but
00:31:35.600 no person
00:31:36.360 religiously
00:31:37.480 scrupulous of
00:31:38.440 bearing arms
00:31:39.100 shall be
00:31:39.500 compelled to
00:31:40.220 render military
00:31:40.980 service in
00:31:41.860 person.
00:31:42.300 So, Madison
00:31:43.780 here, as
00:31:46.680 well as in
00:31:47.480 the final
00:31:48.120 draft of the
00:31:49.420 Second Amendment,
00:31:50.560 was making
00:31:51.860 compromises.
00:31:52.740 So, the
00:31:53.380 no person
00:31:54.300 religiously
00:31:55.080 scrupulous to
00:31:56.000 bearing arms
00:31:56.720 was a
00:31:58.740 nod to the
00:32:02.720 Quakers of
00:32:04.400 Pennsylvania,
00:32:04.980 basically saying
00:32:06.680 you won't
00:32:07.360 need to be a
00:32:08.820 part of a
00:32:09.180 militia.
00:32:10.660 But it's
00:32:11.400 also interesting
00:32:12.300 that he
00:32:13.320 mentions here
00:32:14.520 in this
00:32:14.920 draft a
00:32:16.960 well-armed
00:32:17.700 and well-regulated
00:32:18.540 militia being
00:32:19.320 the best
00:32:19.660 security of a
00:32:20.400 free country.
00:32:21.840 Now, in
00:32:22.900 Europe, and I
00:32:25.020 think in
00:32:25.280 political theory
00:32:26.140 in general,
00:32:26.840 most people
00:32:28.400 will speak of
00:32:29.040 a state and
00:32:30.080 a nation,
00:32:30.700 i.e.
00:32:30.920 the nation
00:32:31.320 state.
00:32:31.800 So, there's
00:32:32.040 the nation,
00:32:32.700 it's the
00:32:32.880 people, the
00:32:33.420 state is the
00:32:34.500 government and
00:32:35.760 the army and
00:32:36.580 everything that
00:32:37.020 goes with it.
00:32:37.600 United States,
00:32:39.560 we will
00:32:41.040 often use
00:32:41.940 different words.
00:32:43.900 So, we
00:32:46.000 will refer to
00:32:46.740 a country as
00:32:48.220 the federal
00:32:50.340 government or
00:32:51.120 the whole
00:32:51.440 thing, and
00:32:52.540 then a state
00:32:53.300 is actually
00:32:53.980 referring to
00:32:54.540 one of these
00:32:55.120 states, the
00:32:56.680 Massachusetts,
00:32:58.320 Texas, Montana,
00:32:59.520 et cetera, one
00:33:00.360 of these
00:33:00.760 provincial entities
00:33:02.600 within the
00:33:03.180 government.
00:33:03.640 It's very
00:33:03.920 similar to
00:33:04.800 how the
00:33:06.820 word federal
00:33:07.620 and federalized
00:33:08.720 almost mean the
00:33:09.300 opposite thing
00:33:10.080 in the United
00:33:10.480 States and
00:33:10.840 Europe.
00:33:11.060 But anyway,
00:33:11.700 don't need to
00:33:12.180 go into that.
00:33:13.520 Liberal also
00:33:14.180 has different
00:33:14.740 meanings, different
00:33:16.040 places, but
00:33:16.720 don't need to
00:33:18.020 go into that.
00:33:19.420 So, the
00:33:20.480 idea at the
00:33:21.500 time was
00:33:22.700 that a
00:33:24.060 well-armed
00:33:25.240 militia could
00:33:26.500 be accessed
00:33:27.400 by the federal
00:33:28.180 government.
00:33:28.760 So, when they
00:33:29.140 refer to
00:33:29.560 militias, they're
00:33:31.120 not really
00:33:31.940 referring to
00:33:32.660 these, you
00:33:33.480 know, like
00:33:33.780 private groups
00:33:35.380 that people
00:33:35.860 might be a
00:33:36.380 part of.
