1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,880 Speaker 1: Good morning and welcome to the Daily OS. It is Monday, 2 00:00:02,920 --> 00:00:05,200 Speaker 1: the thirtieth of May. I hope you had a fantastic 3 00:00:05,440 --> 00:00:08,399 Speaker 1: weekend wherever you are in the country or around the world. 4 00:00:08,440 --> 00:00:11,159 Speaker 1: I know we have some overseas listeners too. We're going 5 00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:14,280 Speaker 1: to tackle gun control today. It's obviously been in the 6 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:18,440 Speaker 1: news a lot since the terrifying shooting in Texas last week. 7 00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:20,360 Speaker 1: Today we're going to have a look at why gun 8 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:23,600 Speaker 1: laws in America are so hard to change. But before 9 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:26,760 Speaker 1: we do that, Zara, we're expecting some big announcements from 10 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:29,120 Speaker 1: the Liberal Party today. Yeah. 11 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:33,080 Speaker 2: So it's expected that Peter Dudden will be elected unopposed, 12 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:36,040 Speaker 2: which means nobody else will be running for the position 13 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:39,240 Speaker 2: of Liberal Leader today on a ballot in the Liberal 14 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:43,560 Speaker 2: Party room. According to reports, former Environment Minister Susan Lee 15 00:00:43,760 --> 00:00:46,960 Speaker 2: is also expected to run unopposed for the deputy leader role. 16 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:50,879 Speaker 1: The Murriguppin family is expected to return to Billa Wheeler 17 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:53,720 Speaker 1: in the next ten days. This is after Interim Home 18 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:57,240 Speaker 1: Affairs Minister Jim Chalmers announced on Friday he had used 19 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:01,640 Speaker 1: ministerial intervention in the family's case. The family will return 20 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:04,480 Speaker 1: to Billa Wheeler on bridging visas while they work towards 21 00:01:04,520 --> 00:01:07,200 Speaker 1: the resolution of their immigration status. 22 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:11,400 Speaker 2: Samoa has signed a bilateral agreement with China over the 23 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:16,319 Speaker 2: weekend in an attempt to quote strengthen diplomatic relations. According 24 00:01:16,319 --> 00:01:19,320 Speaker 2: to a press release, Samoan and Chinese officials met and 25 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:22,560 Speaker 2: they discussed things like climate change, the pandemic, and peace 26 00:01:22,600 --> 00:01:23,240 Speaker 2: and security. 27 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:27,520 Speaker 1: And today's good news, memel A Sydney Harbor island will 28 00:01:27,520 --> 00:01:30,639 Speaker 1: be returned to First Nations people. The New Southwales government 29 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:33,319 Speaker 1: has committed forty three million dollars to the cleanup and 30 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:35,959 Speaker 1: repair of the island before it is returned. 31 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:45,000 Speaker 2: So yet again, US gun laws and gun culture are 32 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:49,360 Speaker 2: in the headlines after last week's horrific, horrific murder of 33 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 2: at least nineteen children and two teachers at a Texas 34 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:56,760 Speaker 2: elementary school. It led to more demands for a review 35 00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:00,240 Speaker 2: of gun laws and urgent reforms in the country. For 36 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:04,520 Speaker 2: overseas audiences, particularly in countries like Australia and New Zealand 37 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:07,720 Speaker 2: where it only took one critical shooting event to trigger 38 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:10,440 Speaker 2: up massive gun reforms in the country, it can be 39 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:13,639 Speaker 2: really hard to understand what exactly is holding up progress 40 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:17,000 Speaker 2: on this front. It's certainly something that We've been asked 41 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:20,240 Speaker 2: a lot in our DMS, especially when events like this happen. 42 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:23,160 Speaker 2: So before we get into why the laws are so 43 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:25,600 Speaker 2: hard to change, how bad is the problem? 