Verdict with Ted Cruz - June 28, 2022


Out of Control Gun Control


Episode Stats


Length

26 minutes

Words per minute

168.03929

Word count

4,414

Sentence count

305

Harmful content

Misogyny

2

sentences flagged

Toxicity

6

sentences flagged

Hate speech

3

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

Ted Cruz's reaction to the Dobbs ruling on the Second Amendment, and a major win for Second Amendment rights, all in the same day and in true verdict style, coming straight off the Senate floor from the floor of the chamber.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
00:00:00.000 This is an iHeart Podcast.
00:00:02.560 Guaranteed human.
00:00:04.320 Last Thursday night, in this incredible term for the Supreme Court,
00:00:09.260 we had just gotten a major ruling on the Second Amendment.
00:00:11.780 So Senator Cruz and I sat down, middle of the night,
00:00:14.460 he had just come from the Senate, from the Capitol,
00:00:18.000 and we were discussing this issue from the court,
00:00:22.480 what's going on with the legislators trying to pass gun control.
00:00:25.580 And the very next morning, we got the ruling in Dobbs,
00:00:28.900 the most important Supreme Court decision, certainly of my lifetime,
00:00:31.440 one of the most important ever in the history of the United States.
00:00:34.600 And so we came out, emergency episode, breaking news, verdict episode,
00:00:38.600 but we still want to bring this to you.
00:00:40.420 This is still incredible news.
00:00:42.200 While Dobbs is the big headline,
00:00:43.900 there are so many other great things that have come out of this court term.
00:00:47.080 So without further ado, here is our discussion of the Second Amendment.
00:00:51.720 A major loss for Second Amendment rights
00:00:54.760 and a major win for Second Amendment rights,
00:00:57.600 all in the same day and in true verdict style,
00:01:02.300 it is the middle of the night.
00:01:04.460 Senator Cruz is coming straight off the Senate floor.
00:01:06.840 This is Verdict with Ted Cruz.
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00:03:41.780 Welcome back to Verdict with Ted Cruz.
00:03:44.160 I'm Michael Knowles,
00:03:45.400 and I am totally cheating this time
00:03:47.640 because it is Thursday evening right now
00:03:50.960 when we are filming this,
00:03:52.200 and it is a lovely 9.30 p.m.
00:03:54.860 where I am here in California.
00:03:57.300 Senator, for you,
00:03:58.540 it is after midnight.
00:04:00.080 You've just come off the Senate floor,
00:04:01.640 and we're about to start a show.
00:04:04.100 You know, it really feels like
00:04:05.980 we're reliving our past,
00:04:07.460 our origin story.
00:04:09.000 I think all verdicts
00:04:10.460 ought to be filmed after midnight,
00:04:12.140 and the show would get much better
00:04:14.600 if we did a tequila shot
00:04:16.880 after every topic.
00:04:18.600 Well, I did want to take
00:04:20.420 some tequila shots
00:04:21.260 after I saw the machinations
00:04:23.300 in the Senate today
00:04:24.360 and the Democrats
00:04:25.460 and the squishes pushing gun control. 0.80
00:04:27.780 You saw it a lot closer than I did.
00:04:30.480 What happened?
00:04:31.640 You know, today was
00:04:32.800 a really frustrating day.
00:04:34.460 Today, the United States Senate
00:04:36.600 passed the most significant
00:04:38.440 gun control bill since 1994,
00:04:40.760 and it's even more frustrating.
00:04:42.780 So in the last podcast,
00:04:43.640 we talked about the broader issues,
00:04:45.700 but I told you then
00:04:47.720 that I would have more to say
00:04:50.460 in the hours and days coming forward.
00:04:52.840 Well, earlier this week,
00:04:56.200 in fact, right after the last podcast,
00:04:58.320 I introduced my own legislation,
00:05:00.120 and my own legislation,
00:05:02.200 I teamed up with John Barrasso,
00:05:04.320 who is the number three Republican
00:05:07.240 in the conference leadership.
00:05:09.140 He is the senator from Wyoming,
00:05:11.700 great guy, great friend,
00:05:12.940 great conservative.
00:05:14.020 Actually, we've had John Barrasso
00:05:15.260 on the show.
00:05:16.680 That's right.
00:05:17.220 A former guest on verdict.
00:05:18.420 Yes.
00:05:19.280 So we teamed up
00:05:20.860 and introduced legislation
00:05:22.040 that was called Cruz Barrasso.
00:05:23.660 By any measure,
00:05:26.020 the legislation I introduced