00:33:37.940 They're
00:33:38.500 effectively
00:33:39.120 referring to
00:33:39.820 the National
00:33:40.400 Guard.
00:33:42.060 And these
00:33:43.380 militias had
00:33:44.240 many duties.
00:33:45.460 They were
00:33:45.700 policing duties
00:33:47.100 of sorts.
00:33:47.840 They also
00:33:48.320 had duties
00:33:49.320 similar to
00:33:50.020 the National
00:33:50.560 Guard that
00:33:51.040 we know
00:33:51.320 today.
00:33:52.600 That is a
00:33:53.620 kind of
00:33:54.460 semi-professional
00:33:56.220 volunteer army
00:33:57.380 that many people
00:33:58.180 take part in
00:33:59.100 that is not
00:34:00.280 a standing
00:34:01.000 army, and I
00:34:01.700 think that's
00:34:02.180 the key.
00:34:04.000 So, the
00:34:04.460 Founding Fathers
00:34:05.040 were liberals
00:34:07.860 to the extent
00:34:08.800 that they
00:34:09.500 did want
00:34:11.400 to divide
00:34:12.500 power and
00:34:14.240 have a
00:34:15.280 strong but
00:34:17.440 divided and
00:34:19.040 kind of
00:34:19.620 checked
00:34:20.440 federal
00:34:21.540 government.
00:34:24.280 And they
00:34:25.360 did not
00:34:25.800 want standing
00:34:26.720 armies.
00:34:27.960 They felt
00:34:28.860 like that
00:34:29.420 was a,
00:34:30.580 you know,
00:34:30.840 understandably,
00:34:31.600 they felt that
00:34:32.060 that was a
00:34:32.940 threat to
00:34:33.600 liberty that
00:34:34.140 could lead
00:34:34.880 to, you
00:34:36.240 know, who
00:34:37.300 knows, a
00:34:37.960 dictatorship a
00:34:40.840 la Napoleon or
00:34:41.800 something like
00:34:42.280 that.
00:34:42.620 They wanted to
00:34:43.360 avoid such a
00:34:44.420 situation, and
00:34:44.980 they had the
00:34:45.720 imperial experience
00:34:47.900 of the British
00:34:49.020 army that they
00:34:51.840 were opposed to.
00:34:52.720 They didn't want
00:34:53.320 any of this, and
00:34:54.060 so they had a
00:34:54.620 kind of National
00:34:55.480 Guard-like
00:34:56.400 system.
00:34:56.840 and they
00:34:59.720 never wanted
00:35:00.840 to take
00:35:01.380 away the,
00:35:04.220 they never
00:35:04.820 wanted to
00:35:05.200 confiscate
00:35:05.780 guns.
00:35:08.260 First off, I
00:35:09.180 don't think they
00:35:09.960 would have done
00:35:10.740 that anyway, but
00:35:11.520 nevertheless, they
00:35:12.720 never would have
00:35:13.120 confiscated guns
00:35:14.460 for the reason
00:35:15.180 that they wanted
00:35:15.740 a well-regulated
00:35:17.140 militia.
00:35:18.640 Now, there was
00:35:19.640 also these
00:35:20.840 kind of, you
00:35:22.440 know, provincial
00:35:24.800 disputes, you
00:35:25.720 could say,
00:35:26.420 particularly with
00:35:27.040 regards to
00:35:27.560 slavery, where
00:35:29.480 many who were
00:35:31.740 more inclined
00:35:33.540 to centralization
00:35:34.540 imagined that
00:35:35.960 these militia,
00:35:37.320 these National
00:35:37.900 Guard organizations
00:35:39.180 could be
00:35:40.220 centralized or
00:35:41.780 used by the
00:35:42.520 central government
00:35:43.200 to fight off
00:35:44.260 an invasion, to
00:35:45.340 do something
00:35:45.920 else.
