WEBVTT - Short Stuff: HR8 Gun Legislation 0:00:04.240 --> 0:00:06.840 Hey, and welcome to the short stuff on Josh, there's Chuck. 0:00:06.920 --> 0:00:09.840 Jerry's here in the saddle for Dave and this is 0:00:10.119 --> 0:00:13.560 short stuff. Like I said, that's right, and we're gonna 0:00:13.600 --> 0:00:15.560 try and get through this next twelve minutes without our 0:00:15.560 --> 0:00:19.280 brains exploding and without screaming into the microphone and without 0:00:19.280 --> 0:00:22.720 receiving death threats when this episode comes out. That's right, 0:00:22.840 --> 0:00:27.000 because we are talking about h R eight. It is, uh, 0:00:27.080 --> 0:00:31.840 the Bipartisan Background Checks Act. It is a bill that 0:00:31.880 --> 0:00:35.560 originated in the House in the United States to try 0:00:35.560 --> 0:00:41.040 and close loopholes on gun purchase background checks. And uh, 0:00:41.080 --> 0:00:42.680 we thought this might be a good way to dip 0:00:42.720 --> 0:00:47.000 our toe into the gun debate after the events at 0:00:47.159 --> 0:00:50.440 Valdi and uh, here we go. Yeah, the the you've 0:00:50.479 --> 0:00:53.640 all the shooting is definitely if you've paid any attention, 0:00:53.720 --> 0:00:56.639 what's over to the news really kind of breathed some 0:00:57.480 --> 0:01:03.080 um energy into the concept of background checks and some 0:01:03.120 --> 0:01:06.240 bills that were already out there, like that HR eight. Um, 0:01:06.560 --> 0:01:10.280 the Bipartisan Background Checks Act one was introduced in March, 0:01:10.840 --> 0:01:12.839 and now all of a sudden, it seems like it's 0:01:12.880 --> 0:01:15.520 got some legs like it didn't have before because of 0:01:15.560 --> 0:01:19.039 that shooting, which is surprising to me, Chuck, because like, 0:01:19.319 --> 0:01:22.560 we didn't do anything after Sandy Hook somehow, I don't know. 0:01:22.600 --> 0:01:25.399 Maybe two is too many now, Um, who knows, But 0:01:25.480 --> 0:01:28.400 it does seem like the zeitgeist is kind of shifted 0:01:28.680 --> 0:01:32.440 after you've all the Yeah, I think so. Uh, just 0:01:33.040 --> 0:01:36.640 nuts and bolts of the bill. It passed the US House, uh, 0:01:36.720 --> 0:01:40.280 like you said last March to two oh three, but 0:01:40.360 --> 0:01:44.040 of course died in the Senate, as so many bills do, 0:01:44.240 --> 0:01:47.600 because it gets filibustered by the Republican Party and they 0:01:47.600 --> 0:01:49.880 won't even talk about it. And there's a fifty fifty 0:01:49.960 --> 0:01:53.120 chamber right now. We want to thank Patrick Kaiger at 0:01:53.120 --> 0:01:56.720 how stuff works for this uh, for this Newsy article again, 0:01:57.000 --> 0:02:01.120 and um, you know, Democrat wanted to. I think they 0:02:01.120 --> 0:02:03.080 were hopeful that they could at least put it on 0:02:03.280 --> 0:02:07.400 the UH Senate Democrats on the legislative calendar. That has 0:02:07.440 --> 0:02:10.679 not happened. But let's talk for a minute on how 0:02:10.720 --> 0:02:16.000 people buy guns in the US. Hey, UM, So when 0:02:16.040 --> 0:02:18.679 you buy a gun, especially if you buy a gun 0:02:18.760 --> 0:02:22.639 from a federally licensed gun dealer, Um, they say, here, 0:02:22.680 --> 0:02:26.200 fill out this form, and this form is submitted to 0:02:26.280 --> 0:02:29.160 the National instant criminal background check system, and it has 0:02:29.200 --> 0:02:32.360 a bunch of different questions on it, rather personal questions, 0:02:32.360 --> 0:02:34.600 but they make sense when you're buying a gun in 0:02:34.600 --> 0:02:37.960 that context. They say, have you ever been indicted for 0:02:38.000 --> 0:02:41.400 a felony, have you ever been convicted of a felony UM? 0:02:41.480 --> 0:02:45.240 Have you ever used drugs? Um? Have you ever been 0:02:45.240 --> 0:02:49.240 committed to a mental institution by a court order? Or 0:02:49.400 --> 0:02:53.080 have you ever been dishonorably discharged by the military. Have 0:02:53.200 --> 0:02:56.160 you been convicted of domestic violence? Are you a legal 0:02:56.160 --> 0:02:58.240 resident of the US? Are You're gonna fill this out 0:02:58.720 --> 0:03:01.960 and then the fire armstealers going to turn around, contact 0:03:01.960 --> 0:03:04.800 the FBI, s n i c S Service and they're 0:03:04.800 --> 0:03:07.799 going to run a background check on you, that's right, 0:03:07.880 --> 0:03:10.240 and see if everything checks out and if you are 0:03:10.280 --> 0:03:15.040 eligible to buy that gun. This was created in with 0:03:15.120 --> 0:03:19.920 the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act because if we all remember, 0:03:20.040 --> 0:03:24.840 after UH Ronald Reagan had an assassination attempt on his life, 0:03:25.520 --> 0:03:28.680 there was gun legislation and they actually did something back 0:03:28.720 --> 0:03:32.560 then about it, including Ronald Reagan and Republicans. Well, yeah, 0:03:32.600 --> 0:03:35.440 because Brady was one of his staffers and he was 0:03:35.520 --> 0:03:39.440 paralyzed UM as a result of that that assassination attempt, 0:03:39.480 --> 0:03:42.840 and so any any gun control legislation that came after 0:03:42.880 --> 0:03:46.480 that usually bears his name. That's right. We are in 0:03:46.520 --> 0:03:51.320 a different place these days. It's a different um Republican 0:03:51.400 --> 0:03:54.760 party and Savir emails. We're not just picking on one 0:03:54.760 --> 0:03:56.920 party over the other. This is just straight up facts 0:03:56.920 --> 0:04:00.520 on how these bills go down. UM a lot of 0:04:00.520 --> 0:04:02.520 people and eventually we're going to get around to an 0:04:02.560 --> 0:04:05.440 n r A episode in full. I guess a lot 0:04:05.520 --> 0:04:08.800 of people will a lot of people will blame the 0:04:08.880 --> 0:04:11.240 n r A, But I personally believe, and I've seen 0:04:11.320 --> 0:04:14.400 articles sort of backing this up these days that like 0:04:15.200 --> 0:04:17.000 the n r A has already sort of done its job, 0:04:17.600 --> 0:04:20.240 and even if they went away completely, things would still 0:04:20.279 --> 0:04:23.440 be about the same, because what they have created is 0:04:24.600 --> 0:04:28.400 a situation where a more moderate Republican who might be 0:04:28.440 --> 0:04:31.840 in favor of common sense gun legislation that anywhere from 0:04:32.240 --> 0:04:36.159 sixty nine of Americans are in favor of UH won't 0:04:36.640 --> 0:04:40.760 even consider this legislation because they want to hold onto 0:04:40.960 --> 0:04:44.559 office because they will get primaried out by a further 0:04:44.760 --> 0:04:50.400 right Republican who says, I will not touch any gun legislation, 0:04:50.720 --> 0:04:53.080 So vote for me, and that's kind of where we 0:04:53.120 --> 0:04:57.320 are today. So so back to background checks like that 0:04:57.440 --> 0:05:03.000 and i c S service UM started. Um, there just 0:05:03.160 --> 0:05:06.080 wasn't background checks before then. And since then they've done 0:05:06.200 --> 0:05:10.560 three hundred million plus background checks for gun purchases. So 0:05:10.680 --> 0:05:13.200 that means that at least three hundred million guns have 0:05:13.279 --> 0:05:17.280 been sold legitimately since in the US, and that out 0:05:17.279 --> 0:05:20.040 of those three hundred million, chuck one point five million 0:05:20.080 --> 0:05:24.000 were flagged and were denied um that the ability to 0:05:24.080 --> 0:05:28.240 purchase that firearm because they didn't pass the n i 0:05:28.279 --> 0:05:31.480 c S background check. And so on the one side, 0:05:31.560 --> 0:05:33.800 a lot of people say one point five million out 0:05:33.800 --> 0:05:37.239 of three hundred that's pretty good math. On the other side, 0:05:37.279 --> 0:05:39.919 they say, yeah, like a bunch of that one point 0:05:39.920 --> 0:05:44.039 five million people were denied unfairly. There was, it was 0:05:44.200 --> 0:05:47.520 ungrounded and there is