00:05:28.340 and I fought for
00:05:29.380 would do much, much more,
00:05:32.280 would be much more effective,
00:05:33.500 was much more serious
00:05:34.620 in stopping mass murders
00:05:36.660 and stopping mass shootings
00:05:38.000 and keeping our kids safe.
00:05:39.620 And yet every single Democrat
00:05:41.960 lined up against it.
00:05:43.700 And they said,
00:05:44.700 we don't want to double
00:05:45.460 the number of cops in schools.
00:05:47.160 We don't want to prosecute
00:05:48.400 gun criminals.
00:05:49.380 Instead, our objective is
00:05:52.100 to meet our political priorities
00:05:54.440 of restricting
00:05:56.300 the Second Amendment rights
00:05:57.420 of law-abiding citizens.
00:05:58.340 It's really frustrating
00:05:59.740 and it's maddening.
00:06:02.160 So you come up
00:06:04.140 with this legislation
00:06:05.060 with John Barrasso
00:06:06.320 and you bring it in,
00:06:08.280 you introduce it into the Senate,
00:06:09.940 and then while you're waiting
00:06:11.240 for Chuck Schumer
00:06:12.060 to come sign on
00:06:13.240 as a co-sponsor,
00:06:14.640 because this is basic stuff,
00:06:16.460 if Democrats really wanted
00:06:17.600 to solve this,
00:06:18.220 then they would do it.
00:06:19.440 Meanwhile,
00:06:20.300 the Democrats are picking off
00:06:21.640 14 Republicans
00:06:22.640 to support their legislation,
00:06:24.740 which whatever you think
00:06:26.080 about gun control
00:06:26.960 is just far less relevant
00:06:29.040 to these actual shootings
00:06:30.420 than legislation like yours would be.
00:06:33.420 And then the legislation
00:06:35.520 that the Democrats proposed
00:06:37.080 passes the Senate.
00:06:38.340 So it's done, right?
00:06:39.540 It's over.
00:06:40.200 It's going to go to Biden's desk
00:06:41.700 and then it's going to become law?
00:06:42.560 No, it has to go to the House next,
00:06:44.320 but the House is expected
00:06:45.400 to take it up
00:06:46.060 and the House will pass it.
00:06:47.500 So it will go to Biden's desk,
00:06:49.660 but the House has to pass it first.
00:06:51.860 And the Democrats there
00:06:53.140 are going to support it.
00:06:53.980 And look,
00:06:54.320 the Democrats understand
00:06:55.600 this is the camel's nose
00:06:56.640 under the tent.
00:06:58.140 The provision in this bill
00:06:59.980 that is the most problematic
00:07:01.100 is the red flag provision.
00:07:03.200 So this bill provides
00:07:04.720 significant federal funding
00:07:06.060 for states to pass
00:07:08.020 so-called red flag laws.
00:07:09.580 And the problem is
00:07:10.500 red flag laws
00:07:12.220 really can invite abuse
00:07:14.140 because they're a mechanism
00:07:15.600 to take away the guns
00:07:18.080 from law-abiding citizens.
00:07:19.820 And it varies state by state,
00:07:21.980 but we've seen some blue states
00:07:23.340 enact red flag laws
00:07:24.700 where they can take away your guns
00:07:26.760 with little to no due process,
00:07:29.480 with little to no judicial protection.
00:07:31.700 Now, the Second Amendment
00:07:32.900 is not just some sort of privilege
00:07:34.920 that various political communities
00:07:37.900 have decided to pass.
00:07:40.360 The Second Amendment
00:07:41.280 is a constitutional right.
00:07:43.780 The right to keep and bear arms,
00:07:45.100 no matter what you think of it,
00:07:46.680 is a basic civil right.
00:07:48.860 So my question is,
00:07:50.180 how can the Democrats
00:07:51.920 and these 14 Republicans
00:07:53.140 lower the threshold so much
00:07:56.280 to deprive someone
00:07:57.200 of their basic civil rights?
00:07:58.700 And will this,
00:07:59.840 if it's challenged in court,
00:08:01.400 would this kind of legislation
00:08:03.160 be overruled?
00:08:04.280 So it depends.
00:08:05.500 The Democrats, by and large,
00:08:07.100 don't care.
00:08:08.300 And more and more
00:08:09.620 congressional Democrats
00:08:10.660 are becoming quite candid
00:08:11.960 that their objective
00:08:12.900 is gun confiscation,
00:08:14.600 that they want to take guns
00:08:15.820 away from the American people.
00:08:17.180 They used to hide that.
00:08:18.940 More and more Democrats 0.50
00:08:19.940 are being very open.
00:08:21.060 Beto O'Rourke famously said,
00:08:22.840 hell yes,
00:08:23.360 we're going to take your AR-15.
00:08:24.880 I mean, they're embracing it.
00:08:27.560 Justice John Paul Stevens,
00:08:28.980 the lion of the left,