00:35:48.300 Other people,
00:35:49.480 particularly the
00:35:50.020 southern landowners,
00:35:51.340 I mean, Madison
00:35:52.560 was a landowner
00:35:53.540 and a slave
00:35:54.020 owner, Patrick
00:35:55.880 Henry as
00:35:56.480 well, were
00:35:58.480 more concerned
00:35:59.680 about the
00:36:01.580 policing action
00:36:03.040 of the
00:36:05.200 militia, so
00:36:07.620 that these
00:36:08.120 would be needed
00:36:08.740 here in the
00:36:09.260 states.
00:36:09.660 They'd be needed
00:36:10.120 to police the,
00:36:11.120 you know, the
00:36:12.260 populace, but
00:36:12.920 also, and
00:36:13.900 particularly with
00:36:14.580 regards to
00:36:15.060 slavery, and we
00:36:15.820 can't just send
00:36:16.600 these militia
00:36:19.260 away on some
00:36:20.220 adventure in
00:36:21.020 Mexico or
00:36:21.720 something when
00:36:22.480 we, or
00:36:23.180 Canada, probably
00:36:23.920 more likely, so
00:36:25.620 you know, we
00:36:26.540 need to actually
00:36:27.280 keep these at
00:36:27.920 the state, and
00:36:29.580 so you see
00:36:30.420 that in the
00:36:31.320 final draft of
00:36:32.760 the Second
00:36:33.100 Amendment, a
00:36:33.620 well-regulated
00:36:34.260 militia being
00:36:34.920 necessary to the
00:36:35.740 security of a
00:36:36.440 free state, so
00:36:39.180 that is very
00:36:41.420 strong decentralization
00:36:43.680 language, but
00:36:46.560 the fact is
00:36:47.860 Madison and
00:36:49.480 company were
00:36:50.420 dealing with
00:36:51.700 the politics
00:36:52.660 of their
00:36:53.100 time that
00:36:54.740 was very
00:36:55.680 tricky, and
00:36:57.300 they were
00:36:57.860 coming up
00:36:58.780 with compromises
00:37:00.160 and solutions,
00:37:01.460 so we're going
00:37:03.200 to keep these
00:37:04.400 militias involved
00:37:06.140 in policing the
00:37:07.060 state.
00:37:07.420 right?
00:37:08.480 Now, maybe
00:37:10.120 they could be
00:37:10.700 drawn up by
00:37:12.000 the federal
00:37:12.420 government, but
00:37:13.200 maybe not, and
00:37:15.660 that's why we
00:37:16.780 don't want to
00:37:17.500 infringe on the
00:37:18.240 right to bear
00:37:18.760 arms.
00:37:19.200 again, being
00:37:22.600 hundreds of
00:37:23.940 years distanced
00:37:25.980 from that,
00:37:27.660 Scalia and
00:37:28.240 company will
00:37:29.320 look at this
00:37:30.420 as implying
00:37:31.900 some kind of
00:37:32.600 individual right
00:37:33.500 to bear
00:37:33.880 arms.
00:37:35.900 Or, I
00:37:37.240 guess even
00:37:37.660 worse, a
00:37:39.760 certain myth
00:37:40.820 has developed
00:37:42.100 among the
00:37:43.140 gun-nut
00:37:43.900 types that
00:37:45.840 the real
00:37:47.860 reason for
00:37:48.440 the Second
00:37:48.820 Amendment is
00:37:50.180 not hunting.
00:37:51.860 The real
00:37:52.720 reason is
00:37:53.480 tyranny, and
00:37:54.760 that is that
00:37:55.580 a well-regulated
00:37:57.700 militia or
00:37:58.780 an individual
00:37:59.480 with a gun
00:38:00.400 cannot be
00:38:02.260 oppressed in
00:38:04.420 the way that
00:38:04.960 a disarmed
00:38:05.720 person would.
00:38:08.000 If you
00:38:08.860 have paid
00:38:09.840 any attention
00:38:10.740 at all to
00:38:11.260 American politics,
00:38:12.180 you have heard
00:38:12.740 this myth.