a process to appeal your denial 0:05:47.560 --> 0:05:50.560 if you are actually denied. But the point is is 0:05:50.640 --> 0:05:54.440 society is saying there are certain kinds of people that 0:05:54.480 --> 0:05:57.240 we don't trust with firearms, and we're trying to root 0:05:57.320 --> 0:05:59.120 them out. In the best place to root them out 0:05:59.240 --> 0:06:02.120 is when they go to buy a gun. It makes sense, 0:06:02.320 --> 0:06:05.159 but there's a loophole to this that is so huge 0:06:05.520 --> 0:06:09.880 that anybody, including convictive felons, can walk right through it 0:06:10.080 --> 0:06:13.280 and purchase a gun on the other side. That's right, 0:06:13.520 --> 0:06:16.839 We're gonna take a break, let you ponder that ridiculousness, 0:06:16.880 --> 0:06:18.839 and we will talk about that loophole right after this, 0:06:42.960 --> 0:06:47.200 all right. The big loophole is that there is a 0:06:47.800 --> 0:06:51.800 lot of gray area of what constitutes a licensed or 0:06:51.800 --> 0:06:56.039 a non licensed gun dealer. Uh. They talk about occasional 0:06:56.120 --> 0:07:00.960 sales or purchases being exempt from the background check requirement, 0:07:01.560 --> 0:07:06.440 and there is no real clear line establishing what that 0:07:06.480 --> 0:07:08.800 even means. It's a rule of thumb. It's very vague. 0:07:09.520 --> 0:07:12.440 Uh that someone who just sells a lot of guns 0:07:12.520 --> 0:07:14.720 and they want to make their living selling guns or 0:07:14.720 --> 0:07:17.360 make a profit selling guns. Yeah, not even make a living, 0:07:17.640 --> 0:07:20.400 make a profit selling guns, has to be licensed to 0:07:20.440 --> 0:07:24.320 conduct these background checks. But you've heard about gun shows 0:07:24.360 --> 0:07:27.440 and the internet and things like that. If you sell 0:07:27.480 --> 0:07:30.280 guns at a gun show, you can claim to not 0:07:30.360 --> 0:07:34.000 be like, you know, like, hey, I'm just an occasional seller. 0:07:34.120 --> 0:07:36.120 I just go to these gun shows and sell tons 0:07:36.120 --> 0:07:39.600 and tons of guns for profit. And that enables people 0:07:39.640 --> 0:07:43.120 to walk in there and buy a gun without having 0:07:43.160 --> 0:07:46.320 any kind of background check. Yeah, so if you sell guns, 0:07:46.680 --> 0:07:48.960 you're still selling a gun. But if you say I 0:07:49.000 --> 0:07:53.080 only do it occasionally, the government basically has to say, Okay, 0:07:53.160 --> 0:07:56.800 well you don't need a license, and there's no requisite, 0:07:56.800 --> 0:07:59.200 there's no definition, there's no Like you said, it's a 0:07:59.280 --> 0:08:03.960 very great area on what constitutes occasional or who who's 0:08:04.000 --> 0:08:06.760 required to have a federal license. But if you aren't 0:08:07.200 --> 0:08:10.560 a federally licensed gun dealer, that means that you can 0:08:10.600 --> 0:08:15.200 go sell a gun without doing a background check. Right, 0:08:15.480 --> 0:08:20.280 And uh, that's the most recent stat we have. Uh, 0:08:20.320 --> 0:08:25.520 they estimated gun owners bought their weapon within the previous 0:08:25.560 --> 0:08:29.040 couple of years without going through a background check. It 0:08:29.160 --> 0:08:33.520 is undoubtedly bigger now because whenever there are mass shootings, 0:08:33.520 --> 0:08:37.200 there is a rush on buying guns in the United States. Uh, 0:08:37.320 --> 0:08:39.440 people don't back off from buying them, they buy more 0:08:39.480 --> 0:08:42.080 of them. So I don't know what the percentages now, 0:08:42.120 --> 0:08:44.839 but if even if we go with that's a lot 0:08:44.880 --> 0:08:48.480 of people buying guns without a background check. So if 0:08:48.520 --> 0:08:50.600 you're a person who you know that you are going 0:08:50.640 --> 0:08:53.120 to be like you're going to be flagged by the 0:08:53.240 --> 0:08:55.840 n i c S background check, all you have to 0:08:55.880 --> 0:08:58.040 do is find yourself a gun show, or