44 00:02:25,880 --> 00:02:29,440 Speaker 1: It's really bad. The FBI categorizes a mass shooting is 45 00:02:29,440 --> 00:02:32,119 Speaker 1: when four or more people are shot, and there were 46 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:35,040 Speaker 1: six hundred and ninety two mass shootings in the US 47 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 1: in twenty twenty one. This year there has been already 48 00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:42,160 Speaker 1: two hundred, including twenty seven mass shootings in schools. In 49 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 1: twenty twenty. For the first time guns with the leading 50 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:47,639 Speaker 1: cause of death for American children and teenagers. It took 51 00:02:47,720 --> 00:02:51,960 Speaker 1: over motor vehicle accidents. There's about four hundred million guns 52 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:54,560 Speaker 1: in the US, which means statistically, if you've got one 53 00:02:54,639 --> 00:02:57,079 Speaker 1: hundred Americans in a room, there would be one hundred 54 00:02:57,120 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 1: and twenty guns. 55 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:01,720 Speaker 2: Okay, So Sam obviously say all of this is steeped 56 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:04,680 Speaker 2: in the Constitution, in the right to bear arms. So 57 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:08,680 Speaker 2: can you just explain the constitutional angle to an Australian 58 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:11,520 Speaker 2: audience who really doesn't have a similarity here. 59 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:14,519 Speaker 1: I do think this is the right place to start 60 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:18,320 Speaker 1: this discussion. So the core principle behind all discussions of 61 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:20,840 Speaker 1: gun laws in the US is the second Amendment to 62 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:24,960 Speaker 1: the US Constitution, which states a well regulated militia being 63 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:27,880 Speaker 1: necessary for the security of a free state, the right 64 00:03:27,919 --> 00:03:30,120 Speaker 1: of the people to keep and bear arms shall not 65 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:35,520 Speaker 1: be infringed. So just quickly, a constitutional amendment is a 66 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 1: modification to the US Constitution passed after the initial drafting 67 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 1: of the Constitution. The best way to think about this 68 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:44,120 Speaker 1: is a way for drafters to be able to build 69 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:46,800 Speaker 1: on the work of the founding fathers of the original 70 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:50,360 Speaker 1: Constitution as America continued to be built. So the US 71 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:54,440 Speaker 1: Constitution was drafted in seventeen eighty eight. This second Amendment 72 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:57,960 Speaker 1: was drafted by James Madison in seventeen eighty nine. It's 73 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:01,040 Speaker 1: pretty widely agreed that the purpose of the amendment was 74 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:04,840 Speaker 1: to reassure states that the newly formed US military wouldn't 75 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 1: be an all powerful body and states could still form 76 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:11,640 Speaker 1: their own, smaller militias. Today, this is now the key 77 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:15,160 Speaker 1: amendment that allows US citizens to carry and purchase weapons. 78 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:18,599 Speaker 1: But each state has set laws on background checks and 79 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:21,320 Speaker 1: the type of firearms available, and we'll get into all of. 80 00:04:21,240 --> 00:04:23,920 Speaker 2: That, okay, But first, the question that comes up time 81 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:27,560 Speaker 2: and time again is can the Constitution actually be changed? 82 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:31,520 Speaker 1: It can be changed, but it is extremely difficult to 83 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:35,000 Speaker 1: do so. It's difficult in Australia, but definitely more difficult 84 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:37,600 Speaker 1: in the US. So in the US you'd need at 85 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:40,920 Speaker 1: least sixty six percent support in both houses of Congress, 86 00:04:41,360 --> 00:04:44,560 Speaker 1: and then the change to be ratified, which means approved 87 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:48,320 Speaker 1: by seventy five percent of individual states. In the current 88 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:52,440 Speaker 1: makeup of the US, this is pretty much impossible. Where 89 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:56,200 Speaker 1: the laws can be changed. Slightly easier is in the 90 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:59,880 Speaker 1: Supreme Court, which deals with the interpretation of the Constitution 91 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:02,720 Speaker 1: and its amendments. The big case here was in two 92 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:05,599 Speaker 1: thousand and eight where the Supreme Court dealt with exactly 93 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:08,359 Speaker 1: the question of gun control in a case called the 94 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:11,479 Speaker 1: District of Columbia vers. Hella. This case was all about 95 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:14,479 Speaker 1: a law that the Washington, d c. State government introduced 96 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:17,960 Speaker 1: that banned handguns. By a five to four vote, the 97 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:20,760 Speaker 1: court held, which means that it passed for the first 98 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:24,000 Speaker 1: time in American history, that the Second Amendment does protect 99 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:27,719 Speaker 1: an individual right to possess a gun. Among a whole 100 00:05:27,839 --> 00:05:32,880 Speaker 1: list of reasoning, this case gave special constitutional protection to handguns. 