00:08:30.440 wrote an op-ed saying
00:08:31.560 we should repeal
00:08:32.440 the Second Amendment.
00:08:33.380 That is more and more
00:08:34.380 becoming the position
00:08:35.420 of the hard left
00:08:36.760 is screw the Second Amendment,
00:08:38.040 we want your guns.
00:08:38.800 With Republicans,
00:08:42.260 it's more complicated.
00:08:43.300 A number of Republicans,
00:08:44.420 so we had at lunch today
00:08:46.580 with the Senate Republicans,
00:08:47.720 we had a hot lunch.
00:08:50.380 It's as hot
00:08:51.220 as any I can remember
00:08:53.200 in years.
00:08:54.060 People were angry
00:08:54.980 and yelling at each other.
00:08:56.360 This is, look,
00:08:57.120 it's an emotional issue.
00:08:58.380 It's a divisive issue.
00:09:01.020 On the question
00:09:02.060 of red flag laws,
00:09:03.200 what the defenders
00:09:03.820 of this bill were saying
00:09:05.220 is, well, gosh,
00:09:06.020 no courts
00:09:07.800 have struck down
00:09:09.480 the state laws
00:09:10.320 as being unconstitutional.
00:09:11.540 No courts have concluded
00:09:12.900 that they don't
00:09:14.100 adequately protect
00:09:15.300 due process.
00:09:16.320 Well, look,
00:09:17.400 there are lots of things
00:09:18.200 that are unconstitutional
00:09:19.140 that have yet to be adjudicated.
00:09:20.640 And if your standard is
00:09:21.780 whatever New York
00:09:22.980 or Connecticut does
00:09:23.940 is just
00:09:24.500 okie-dokie by me
00:09:26.640 unless and until
00:09:27.820 a court strikes it down,
00:09:30.860 you're on pretty
00:09:31.720 dangerous territory.
00:09:32.660 So I found that argument
00:09:34.380 particularly unpersuasive.
00:09:36.900 We have heard
00:09:37.780 in the Judiciary Committee
00:09:38.860 significant testimony
00:09:40.900 about how these laws
00:09:42.220 have been abused.
00:09:43.020 And one of the things
00:09:43.520 I said on the Senate floor
00:09:44.600 is as a consequence
00:09:46.560 of this bill tonight,
00:09:48.480 we will see people
00:09:49.740 assaulted and lose their life.
00:09:51.300 So we had a big argument
00:09:52.460 today at lunch
00:09:53.280 over my amendment.
00:09:55.980 So we started the day
00:09:57.280 with me being told
00:09:59.080 by multiple senators,
00:10:00.480 oh, Chuck Schumer
00:10:01.620 is going to schedule
00:10:03.840 a vote on your amendment.
00:10:05.440 He's agreed
00:10:05.940 we're going to have
00:10:06.360 one amendment.
00:10:07.400 It's your amendment.
00:10:08.580 It's the Cruz Barrasso amendment.
00:10:09.760 We're going to vote on that
00:10:10.680 and then we'll be done.
00:10:12.660 And at lunch,
00:10:14.040 several of my colleagues asked,
00:10:16.460 okay, is your amendment,
00:10:18.180 is it simply
00:10:19.520 an addition to this bill
00:10:20.980 adding new provisions
00:10:22.020 or is it a substitute?
00:10:24.840 A substitute is
00:10:25.960 delete what you got
00:10:26.940 and replace it with this.
00:10:28.000 And I said,
00:10:29.980 guys, it's a substitute.
00:10:31.480 I don't like what you're doing.
00:10:32.780 What you're doing is bad.
00:10:34.000 It's a bad bill.
00:10:35.180 It undermines
00:10:36.280 the second amendment.
00:10:37.800 So I don't want to add
00:10:39.180 my bill to yours
00:10:40.120 and undermine the second amendment
00:10:41.420 and do something good.
00:10:42.600 I'd just like to do something good.
00:10:44.680 I'd like us actually
00:10:45.800 to pass a straight up bill
00:10:47.780 going after criminals
00:10:48.760 and keeping people safe.
00:10:51.580 I will tell you
00:10:52.560 my Republican colleagues
00:10:53.620 who are in support
00:10:54.580 of this bill
00:10:55.100 were furious.
00:10:55.920 That was the cause
00:10:57.540 of much of the fireworks
00:10:58.620 at lunch
00:10:59.120 is they're like,
00:10:59.880 we don't want to substitute.
00:11:01.340 We want you just to,
00:11:02.420 just add our bill,
00:11:03.740 add your bill to ours
00:11:04.700 and we'll be fine with it.
00:11:06.080 In your estimation,
00:11:07.380 Senator,
00:11:07.700 I don't want to make you
00:11:09.340 play psychobabble
00:11:10.260 or anything like that,
00:11:11.380 but is your read
00:11:12.620 from your squishier colleagues
00:11:14.620 who backed
00:11:15.200 the Dems gun control bill,
00:11:17.080 is your read
00:11:17.840 that they did it
00:11:18.660 for political reasons
00:11:20.300 to appease
00:11:21.140 their purple
00:11:21.800 or blue constituencies