go on 0:08:58.080 --> 0:09:00.200 the internet and find somebody who's selling guns on the 0:09:00.240 --> 0:09:04.880 internet and buy from an unlicensed firearm dealer, and that 0:09:04.880 --> 0:09:07.680 that ends up. And like I said, like with background checks, 0:09:07.679 --> 0:09:10.440 were saying, society doesn't want certain people to have We 0:09:10.480 --> 0:09:12.800 don't we don't trust them with firearms. And one of 0:09:12.800 --> 0:09:16.560 those people are again convicted felons. They're not legally allowed 0:09:16.600 --> 0:09:18.640 to own a firearm in the United States after they've 0:09:18.640 --> 0:09:22.040 been convicted of a felony, unless I believe that there um, 0:09:22.320 --> 0:09:25.360 they are granted clemency by the president or the governor. Right. 0:09:25.720 --> 0:09:30.120 So um, there's a kind of an unnerving stat then 0:09:30.240 --> 0:09:32.520 that that ties into that, and that is that in 0:09:32.600 --> 0:09:35.840 that same two thousand, fifteen Annals of Internal Medicine study, 0:09:36.280 --> 0:09:39.760 they found that nineties of prison inmates who had been 0:09:39.800 --> 0:09:43.440 previously prohibited from owning a gun and that that was 0:09:43.480 --> 0:09:45.760 the gun that they used in the crime that they 0:09:45.800 --> 0:09:49.120 were in prison for. Now they'd obtain that gun from 0:09:49.160 --> 0:09:52.880 an unlicensed seller. And that is a big problem for 0:09:52.960 --> 0:09:57.079 every law abiding citizen of these United States, right, and 0:09:57.120 --> 0:10:01.000 every law abiding gun owner. Frankly the citizens too. That's right, 0:10:01.120 --> 0:10:05.440 if you are a UM, if you're thinking like, well, 0:10:05.840 --> 0:10:08.480 there should be exceptions to this, like you should be 0:10:08.520 --> 0:10:10.640 able to hand your gun down to your child if 0:10:10.679 --> 0:10:14.040 you're a hunter, or sell your gun to your uncle, 0:10:14.120 --> 0:10:16.400 if you know, instead of them having to go to 0:10:16.440 --> 0:10:18.640 a gun shop. They can do that. They have carved 0:10:18.679 --> 0:10:22.880 out some exceptions in h R eight that still hasn't passed. UM. 0:10:23.040 --> 0:10:27.240 Law enforcement obviously could transfer guns without background checks. Family 0:10:27.240 --> 0:10:30.199 members could gift them to family members or sell them 0:10:30.240 --> 0:10:32.840 to family members. You could inherit a gun without a 0:10:32.840 --> 0:10:37.040 background check, or like in the movies, if the zombies 0:10:37.040 --> 0:10:40.160 are coming in and you throw somebody the gun and 0:10:40.200 --> 0:10:41.600 they go, I don't know how to use this thing, 0:10:41.800 --> 0:10:44.240 and they say, just pointed at them and squeeze the trigger. 0:10:45.080 --> 0:10:48.120 You can even do that, uh, and not have to, 0:10:48.320 --> 0:10:50.840 you know, face a penalty as long as after the 0:10:50.880 --> 0:10:54.439 zombies are are killed off, they say, here's your gun back. Right, 0:10:54.679 --> 0:10:57.640 Because anybody can agree the zombies would get to you 0:10:57.679 --> 0:11:00.319 and eat your brain during the background check process. It's 0:11:00.360 --> 0:11:03.480 not that fast, so they carved it out, especially if 0:11:03.480 --> 0:11:06.120 there's a ten day waiting period, which is another House 0:11:06.160 --> 0:11:09.200 bill that might be voted on in the Senate soon 0:11:09.240 --> 0:11:13.840 along with HR eight, Right, um, this is not And 0:11:13.840 --> 0:11:16.319 when it comes to polling the American public, this isn't 0:11:16.360 --> 0:11:20.240 something where it's like, oh, it's it's like fifty six 0:11:20.320 --> 0:11:26.280 percent in favor of UH. Pole after pole comes in April. Uh, 0:11:26.720 --> 0:11:29.920 can a PIAC University poll? Can it? PIAC? How do 0:11:29.920 --> 0:11:35.920 you pronounce that? Can? Can a pack? Okay, it's one 0:11:35.920 --> 0:11:40.840 of those eight nine percent of Americans favored universal or 0:11:40.920 --> 0:11:46.000 nearly universal background checks. Pole in March from Morning consult 0:11:48.600 --> 0:11:52.080 h including seventy seven percent of voting Republicans, and then 0:11:52.080 --> 0:11:56.920 a gallop pole the CRIM deal, a CRIM of poles 0:11:57.000 --> 0:12:02.080 UH found that Americans favored mandatory background checks by to seven. 