00:38:14.280 This gun's not
00:38:15.160 for hunting,
00:38:15.840 it's for
00:38:16.200 fighting
00:38:16.660 tyrants.
00:38:19.260 Well, I
00:38:20.080 think it's
00:38:20.460 safe to
00:38:20.900 say that
00:38:21.940 the Founding
00:38:22.740 Fathers
00:38:23.220 never imagined
00:38:25.360 anything like
00:38:26.600 that.
00:38:27.960 And, as
00:38:29.800 we would
00:38:30.160 see in
00:38:31.280 the Whiskey
00:38:31.960 Rebellion
00:38:32.880 under the
00:38:34.520 George
00:38:35.140 Washington
00:38:35.660 administration,
00:38:37.460 they were
00:38:38.380 perfectly
00:38:39.900 willing to
00:38:41.620 use the
00:38:42.660 U.S.
00:38:43.120 Army, in
00:38:43.520 this case the
00:38:43.980 Revolutionary
00:38:44.620 Army, to
00:38:45.100 suppress
00:38:45.760 any kind
00:38:46.340 of tax
00:38:46.800 revolt or
00:38:47.680 quasi-secessionist
00:38:49.820 rebellion that
00:38:51.160 they saw.
00:38:51.640 This was
00:38:51.900 actually a
00:38:52.440 major event
00:38:53.500 in establishing
00:38:55.880 the United
00:38:56.440 States as a
00:38:57.420 real sovereign
00:38:58.400 entity.
00:39:00.220 It is
00:39:01.700 mentioned
00:39:02.240 pretty regularly,
00:39:03.700 but it's not
00:39:04.600 mentioned in the
00:39:06.720 way that we
00:39:07.360 talk about the
00:39:07.940 Fourth of July
00:39:08.700 or World War
00:39:10.020 II or something
00:39:10.680 like that.
00:39:11.140 It might be
00:39:12.020 maybe, maybe
00:39:14.500 I'm overstating
00:39:15.140 matters, but it
00:39:15.700 might be one of
00:39:16.300 the most important
00:39:17.260 events in the
00:39:18.400 creation of the
00:39:19.340 United States.
00:39:20.560 It was when the
00:39:22.340 U.S.
00:39:23.060 government was
00:39:23.820 willing to
00:39:24.760 suppress
00:39:25.340 rebellion.
00:39:26.000 So the
00:39:27.700 notion that
00:39:28.860 the Founding
00:39:30.220 Fathers were
00:39:31.260 these Ron
00:39:32.520 Paul types
00:39:33.380 who wanted
00:39:33.860 everyone to
00:39:34.380 have semi-automatic
00:39:36.340 weapons, maybe
00:39:37.060 tanks, so that
00:39:38.400 we could fight
00:39:39.900 off the
00:39:41.380 woke mob
00:39:42.320 from making
00:39:44.940 us de-gender-fy
00:39:48.400 bathrooms or
00:39:49.200 something like
00:39:50.680 that.
00:39:50.820 That's just
00:39:51.320 ridiculous.
00:39:52.280 They didn't
00:39:53.280 think that
00:39:53.840 way, and
00:39:55.080 it's unreasonable
00:39:56.620 to expect them
00:39:57.800 to have thought
00:39:58.440 that way.
00:39:59.640 It is simply
00:40:00.780 a gun culture
00:40:01.820 myth, and
00:40:02.720 it's also a
00:40:03.340 pretty nonsensical
00:40:04.340 myth.
00:40:06.960 Again, you
00:40:07.960 don't need a
00:40:09.260 semi-automatic
00:40:09.980 weapon to
00:40:11.340 protect you from
00:40:12.040 a home invasion.
00:40:13.760 And secondly,
00:40:14.660 even if you
00:40:15.160 had a semi-automatic
00:40:16.160 weapon, you're
00:40:17.680 not going to
00:40:19.440 take over the
00:40:20.200 government or
00:40:21.040 stop the
00:40:21.760 government from
00:40:22.760 enforcing its
00:40:23.720 will upon you.