00:11:22.900 or did they do it
00:11:24.700 because of conviction
00:11:26.400 because they think
00:11:27.020 it's actually good
00:11:27.660 to take away guns
00:11:28.720 from more Americans.
00:11:29.900 Now look,
00:11:30.220 there were a number
00:11:30.780 of them from pretty red states
00:11:32.780 that weren't from
00:11:33.800 blue or purple states.
00:11:35.700 I don't know.
00:11:36.660 I'm not an armchair shrink.
00:11:40.180 I think it is
00:11:41.440 consistently the case
00:11:42.800 that when a Republican
00:11:43.780 compromises with the Democrats
00:11:45.340 and does what
00:11:46.000 the Democrats want,
00:11:47.500 that the press
00:11:48.320 will praise them.
00:11:49.760 It's an easy path.
00:11:51.200 If you want the press
00:11:52.040 to call you a statesman,
00:11:53.620 just do what
00:11:54.120 the Democrats want.
00:11:55.200 And as a Republican,
00:11:56.620 it's simple.
00:11:57.440 100% of the time
00:11:58.660 you give in to the Democrats,
00:11:59.920 the press says,
00:12:00.800 oh, you're so wise,
00:12:01.900 you're so enlightened.
00:12:03.500 And it's a pattern
00:12:04.600 we see over and over again.
00:12:06.900 You know,
00:12:07.060 you think about this bill.
00:12:08.320 This is a bill
00:12:08.880 that united all the Democrats.
00:12:10.380 Every Democrat
00:12:11.200 voted for this bill.
00:12:12.620 The most left-wing Democrats
00:12:14.360 happily voted
00:12:15.020 for this bill.
00:12:17.280 And less than a third
00:12:19.600 of the Republicans
00:12:20.200 voted for this bill.
00:12:21.500 More than a few of us
00:12:22.760 were asking
00:12:23.460 of our leadership,
00:12:24.880 why are we teeing up
00:12:25.900 a bill that unites
00:12:27.160 all the Democrats
00:12:28.040 and divides the Republicans
00:12:29.320 and makes us fight
00:12:30.040 with each other?
00:12:31.060 I get why this makes sense
00:12:32.540 for Chuck Schumer.
00:12:33.320 Why does this make sense
00:12:34.160 for us?
00:12:35.560 But when I said
00:12:37.360 my amendment
00:12:37.940 is going to be a substitute,
00:12:39.240 I'm not willing
00:12:39.920 to just rubber stamp
00:12:40.820 what you're doing,
00:12:42.000 it made the proponents
00:12:43.340 of the bill pretty angry.
00:12:45.280 And Schumer ended up
00:12:46.700 saying no amendments at all.
00:12:47.900 And so he blocked amendments.
00:12:51.240 Now, the way you block amendments,
00:12:52.620 and let's get into
00:12:53.200 a little bit of
00:12:53.760 arcane Senate procedure.
00:12:56.080 When you have a bill
00:12:57.160 pending on the floor,
00:12:58.960 there is what's called
00:13:00.180 the amendment tree,
00:13:01.200 which is there are open slots
00:13:02.760 for amendments.
00:13:04.460 And what Schumer did
00:13:05.460 is what's called
00:13:06.120 filling the tree,
00:13:07.240 which is he brings up the bill,
00:13:08.640 then he files an amendment,
00:13:10.420 he files another amendment,
00:13:11.400 he fills the legs
00:13:12.460 on the tree.
00:13:13.980 And typically,
00:13:15.000 the blocking amendment
00:13:16.080 is something really minor
00:13:17.940 and inconsequential.
00:13:19.100 It's something like
00:13:19.800 changing a date
00:13:20.760 from September 1st
00:13:23.000 to September 2nd.
00:13:23.940 I mean, it doesn't matter
00:13:25.760 what it is.
00:13:26.360 It's just an amendment
00:13:27.580 to block that slot
00:13:28.860 so no one else
00:13:29.540 can file an amendment.
00:13:31.420 So because Schumer
00:13:32.860 refused to allow
00:13:34.400 any amendments,
00:13:35.920 what I did tonight
00:13:37.500 is I exercised
00:13:39.160 the prerogatives
00:13:39.900 of a senator
00:13:40.600 to move to table
00:13:44.020 a pending amendment.
00:13:45.980 And in particular,
00:13:46.560 I moved to table
00:13:47.700 Schumer's amendment
00:13:49.440 that was filling the tree,
00:13:50.860 that was blocking the tree.
00:13:52.640 And under Senate rules,
00:13:54.320 a motion to table
00:13:55.460 an amendment
00:13:56.020 is a privileged motion
00:13:58.220 with no debate
00:13:59.220 that forces a vote.
00:14:00.380 So it was a way
00:14:01.360 for me to force a vote.
00:14:02.460 And I stood up and said,
00:14:03.320 look,
00:14:03.620 I'm moving to table this
00:14:05.200 in order to force a vote
00:14:07.520 on Cruz Barraza.
00:14:08.800 And this is a chance
00:14:10.720 for everyone here
00:14:11.620 to decide which one you want.
