RadixJournal - Gun Nuts

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. 0.99

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. 0.97

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. 1.00

00:09:33.220 A shotgun is better. 1.00

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 0.87

00:11:10.940 that has infested a great deal of white America. 0.56

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, 0.59

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, 0.95

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 0.59

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. 0.58

00:21:38.800 It 0.96

00:21:39.620 is just

00:21:40.740 tasteless

00:21:41.640 and 0.96

00:21:42.420 gross 1.00

00:21:43.060 and stupid. 1.00

00:21:44.980 And I 1.00

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 1.00

00:22:37.320 dick 1.00

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. 0.99

00:22:45.100 It's

00:22:45.580 childish, 0.98

00:22:46.680 silly, 1.00

00:22:47.260 bizarre, 1.00

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 0.90

00:24:25.660 black 0.99

00:24:26.700 gang 0.96

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 0.66

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 0.85

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 0.95

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' 0.58

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' 0.58

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 0.67

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 0.94

00:30:52.200 are a violent 0.97

00:30:52.860 criminal, your 0.98

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 0.99

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 0.99

00:39:51.320 ridiculous. 0.97

00:39:52.280 They didn't 1.00

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 0.82

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 1.00

00:41:07.420 bullshit virtue and 1.00

00:41:10.140 status signal, you 1.00

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 0.98

00:41:22.960 nonsense, the 0.97

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 0.51

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 0.93

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 0.96

00:42:40.140 innocents or 0.99

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 0.72

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 0.76

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 0.92

00:44:35.520 woman can shoot 1.00

00:44:36.840 dead a six 1.00

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 0.99

00:44:54.320 way of killing 1.00

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 0.53

00:45:08.480 harder to kill 0.95

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. 0.94

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.

RadixJournal - January 19, 2020

Gun Nuts

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