0:12:03.280 --> 0:12:07.480 The role of our elected officials is supposedly to act 0:12:07.520 --> 0:12:12.240 on their constituents desires. But again this is not happening 0:12:12.240 --> 0:12:14.440 because of the things that I mentioned earlier. Now and 0:12:14.480 --> 0:12:17.200 again I think it really bears repeating. There's nothing about 0:12:17.360 --> 0:12:22.160 closing the guns show loophole for background checks that is 0:12:22.320 --> 0:12:28.080 taking guns from people who have guns, preventing um UH 0:12:28.240 --> 0:12:31.720 legal law abiding citizens from buying as many guns as 0:12:31.720 --> 0:12:35.320 they want under the law. It's simply saying we're going 0:12:35.360 --> 0:12:39.240 to shut down this huge loophole that allows people who 0:12:39.280 --> 0:12:42.719 shouldn't have guns to go buy guns as many as 0:12:42.760 --> 0:12:46.040 they like. Um, And yeah, that's just common sense, that's 0:12:46.040 --> 0:12:50.400 extremely mainstream thinking. And it doesn't violate the constitutional rights 0:12:51.080 --> 0:12:53.840 given by the Second Amendment in any way, shape or form. 0:12:53.960 --> 0:12:57.080 And again it has the backing of the public. And 0:12:57.160 --> 0:13:01.040 so again it's a it's about to go die in public. 0:13:01.040 --> 0:13:03.200 They actually tied a blindfold around it and gave it 0:13:03.200 --> 0:13:07.080 a last cigarette as they're shoving it out into the Senate. Um, 0:13:07.160 --> 0:13:10.400 and it's just not going to go anywhere. But Joe 0:13:10.440 --> 0:13:15.600 manchin Um apparently was quoted as saying he believes that 0:13:15.640 --> 0:13:19.120 the Uvaldi shooting is going to is going to impel 0:13:19.520 --> 0:13:22.120 the Senate to actually start cutting deals and that something 0:13:22.160 --> 0:13:26.640 will get past, even if it's not exactly hr eight. Yeah, 0:13:26.720 --> 0:13:29.440 I'm reading this on an hourly basis, and there are 0:13:29.520 --> 0:13:37.280 bipartisan talks that seem promising. Uh, so we'll see, I 0:13:37.320 --> 0:13:40.600 mean I read uh some someone in Congress was quoted 0:13:40.640 --> 0:13:42.720 as saying, like, I've been here for many years and 0:13:42.760 --> 0:13:48.120 I've never seen this, this genuine bar bipartisan conversation about 0:13:48.120 --> 0:13:50.800 this in my life and my whole career. So it 0:13:50.880 --> 0:13:54.079 does feel like things might be a little different now, 0:13:54.120 --> 0:13:56.600 but yeah, we'll see. It's also possible that nothing will 0:13:56.679 --> 0:13:59.560 change again. I know it's hard to even talk about 0:13:59.640 --> 0:14:02.319 quiet Slee, and I don't think anyone is fool enough 0:14:02.360 --> 0:14:07.160 to think that this and other gun legislation laws will 0:14:07.800 --> 0:14:11.320 completely stop something like a mass shooting or in gun violence. 0:14:11.920 --> 0:14:16.400 But it is something that can help curb these horrific acts. 0:14:16.440 --> 0:14:21.360 And these these people in the Senate will have to 0:14:21.400 --> 0:14:23.720 live with themselves for the rest of their lives if 0:14:23.760 --> 0:14:28.840 they continue to sit on their hands. For sure, I agreed. Uh, 0:14:29.040 --> 0:14:33.840 you got anything else, Chuck? Nothing? Well, since Chuck said nothing, 0:14:34.680 --> 0:14:40.320 short Stuff is out. Stuff you Should Know is a 0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:43.720 production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts my Heart Radio, 0:14:43.960 --> 0:14:46.920 visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 0:14:46.960 --> 0:14:48.400 you listen to your favorite shows.