00:40:26.300 The government
00:40:27.180 has nukes, it
00:40:28.620 has armies, it
00:40:29.600 has, I mean,
00:40:30.080 you really want
00:40:31.320 to engage in
00:40:32.000 some kind of
00:40:32.760 long-term,
00:40:34.440 bloody guerrilla
00:40:35.400 campaign against
00:40:36.440 the federal, I
00:40:36.860 mean, these
00:40:37.440 things, again,
00:40:39.200 the founding
00:40:39.660 fathers did not
00:40:40.480 think this way,
00:40:41.960 and these
00:40:42.720 things are,
00:40:43.420 these scenarios
00:40:45.360 are so hypothetical
00:40:46.600 that I really
00:40:48.440 can only
00:40:49.060 conclude that
00:40:50.200 it's a kind
00:40:50.900 of virtue
00:40:51.520 signaling from
00:40:52.380 the right.
00:40:53.840 That is, it's
00:40:54.580 a way, much
00:40:55.560 like, you know,
00:40:57.060 issuing a
00:40:57.840 Christmas card
00:40:58.760 with your whole
00:40:59.720 family holding
00:41:00.620 up semi-autos,
00:41:02.620 this, talking
00:41:03.360 about how this
00:41:04.280 gun's not for
00:41:05.080 hunting, it's for
00:41:05.780 tyranny, is this
00:41:07.420 bullshit virtue and
00:41:10.140 status signal, you
00:41:12.080 know, don't tread
00:41:13.400 on me, it's just
00:41:16.660 nonsense, and the
00:41:20.980 sooner we call it
00:41:22.320 out for its
00:41:22.960 nonsense, the
00:41:24.900 better.
00:41:28.260 I think it is
00:41:29.220 worth asking, maybe
00:41:30.800 this time it's
00:41:31.580 different, maybe
00:41:32.780 something is going
00:41:35.340 to come of this
00:41:36.580 incident, and not
00:41:37.340 just, say, the
00:41:38.040 banning of bum
00:41:39.280 stocks or whatever
00:41:40.860 after the Las
00:41:41.900 Vegas shooting, but
00:41:42.800 maybe this
00:41:43.860 shooting, which
00:41:45.380 is so heinous, and
00:41:47.420 comes quickly after
00:41:48.880 the Buffalo
00:41:49.440 massacre, maybe
00:41:51.980 this will inspire
00:41:52.880 something.
00:41:56.180 I tend to think
00:42:00.320 that it won't, for
00:42:02.240 the reasons that I
00:42:03.880 went into, but I
00:42:08.800 wonder if it
00:42:09.500 will.
00:42:12.820 The arguments
00:42:14.100 from the right
00:42:15.180 on behalf of
00:42:18.180 unfettered gun
00:42:19.440 control are really
00:42:21.980 falling flat at
00:42:23.500 this point.
00:42:26.500 The notion that we
00:42:27.760 should start arming
00:42:28.680 teachers, that the
00:42:33.040 only, you know, a
00:42:34.880 good man with a
00:42:36.040 gun is standing in
00:42:37.260 the way of the bad
00:42:38.400 man with a gun
00:42:39.380 coming to kill
00:42:40.140 innocents or
00:42:40.760 something.
00:42:41.100 All of this
00:42:41.780 stuff, the sacred
00:42:43.560 Second Amendment
00:42:44.520 right, come to
00:42:47.400 God, then you
00:42:48.840 won't be a
00:42:49.300 spree shooter, all
00:42:51.260 of these things seem
00:42:52.260 to be really
00:42:53.500 falling flat.
00:42:56.380 Close to 50% of
00:42:58.580 the public does
00:42:59.780 support tighter
00:43:00.640 gun regulations.
00:43:03.320 I do think the
00:43:05.120 conservatives are
00:43:06.640 increasingly fighting
00:43:08.760 a losing battle on
00:43:09.740 this one.
