It is also the angry frustration in repeatedly asking the question, how many more times is this going to happen? A large part of this frustration, articulated most clearly by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is due to the fact that it is all too easy to obtain guns in America, specifically assault-type weapons and the large capacity magazines that go with them. Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) called them 'weapons of war' that are on our streets. To this point, the senator offered a news item in as much as that she will be introducing a bill on the first day of the new Congressional session that will call for the ban on assault weapons. Of course there will be opposition to such a bill but as AFT President Randi Weingarten said, this is a tipping point for the nation and the direction of the conversation, and when presented with twenty names and ages those who oppose such a bill will have to take the temperature of their heart.
Mr. Bill Bennett, former Education Secretary, representing a conservative view certainly stood on a weak platform in defending 'pro-gun' views [The reason for the quotations is that it is a simplified descriptor and doesn't fully encompass an individual's or entity's viewpoint.], one of which proposed during the program that there should be someone in the school with access to guns in such an event. The base flaw in this argument is that bringing more guns into the situation is the solution when really the goal is to eliminate guns from the equation. However, being able to bring guns into more situations is happening on all levels in this country. The President made a genuinely tearful statement on Friday about the shooting, but he has signed laws to allow guns into national parks and on Amtrak as noted by Mayor Bloomberg. Mr. Gregory noted that when the Democrats passed the previous assault weapon legislation that they paid a political price for doing so, losing seats. However, that was in 1994 and since then circumstances have changed dramatically over those years with more mass shootings more frequently culminating in Friday's tragedy.
But let's be clear, this event will change things. Frankly, Republicans in the House will have a difficult time defending unregulated gun ownership in the face of these events, that are piling up. To that point, New York Times columnist David Brooks thought that the New York City mayor would be the wrong person to spearhead firearm regulation because of the very frustration that Mr. Bloomberg shows for any other point of view, and because he would spend mass sums of money to counter the National Rifle Association's 'pro-gun' arguments, an organization that he clearly called out during his interview challenging the organization's financial resources and it's actual power versus its perceived power.
Mr. Bennett couldn't hold up his argument to hold off the heaviness that was palpable in the studio that was evident even through a television screen. Everyone has been psychologically effected by this and while some would say that you need to distance yourself mentally before you decide to start legislating or changing things, but that would be the wrong time. In terms of Congress and legislating, they need to have it fresh in their minds as to why they are discussing what they are in terms of gun laws. Mr. Bennett also said that he wasn't sure how effective the assault weapons ban was when it was passed as if to bring up a speculative air that it is unnecessary - a passive aggressive argument that was ineffective.
The other part of the equation is our overall attitude toward mental health and its treatment. But the fact is that if you are a person who has taken medication for mental health and you put it out there for public consumption, you will be stigmatized. It's the unfortunate fact of the matter, but we need to step up the awareness effort and bring the discussion out so if anything, this could be a big step in that process. We've started to embrace and accept the notion a bit with the military and our soldiers coming home - the post-traumatic stress - so we are ready as a society to open up about it.
In the grieving process and dialogue, of which today's program was a part, Mr. Gregory mentioned that they reached out to the 31 'pro-gun' Senators and none would accept the invitation to speak on the program. That none of them could or would speak on the issue presumably because they are afraid of answering questions they find difficult makes us ask, why are you a public figure in the first place? Only lead when you want and not when the situation demands? Frankly, we find it reprehensible. This is the time we need to hear from them, especially them to help with reconciliation.
During the program, it was mentioned that in the wake of the mass shooting in Aurora, CO the state legislature called for more education, which standing by itself is a bit flippant, but when you heard Ms. Weingarten say that they have frameworks in place for more guidance and wrap around programs, but haven't been implemented because of budget cuts predominantly initiated from the right side of the aisle, we think about what they say on the debt crisis, and that is we're failing our kids in the future. However, aren't we failing them right now by not providing as many resources as we could?
Lastly, one question that Mayor Bloomberg asked rhetorically is sticking with us because we can see no rational reason for the answer to be 'yes,' and that is - do we need guns everywhere? Because tragically, they are.
Round Table: Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA); NY Times columnist David Brooks; President of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten; Former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge; Former Secretary of Education Bill Bennett; and Sociologist Michael Eric Dyson.
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