101 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:35,480 Speaker 1: The key distinction that the Court made here is that 102 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:38,320 Speaker 1: the right to bear arms is not just a collective right, 103 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:41,000 Speaker 1: so like in the Constitution said, you know a right 104 00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:43,560 Speaker 1: that can be held by militia or an army, but 105 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:47,680 Speaker 1: it can be an individual right. But the Court did 106 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:50,800 Speaker 1: also make a distinction between carrying a weapon for self defense, 107 00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:54,040 Speaker 1: which it said was clearly permitted by the Constitution, and 108 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:57,200 Speaker 1: what it described as dangerous and unusual weapons, which it 109 00:05:57,279 --> 00:06:00,520 Speaker 1: said can still be banned. But this left a lot 110 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:03,080 Speaker 1: of room for ambiguity. 111 00:06:02,839 --> 00:06:06,000 Speaker 2: Which leads me to the question of whether there actually 112 00:06:06,040 --> 00:06:08,960 Speaker 2: are any laws restricting firearms in the country. When you 113 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:11,960 Speaker 2: see what happened in Texas, it does make you wonder 114 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:15,800 Speaker 2: whether there is anything trying to restrict gun ownership in 115 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:16,320 Speaker 2: the country. 116 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:20,280 Speaker 1: So there's eleven key pieces of federal law that forms 117 00:06:20,360 --> 00:06:22,840 Speaker 1: most of kind of the big suite of laws that 118 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:27,520 Speaker 1: regulate gun ownership. They establish things like a basic national 119 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:31,279 Speaker 1: criteria for issuing a gun license, but every state has 120 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:35,520 Speaker 1: different loopholes because every state has different laws and the 121 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:38,640 Speaker 1: laws kind of depend on the state's political leaning. They 122 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:42,080 Speaker 1: either make federal requirements stronger or they make them weaker. 123 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:44,240 Speaker 1: So one of the key federal laws is the Gun 124 00:06:44,279 --> 00:06:47,240 Speaker 1: Control Act of nineteen sixty eight, and this gives a 125 00:06:47,279 --> 00:06:49,680 Speaker 1: list of reasons of why people could be refused a 126 00:06:49,720 --> 00:06:52,880 Speaker 1: gun license. It's things like if they're under eighteen, if 127 00:06:52,920 --> 00:06:55,479 Speaker 1: they're addicted to a controlled substance, if they've got a 128 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:58,480 Speaker 1: criminal record with more than a year of prison time served, 129 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:01,280 Speaker 1: if they've been convicted of it domestic violence offense, or 130 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:03,920 Speaker 1: if they're subject to an AVO. You got to remember 131 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:07,240 Speaker 1: here that to actually enforce this framework, gun sellers, the 132 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:10,040 Speaker 1: people at the other side of the counter, are expected 133 00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 1: to run background checks on everyone who purchases a weapon. 134 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:16,400 Speaker 1: But the problem is that guns are increasingly being sold 135 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:20,240 Speaker 1: unregulated and without background checks, over the Internet and by 136 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:24,560 Speaker 1: unlicensed sellers, and this creates major loopholes. So I guess, 137 00:07:24,560 --> 00:07:27,120 Speaker 1: in short, as we see time and time again, these 138 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:29,080 Speaker 1: background checks aren't doing the trick. 139 00:07:29,640 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 2: One of the questions that we were getting a lot 140 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:36,200 Speaker 2: after this Texas shooting was if Joe Biden was seemingly 141 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:39,880 Speaker 2: as moved as he appeared after the shooting, can't he 142 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:43,080 Speaker 2: just do something? Can't there be an executive order, which 143 00:07:43,080 --> 00:07:46,360 Speaker 2: is when the president does something unilaterally to stop these 144 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:48,040 Speaker 2: situations from reoccurring. 145 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:50,360 Speaker 1: So I think there's two ways to address this question. 146 00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:53,400 Speaker 1: One is to look at the influences inside the Congress, 147 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:56,000 Speaker 1: and one is to look at the influencers outside Congress. 