00:14:13.980 Do you want to pass a bill
00:14:15.040 that is serious
00:14:16.060 about going after
00:14:17.320 violent criminals,
00:14:18.180 about locking up
00:14:18.940 gun criminals,
00:14:19.760 and that provides
00:14:20.960 much, much more funds
00:14:22.760 and resources
00:14:23.400 to make schools safe,
00:14:24.900 to double the number
00:14:25.960 of cops in schools
00:14:27.020 to protect our kids?
00:14:29.120 Or do you want to pass
00:14:30.440 a political bill
00:14:31.300 that satisfies
00:14:32.180 the partisan urges
00:14:33.580 of the Democrats?
00:14:34.280 That's your choice.
00:14:35.840 That's what we voted on tonight.
00:14:37.620 And unfortunately,
00:14:39.580 that vote failed.
00:14:40.800 We got a total of 39 votes
00:14:42.400 to table the amendment,
00:14:44.640 which meant all the Democrats
00:14:46.840 and eight Republicans
00:14:50.100 voted to block
00:14:53.180 any more amendments
00:14:54.200 to prevent consideration
00:14:55.600 of the serious legislation
00:14:58.260 that actually would put
00:15:00.260 real resources on the table
00:15:02.000 to stop violent crime.
00:15:03.400 So that means
00:15:04.780 that six Republicans
00:15:05.920 backed the Democrats
00:15:07.780 gun control bill,
00:15:09.060 but also didn't
00:15:10.720 didn't try to shoot down
00:15:12.200 your amendment.
00:15:13.280 Correct.
00:15:14.860 So a way to sort of
00:15:16.020 split the baby there,
00:15:16.820 but I guess we'll take
00:15:17.420 what we can get.
00:15:17.860 Yeah, we picked off
00:15:19.020 about half the Republicans
00:15:20.160 who were supporting this,
00:15:21.260 and so that was
00:15:22.020 that was an incremental benefit.
00:15:25.740 And by the way,
00:15:26.960 look, I'll also say
00:15:28.140 we were working with
00:15:30.080 gun rights groups
00:15:32.160 so that the NRA
00:15:33.400 actively supported
00:15:35.640 my amendment
00:15:36.180 and publicly urged senators
00:15:38.280 to vote for it.
00:15:39.280 Why?
00:15:40.160 Because it targets
00:15:40.940 the bad guys.
00:15:41.520 It targets criminals.
00:15:42.580 It actually focuses
00:15:43.660 on how you stop
00:15:44.760 gun crimes
00:15:46.100 rather than
00:15:47.880 disarming law-abiding citizens.
00:15:49.760 But unfortunately,
00:15:50.980 a majority of the Senate
00:15:55.680 wanted to
00:15:56.760 go down a political
00:15:58.020 road instead.
00:15:59.260 So the Democrats
00:15:59.900 run the Senate,
00:16:00.780 so the Democrats
00:16:01.380 get their way
00:16:02.120 on their gun bill.
00:16:03.880 The Democrats
00:16:05.080 generally do not run
00:16:06.900 the Supreme Court.
00:16:08.020 We have a
00:16:09.100 vaguely conservative,
00:16:11.300 vague majority
00:16:12.240 on the court,
00:16:12.880 and the court
00:16:13.560 handed down
00:16:14.300 a major victory
00:16:15.580 for the Second Amendment
00:16:16.780 today.
00:16:17.140 That was the
00:16:17.580 New York Rifle
00:16:18.920 and Pistol Association
00:16:20.020 versus Bruin.
00:16:21.920 And it was
00:16:22.820 a case
00:16:23.940 that decided
00:16:26.380 whether and how
00:16:28.520 New Yorkers
00:16:29.360 are allowed
00:16:29.940 to keep
00:16:30.460 and bear arms.
00:16:31.800 Could you
00:16:32.240 describe a little bit
00:16:33.420 about the case?
00:16:34.300 Sure.
00:16:34.500 It's a big case.
00:16:35.860 It is a big victory
00:16:37.000 and it is cause
00:16:37.780 for celebration.
00:16:39.140 So New York
00:16:39.860 has in place
00:16:40.560 a law
00:16:40.960 that severely
00:16:42.020 restricts
00:16:42.800 the ability
00:16:43.440 of New Yorkers
00:16:45.040 to carry a firearm
00:16:45.900 outside the home.
00:16:46.960 So if you want
00:16:47.780 to conceal,
00:16:48.400 carry a handgun,
00:16:49.240 New York
00:16:50.320 had a handful
00:16:51.080 of very narrow
00:16:52.140 circumstances
00:16:52.860 in which you
00:16:53.400 were allowed
00:16:53.760 to do it.
00:16:54.600 But as a practical
00:16:55.700 matter,
00:16:56.160 you couldn't.
00:16:56.680 It was illegal
00:16:57.460 to carry a firearm
00:16:59.300 outside your home.
00:17:01.440 So if you're
00:17:02.360 on the subway,
00:17:03.040 if you want
00:17:03.380 to protect yourself,
00:17:04.980 New York
00:17:05.340 made it illegal
00:17:06.000 to do that.
00:17:07.200 This was a lawsuit
00:17:08.220 saying,
00:17:08.900 look,
00:17:09.140 making it illegal
00:17:09.840 to protect yourself
00:17:10.760 is contrary