00:43:10.860 But, to their
00:43:12.220 credit, when they
00:43:13.580 say things, when
00:43:14.500 even MTG says
00:43:15.980 things like, this
00:43:16.680 is coming from a
00:43:18.900 dark place and no
00:43:20.800 gun control
00:43:21.640 legislation can
00:43:22.680 change that.
00:43:23.340 I do agree with
00:43:24.600 that.
00:43:24.880 it is hard not to
00:43:30.580 look at the
00:43:32.760 culture that
00:43:33.680 created this as
00:43:36.100 anything but
00:43:36.980 deeply sick.
00:43:39.940 And I would, I
00:43:41.540 guess I'll close on
00:43:42.500 this.
00:43:43.000 two-thirds of
00:43:48.500 death, deaths by
00:43:51.320 guns, are not
00:43:54.820 spree shootings or
00:43:56.460 gang violence or
00:43:57.780 holdups or anything
00:43:59.480 like that.
00:44:00.120 They're actually
00:44:00.680 suicides.
00:44:04.680 Now, on the one
00:44:05.940 hand, it is clear
00:44:08.020 that reasonable
00:44:11.020 gun control would
00:44:12.400 stop a lot of
00:44:13.120 these suicides.
00:44:15.560 A gun is a, it's
00:44:18.040 an equalizer, I
00:44:20.580 would say.
00:44:21.180 You don't have to
00:44:22.240 be Achilles to
00:44:24.060 fight off Achilles
00:44:25.020 if you have a
00:44:26.140 gun.
00:44:27.600 It's egalitarian in
00:44:29.160 that way.
00:44:31.620 A hundred pound,
00:44:34.620 five foot two
00:44:35.520 woman can shoot
00:44:36.840 dead a six
00:44:40.080 foot five
00:44:40.980 behemoth who
00:44:42.580 might be
00:44:42.900 attacking with
00:44:43.520 her.
00:44:43.700 It is an
00:44:44.400 equalizer.
00:44:47.640 It is also a
00:44:49.740 very effective
00:44:51.640 and immediate
00:44:54.320 way of killing
00:44:55.760 yourself.
00:44:57.700 So there's no
00:44:58.940 doubt that
00:45:00.420 reasonable gun
00:45:02.060 control would
00:45:03.860 lessen the
00:45:05.500 suicide rate.
00:45:07.600 It's just
00:45:08.480 harder to kill
00:45:09.760 yourself in
00:45:10.600 other ways.
00:45:12.080 And you might
00:45:13.000 have a dark
00:45:13.760 thought and you
00:45:14.740 pull out a gun
00:45:15.420 and you do it
00:45:16.040 and it's
00:45:16.360 immediate and
00:45:17.120 permanent.
00:45:18.460 And if you
00:45:20.020 had some
00:45:21.200 time to think
00:45:22.320 about it, you
00:45:23.780 very well might
00:45:24.860 not kill
00:45:25.440 yourself.
00:45:28.300 That being
00:45:29.180 said, the
00:45:30.660 mere fact
00:45:33.220 that two
00:45:34.020 thirds of
00:45:34.540 gun violence
00:45:35.340 involve suicide
00:45:37.860 that suicide
00:45:39.340 seems to be
00:45:40.040 increasing in
00:45:41.020 the United
00:45:41.360 States, whereas
00:45:42.020 it is slowly
00:45:42.920 declining
00:45:43.480 worldwide,
00:45:44.220 that should
00:45:46.620 give you a
00:45:48.360 little taste
00:45:49.140 of much
00:45:50.760 deeper problems
00:45:51.840 of this
00:45:52.160 country that
00:45:54.360 go well
00:45:54.860 beyond any
00:45:55.880 sort of
00:45:56.280 legislation.
00:45:58.560 Okay, I'll
00:45:59.280 end it there.
00:45:59.940 Thank you.
00:46:04.540 God bless you.
00:46:05.860 God bless you.
00:46:08.040 God bless you.