148 00:07:56,400 --> 00:07:59,640 Speaker 1: So inside President Biden is at the mercy of something 149 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:02,800 Speaker 1: called a filibuster, and a filibuster is a function of 150 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:05,760 Speaker 1: the rules that govern how the Congress runs, kind of 151 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:08,800 Speaker 1: the rules of play that allows a politician to talk 152 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:12,160 Speaker 1: endlessly in order to obstruct the passage of a piece 153 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:15,160 Speaker 1: of legislation. Now, there is a way to stop a 154 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:18,880 Speaker 1: filibuster from being used in discussions about a certain law, 155 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:22,160 Speaker 1: but you need sixty US Senators out of one hundred 156 00:08:22,640 --> 00:08:25,440 Speaker 1: to vote to end the filibuster and force the vote. 157 00:08:25,480 --> 00:08:28,080 Speaker 1: And with the current makeup, with how many Republicans and 158 00:08:28,120 --> 00:08:30,960 Speaker 1: Democrats in the Senate, it's not really going to happen. 159 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:33,599 Speaker 1: It's a pretty complicated part of US law with a 160 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:36,320 Speaker 1: lot of history and theory. But the short answer here 161 00:08:36,440 --> 00:08:38,560 Speaker 1: is that Biden and the Democrats are not going to 162 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:41,160 Speaker 1: be able to pass laws through Congress and the Senate 163 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:43,840 Speaker 1: without the support of the Republican Party. And this is 164 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:46,800 Speaker 1: what we refer to when we talk about bipartisan support. 165 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:49,559 Speaker 1: To your point about the executive Orderzarra, that's a really 166 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:52,199 Speaker 1: interesting one because that would go straight to a Supreme 167 00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:55,240 Speaker 1: Court challenge, and as we know, the Supreme Court now 168 00:08:55,320 --> 00:08:58,320 Speaker 1: is weighted conservative, which means that they would be fiercely 169 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:01,400 Speaker 1: protective of the US second and n right to bear arms. 170 00:09:01,840 --> 00:09:05,560 Speaker 2: And Sam, you mentioned the Republicans before. There do seem 171 00:09:05,600 --> 00:09:09,360 Speaker 2: to be a number of Republicans who don't support increased 172 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:10,920 Speaker 2: gun control. Why is that? 173 00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:13,640 Speaker 1: Yeah, you might have seen Ted Cruz pop up in 174 00:09:13,679 --> 00:09:15,640 Speaker 1: the news lot this week. He is one of those 175 00:09:15,679 --> 00:09:19,920 Speaker 1: Republicans who's a fierce protector of gun rights. He's from Texas, 176 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:22,640 Speaker 1: where the shooting last week took place. And this is 177 00:09:22,679 --> 00:09:25,080 Speaker 1: kind of where we get to talking about the influences 178 00:09:25,080 --> 00:09:28,040 Speaker 1: from outside Congress, and we're talking here about the National 179 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:31,960 Speaker 1: Rifle Association, or the NRA. The NRA has nearly five 180 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:34,760 Speaker 1: million members and is still one of the most powerful 181 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:38,400 Speaker 1: lobbies in the country. They give tons of money to 182 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:41,440 Speaker 1: politicians who fight for the protection of gun rights, and 183 00:09:41,480 --> 00:09:45,200 Speaker 1: they're often the biggest donor to their reelection campaigns. The 184 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:48,840 Speaker 1: NRA has this infamous system of scorecards on politicians, where 185 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:51,640 Speaker 1: it gives a rating according to the politicians record on 186 00:09:51,720 --> 00:09:55,200 Speaker 1: defending gun rights. This rating is used to indicate how 187 00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:58,319 Speaker 1: much funding they give a politician, and if you're rating drops, 188 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:00,800 Speaker 1: it's often the case that the NRAs will fund your 189 00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:03,200 Speaker 1: opponent simply to get you out of the way. 190 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:05,800 Speaker 2: We also saw over the weekend that there was an 191 00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:10,720 Speaker 2: NRA conference held and Donald Trump addressed the crowds. But 192 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:14,800 Speaker 2: there were some remarkable photos of an almost half empty 193 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:19,679 Speaker 2: auditorium and then thousands upon thousands of people protesting outside, 194 00:10:19,760 --> 00:10:21,920 Speaker 2: And it was quite a remarkable difference seeing those two 195 00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:26,200 Speaker 2: photos alongside each other. But has there been any progress 196 00:10:26,200 --> 00:10:29,719 Speaker 2: on working around the influence of the NRA that seemingly 197 00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:33,160 Speaker 2: they appear to be this fixture of American politics? But 198 00:10:33,559 --> 00:10:34,920 Speaker 2: has there been any movement? 