00:17:11.420 to the Second Amendment
00:17:12.600 which says
00:17:13.660 the right to keep
00:17:14.360 and bear arms
00:17:15.080 shall not be
00:17:16.220 infringed.
00:17:17.440 The Supreme Court
00:17:18.340 agreed.
00:17:19.240 The decision
00:17:19.880 is 6-3.
00:17:20.820 So it was a big
00:17:21.600 majority decision.
00:17:23.760 Justice Clarence Thomas
00:17:24.800 wrote the majority.
00:17:25.800 It's a fantastic
00:17:26.580 majority opinion
00:17:27.500 and it vigorously
00:17:30.500 gave life
00:17:31.400 to the Second Amendment
00:17:32.320 and it said,
00:17:32.980 look,
00:17:33.180 you've got a right
00:17:33.960 to protect
00:17:34.880 your own life.
00:17:36.340 The Second Amendment
00:17:36.920 is not about hunting.
00:17:37.980 It's not about
00:17:38.400 skeet shooting.
00:17:39.280 It's not about
00:17:40.020 recreational use
00:17:41.680 of firearms.
00:17:42.420 The Second Amendment
00:17:43.120 is about
00:17:43.600 the fundamental right
00:17:44.660 you have,
00:17:45.980 you,
00:17:46.160 Michael Knowles
00:17:46.920 to defend
00:17:47.480 your life,
00:17:48.080 to protect
00:17:48.460 your life,
00:17:49.020 and to defend
00:17:49.540 your family.
00:17:51.120 And that right
00:17:53.340 of life
00:17:54.100 and self-defense,
00:17:55.720 the ability
00:17:56.980 to both keep
00:17:58.400 and to bear arms,
00:18:00.080 to carry them
00:18:00.960 with you
00:18:01.620 to protect yourself
00:18:03.160 is fundamental.
00:18:04.640 And the Supreme Court
00:18:05.400 said restrictions
00:18:06.880 that are not
00:18:07.760 in the tradition
00:18:08.580 of what has been
00:18:09.360 allowed
00:18:09.960 with the right
00:18:12.100 to keep
00:18:12.460 and bear arms
00:18:13.300 are beyond
00:18:14.960 what is allowed
00:18:16.880 under the Constitution.
00:18:18.280 It was a big,
00:18:19.660 big victory.
00:18:20.500 I remember
00:18:20.800 when I was living
00:18:21.420 in New York,
00:18:22.020 I did a little research
00:18:22.940 to see what it would take
00:18:24.380 to allow me
00:18:25.500 to carry a weapon.
00:18:27.340 Even just to have
00:18:28.100 a weapon
00:18:28.400 in my apartment
00:18:29.660 was difficult enough,
00:18:30.960 but to carry a weapon
00:18:32.240 outside of my apartment
00:18:33.020 and it was,
00:18:33.600 it was virtually impossible.
00:18:35.400 And in the law
00:18:36.440 at issue here,
00:18:37.800 New York decided
00:18:39.340 that you had to prove
00:18:40.720 that you had a cause
00:18:42.780 to have,
00:18:44.380 to keep and bear
00:18:45.000 this weapon.
00:18:46.100 And it would seem to me
00:18:47.700 that the cause
00:18:48.580 would be
00:18:49.160 the government's
00:18:50.620 trying to take away
00:18:51.300 my Second Amendment rights.
00:18:52.360 That would seem to be
00:18:53.240 a sufficient cause
00:18:54.280 to exercise
00:18:55.320 my Second Amendment rights.
00:18:56.900 Will this have ripple effects
00:18:58.140 around the rest of the country?
00:18:59.620 So it will.
00:19:00.260 I think you will see
00:19:01.060 litigation
00:19:01.660 against other
00:19:02.800 significant constraints
00:19:04.160 on the right
00:19:04.600 to keep and bear arms.
00:19:05.620 And I think you will see
00:19:06.720 gun-grabbing restrictions
00:19:09.020 struck down.
00:19:10.140 The left
00:19:11.120 wants to make it
00:19:12.800 hard,
00:19:13.600 if not impossible,
00:19:14.540 for you to protect yourself.
00:19:16.440 And I think
00:19:17.000 this decision,
00:19:18.000 this decision
00:19:18.640 is the biggest
00:19:19.300 Second Amendment decision
00:19:20.460 since Heller
00:19:21.880 versus District of Columbia,
00:19:23.340 which as you know,
00:19:24.940 I led a coalition
00:19:25.960 of states in Heller
00:19:27.180 defending the Second Amendment
00:19:28.380 right to keep and bear arms.
00:19:29.840 That was a landmark
00:19:30.940 5-4 decision.
00:19:32.960 Antonin Scalia
00:19:33.760 wrote the opinion.
00:19:34.660 It's probably
00:19:35.080 the finest majority opinion
00:19:37.160 Justice Scalia
00:19:37.860 ever wrote.
00:19:39.340 In this case,
00:19:40.640 I led an amicus brief
00:19:42.140 for 24 senators
00:19:45.540 defending the Second Amendment
00:19:47.620 right to keep and bear arms.
00:19:48.780 So we filed a brief
00:19:49.740 of the court
00:19:50.260 and the court
00:19:51.080 agreed with us.
00:19:51.720 The court agreed with us
00:19:52.660 down the line
00:19:53.680 that the right
00:19:54.940 to keep and bear arms
00:19:55.780 is real.
00:19:56.620 It's significant.
00:19:57.480 It's meaningful.
00:19:58.100 It needs to be protected.
00:19:59.400 And, you know,
00:19:59.780 the Bill of Rights
00:20:00.460 is not optional.
00:20:01.460 It's not a recommendation.
00:20:03.200 If you don't agree with it,
00:20:04.620 who cares?
00:20:05.460 It is in the Constitution.
00:20:07.180 If you don't agree with it,
00:20:08.560 try to amend the Constitution,
00:20:09.840 but you don't get to ignore it
00:20:11.420 just because you'd like to ignore it.
00:20:13.840 And so I think this was a big decision
00:20:15.980 and a really important
00:20:18.420 long-term victory
00:20:19.280 for the Second Amendment.
00:20:20.540 I will tell you something amazing.
00:20:22.760 So imagine for a second, Michael,
00:20:26.700 that you're the lawyer
00:20:27.700 who argues the New York case,
00:20:29.980 wins a 6-3 landmark case
00:20:33.000 defending a constitutional right.
00:20:37.080 Imagine you are also
00:20:38.540 a partner at a law firm
00:20:39.520 who's just won
00:20:40.400 a landmark victory
00:20:41.680 at the Supreme Court.
00:20:43.420 What do you think
00:20:44.680 the reward
00:20:45.600 and the response
00:20:47.180 from your law firm
00:20:48.220 would be and should be?
00:20:50.600 I would imagine
00:20:51.760 I should get a big,
00:20:53.360 fat, gigantic bonus.
00:20:55.720 I think I should get
00:20:56.620 an upgrade to my office
00:20:58.120 if I'm in some little kind of,
00:21:00.200 I'd like that corner office now,
00:21:02.160 maybe a nice leather chair
00:21:04.320 and a cocobolo desk.
00:21:05.720 That's what I would expect.
00:21:06.740 Look, all of that makes sense
00:21:08.180 and you got it
00:21:09.040 almost exactly right.
00:21:11.080 What happened in this case
00:21:12.920 is the lawyer
00:21:14.240 who argued the case
00:21:15.340 was Paul Clement.
00:21:16.620 He was the former
00:21:17.180 Solicitor General
00:21:17.940 of the United States.
00:21:18.760 Paul is someone
00:21:19.120 I know very well.
00:21:19.900 He's an incredibly
00:21:20.580 talented advocate.
00:21:22.500 He won 6-3.
00:21:23.740 He was a partner
00:21:24.300 at Kirkland and Ellis
00:21:25.180 and immediately
00:21:26.380 after the decision
00:21:27.220 came down,
00:21:28.000 Kirkland fired him.
00:21:29.060 Oh my God.
00:21:30.340 He was fired.
00:21:32.280 They fired him
00:21:33.360 and they fired Aaron Murphy
00:21:34.420 who was also his partner.
00:21:36.060 What the law firm said
00:21:37.800 is we have decided
00:21:40.200 we are no longer willing
00:21:41.360 to defend the Second Amendment.
00:21:43.500 So you, Paul,
00:21:44.640 and you, Aaron,
00:21:45.260 have a choice.
00:21:46.040 Fire your client
00:21:47.000 who is a longstanding client.
00:21:50.320 Tell them you will
00:21:50.840 no longer represent them
00:21:52.160 or get the hell
00:21:53.760 out of the firm.
00:21:55.340 And Paul and Aaron,
00:21:56.700 God bless them,
00:21:57.620 said,
00:21:58.480 nice knowing you guys.
00:21:59.920 See you later.
00:22:00.520 We won't let the door 1.00
00:22:02.060 hit us on the ass 0.99
00:22:02.840 on the way out. 1.00
00:22:03.980 And they left the firm
00:22:05.360 today.
00:22:07.440 Literally within hours
00:22:08.840 of winning
00:22:09.340 this landmark decision.
00:22:11.420 Do you want to know
00:22:12.240 something even more amazing?
00:22:14.700 I can't imagine
00:22:15.940 what would be more amazing
00:22:16.820 than that,
00:22:17.240 but sure.
00:22:17.960 This is not the first time
00:22:19.640 this has happened
00:22:20.220 to Paul Clement.
00:22:22.480 So more than a decade ago.
00:22:24.000 I thought you were going to say
00:22:24.240 this is not the first time
00:22:25.420 that this has happened
00:22:26.160 in the history of the court.
00:22:27.460 This poor man,
00:22:28.880 this has happened
00:22:29.320 to multiple times.
00:22:30.560 So over a decade ago,
00:22:32.280 Paul was a partner
00:22:33.080 at King and Spalding,
00:22:34.000 one of the top
00:22:34.560 Supreme Court litigators
00:22:35.620 on the planet.
00:22:37.080 And the U.S. House
00:22:38.520 of Representatives,
00:22:39.400 controlled by Republicans
00:22:40.260 at the time,
00:22:42.000 hired Paul to defend
00:22:43.460 the Defense of Marriage Act,
00:22:45.480 a law passed by Congress
00:22:47.540 that Barack Obama
00:22:49.420 refused to defend.