199 00:10:35,360 --> 00:10:37,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, I really wanted to end this chat with a 200 00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:41,199 Speaker 1: kind of bit of a hope sentiment here, in a 201 00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:44,400 Speaker 1: sense that these laws could change, and I think to 202 00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:47,280 Speaker 1: do that we have to look to state level laws. 203 00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:49,920 Speaker 1: In the US, some states have their own laws that 204 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:53,800 Speaker 1: enable courts to confiscate weapons from people who are considered 205 00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:55,800 Speaker 1: to be a danger to themselves or others. And this 206 00:10:55,920 --> 00:10:58,199 Speaker 1: is known as red flag laws and as this thing 207 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:01,000 Speaker 1: called an extreme risk protection order that often can come 208 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:03,920 Speaker 1: from a friend or a relative who have serious concerns 209 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:07,040 Speaker 1: about a person's behavior. Now, these red flag laws are 210 00:11:07,280 --> 00:11:10,439 Speaker 1: very effective and they're currently in play in twenty states. 211 00:11:10,760 --> 00:11:13,440 Speaker 1: In Texas, where the shooting took plates last week, there 212 00:11:13,520 --> 00:11:17,600 Speaker 1: is no such red flag laws. Ultimately, I just I 213 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:19,760 Speaker 1: don't think we're going to see the sweeping changes to 214 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:22,640 Speaker 1: gun laws we saw in Australia after Port Arthur or 215 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:25,240 Speaker 1: in New Zealand after the christ Church shooting. It's going 216 00:11:25,280 --> 00:11:28,440 Speaker 1: to be a much slower, much more incremental change, and 217 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:31,199 Speaker 1: we're going to see the changes mostly at state levels. 218 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:33,600 Speaker 1: But I do think that one thing that is starting 219 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:36,520 Speaker 1: to shift is the gun control lobby in America, so 220 00:11:36,600 --> 00:11:40,240 Speaker 1: the direct opponent of the NRA is getting much more organized, 221 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:43,480 Speaker 1: much more well funded, and much more popular. For example, 222 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:45,960 Speaker 1: there's a protest movement called March for Our Lives, which 223 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:49,400 Speaker 1: is powered mainly by young Americans who routinely protest and 224 00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:52,600 Speaker 1: advocate for universal background checks on all gun sales, even 225 00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:55,440 Speaker 1: those online. They also want to see the federal age 226 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:57,920 Speaker 1: of gun ownership raised to twenty one, and they want 227 00:11:57,920 --> 00:12:00,920 Speaker 1: to see a ban on assault weapons or highker opacity weapons. 228 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:04,120 Speaker 1: This group first mobilized in twenty eighteen, right after the 229 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:08,320 Speaker 1: shooting at the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, 230 00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:12,640 Speaker 1: and they had almost two million Americans attended march and 231 00:12:12,679 --> 00:12:15,000 Speaker 1: it was a really, really powerful moment. This group is 232 00:12:15,040 --> 00:12:18,960 Speaker 1: now remobilized there back in the headlines, and they're planning 233 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:21,760 Speaker 1: their next mass protest for June eleven. One of the 234 00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:24,360 Speaker 1: protesters is a young man by the name of David Hogg. 235 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:26,960 Speaker 1: He was seventeen and actually in that high school when 236 00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:29,959 Speaker 1: a nineteen year old shooter killed fourteen of his friends 237 00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:33,320 Speaker 1: and three staff members in Florida. And he said a 238 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:36,640 Speaker 1: really powerful line yesterday to the Washington Post. He said, 239 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:40,440 Speaker 1: no more, It's time Democrats, Republicans, gun owners and non 240 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:42,920 Speaker 1: gun owners come together and stop focusing on what we 241 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:45,760 Speaker 1: can't agree on and start focusing on what we can, 242 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:47,280 Speaker 1: even if small. 243 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:50,240 Speaker 2: I think that is a very good note to end on. 244 00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:53,520 Speaker 2: It can sometimes feel like America is so divided that 245 00:12:53,559 --> 00:12:57,000 Speaker 2: there is no common ground, but certainly there has to 246 00:12:57,080 --> 00:13:00,920 Speaker 2: be at some point because this can't continue. That is 247 00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:03,240 Speaker 2: all we have time for today, though. Thank you for 248 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:05,520 Speaker 2: listening to today's episode of The Daly Oz and we 249 00:13:05,559 --> 00:13:06,360 Speaker 2: will see you tomorrow.