00:22:51.000 And so the Republican House
00:22:52.580 wanted somebody
00:22:53.320 to defend it
00:22:53.860 in the Supreme Court.
00:22:54.520 they hired Paul.
00:22:56.320 King and Spalding said
00:22:57.600 either refuse to represent
00:23:00.080 the United States
00:23:01.080 House of Representatives
00:23:02.280 or leave the firm.
00:23:04.940 And Paul left the firm.
00:23:06.840 He formed his own firm.
00:23:09.280 That particular case,
00:23:10.820 he lost 5-4.
00:23:12.060 So he didn't win it,
00:23:13.580 but he got four votes
00:23:14.520 at the court.
00:23:15.160 It was a very important case.
00:23:18.120 He went to a little litigation boutique,
00:23:20.460 practiced there for years,
00:23:21.660 and then 2016,
00:23:22.860 Kirkland and Ellis,
00:23:23.480 which is a big white shoe firm
00:23:26.700 based in Chicago,
00:23:27.980 one of the most profitable firms
00:23:30.700 in America,
00:23:31.840 brought him in
00:23:33.560 and brought his team in.
00:23:35.380 He was representing
00:23:36.740 the New York State Rifle Association.
00:23:38.700 He had these clients.
00:23:39.700 He was doing the Second Amendment
00:23:40.780 representation at the time.
00:23:43.060 And Kirkland agreed at the time,
00:23:44.800 you can keep these clients.
00:23:46.040 We know who your clients are.
00:23:47.080 You can keep your clients.
00:23:48.000 It's all good with us.
00:23:49.620 And the thing to understand
00:23:51.060 about this, Michael,
00:23:51.980 this is woke corporate America.
00:23:56.940 Law firms are the handmaidens 1.00
00:23:59.360 for the giant companies.
00:24:02.520 And this is woke general counsels
00:24:05.540 saying our politics matters
00:24:08.600 more to us than anything else.
00:24:10.280 And this is law firms 0.94
00:24:12.820 being cowards 0.88
00:24:14.040 and saying, 0.99
00:24:15.680 OK,
00:24:16.720 then we've decided
00:24:18.060 certain parts of the Bill of Rights
00:24:19.520 we don't care about.
00:24:20.580 If there are clients
00:24:21.320 that are unpopular,
00:24:22.200 we don't care about.
00:24:23.580 And they literally
00:24:24.580 are chasing away
00:24:25.820 their marquee.
00:24:27.660 Like,
00:24:28.160 like,
00:24:28.900 Paul is their top
00:24:30.220 Supreme Court litigator.
00:24:31.500 So by the way,
00:24:32.220 they're also telling
00:24:32.940 all their corporate clients,
00:24:33.860 if you have a Supreme Court case,
00:24:35.420 oh, well,
00:24:35.880 we can't do it anymore.
00:24:36.940 We don't have
00:24:38.060 the big dog anymore
00:24:39.580 because our politics
00:24:41.340 is more important
00:24:42.260 than actually representing
00:24:43.440 your interests.
00:24:44.420 It really is shameful
00:24:46.620 what's happened to law firms
00:24:48.700 and what has happened
00:24:49.440 to corporate America.
00:24:50.460 That is,
00:24:51.920 you know,
00:24:52.860 I guess it's a mark
00:24:54.000 of honor
00:24:55.060 for,
00:24:55.980 for Paul
00:24:56.900 in the sense that
00:24:58.320 the guy is obviously
00:24:59.680 very,
00:25:00.080 very effective,
00:25:00.640 very,
00:25:00.900 very successful.
00:25:02.140 And the soft power
00:25:04.100 that has a lot of power
00:25:05.160 around this country,
00:25:05.820 corporate power,
00:25:06.820 really doesn't like him
00:25:07.960 and is punishing him.
00:25:09.100 Good on him.
00:25:09.720 He should fire the pink slip 1.00
00:25:11.740 that he received.
00:25:12.760 All in all,
00:25:13.500 especially as we're looking
00:25:15.600 at these big wins
00:25:16.860 and big potential wins
00:25:17.780 from the Supreme Court,
00:25:18.960 you're seeing that rise
00:25:20.320 in vitriol from the left
00:25:22.200 and danger as well.
00:25:23.360 We will have to
00:25:24.080 leave it there
00:25:25.080 on that sort of
00:25:25.880 ominous cliffhanger
00:25:27.300 with lots of big decisions
00:25:29.160 awaiting
00:25:29.720 their final conclusion.
00:25:32.860 But that's it
00:25:33.540 for right now.
00:25:34.040 It's one o'clock.
00:25:34.820 I know that's an early night
00:25:35.820 for you, Senator,
00:25:37.100 but we will let you
00:25:38.140 get to sleep.
00:25:39.060 I'm Michael Knowles.
00:25:40.180 This is Verdict
00:25:40.740 with Ted Cruz.
00:25:49.320 This episode of Verdict
00:25:51.620 with Ted Cruz
00:25:52.440 is being brought to you
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00:25:54.540 and Security Pack,
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