Coming up on The Problem…
Gun deaths have reached an all-time high.
I believe the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
The Constitution uses that very specific affirmative language.
It's also the one right that uses the phrase "well-regulated."
All I hear from the right is, "We back the blue."
Permitless carry will inhibit our ability to do our job.
I think I found the smoking gun, and it's literally a smoking gun.
I just pulled my shoulder out.
Hello!
Welcome to The Problem with Jon Stewart. We are back.
This is the first show of part two of season two.
It's Season Two: The Way of the Water. That's what this is. This--
Which, if you've seen that… Why?
I think I need new management.
They're studying to be entertainment managers.
Last we spoke, the first part of season two,
it was right around the midterm elections.
And I think we learned two things from the midterms experience.
One, George Santos is a rising star.
He's not red, he's not blue. He's just creamy.
I just want to spread him on toast.
He's Margarine Taylor Green.
And number two, there was a message that the right in this country
very much wanted us to hear before the midterms.
An out-of-control crime crisis continues to grip this country.
People are regularly shot, beaten and robbed in public.
Americans living in war zones.
Stray bullets hitting bodies.
Bloodshed everywhere.
It's destroying America.
And all of us could be targeted at any time.
Thank you, I just shit my pants.
Wow.
Clearly rampant murder is not a thing that we should ignore.
But crime is a nuanced conversation with many factors at play.
Socioeconomics, geography, metrics. Where would we even start?
The crime that we are seeing surging across this country
is a direct result of Democrats' soft-on-crime policies.
Democrats' pro-criminal policies have put--
have literally made our cities war zones.
This "no cash bail" thing is nonsense.
Who releases criminals back on the street,
knowing they're gonna commit more crimes again?
Are you just talking about Matt Gaetz?
But you know what? Let's test that assertion.
If the crime surge is a direct result of Democratic soft-on-crime policies
like cashless bail, the rearrest rates would be sky high.
But they're not.
In fact, even the NYPD Blue--
That is a different show.
Even the NYPD's own evidence has debunked claims
that cashless bail is to blame for the spike in gun violence.
And what about New Jersey? A state so nice they named it once.
New Jersey implemented bail reform in 2017,
and in the following year, crime rates plunged.
Of course, it's Jersey, so nobody saw nothing.
Capisce?
Plus violent crime is spiking
even in areas without bail reform and Democrats' soft-on-crime policy.
So maybe something else is driving the chaos.
Maybe the crimes themselves contain clues.
Roll the tape.
The gunman opened fire.
A gunman opened fire.
-A man shot… -A man shot his wife.
Men.
Yeah!
The problem be men.
A woman shot her husband.
The shooter, a woman.
The woman shot that driver.
The problem be women.
And men.
The problem be humans.
-What happened? -Well, a gun went off.
-She shot herself? -No, she didn't do it herself.
The dog stepped on it and it went off.
-The dog shot her? -Yeah.
This is for Old Yeller, bitch!
But that's a freak thing.
It's not like that happens all the time in the--
A 74-year-old New Mexico man is in the hospital
after his dog shot him during a hunting trip.
One woman decided to name her dog "Trigger," and guess what happened next.
The dog shot her.
Well, I bet they're glad they didn't name the dog "Butthole Biter."
Look, I'm no Benoit Blanc…
but I think I found the smoking gun, and it's literally a smoking gun.
In fact, while the link between a spike in violent crime
and Democrats' soft-on-crime policies doesn't really exist,
a ton of research shows that the strongest and clearest link
to increased murder and lethal violence is more guns.
And knowing how upset the right is over this spike in crime,
they must be ready to pounce on this new information.
Guns better watch their backs.
Americans own 46% of the world's guns.
I think we need to get our numbers up, boys and girls.
Put guns in the hands of the good men and women.
We want to arm our teachers.
Commercial pilots should be armed.
Guns save lives.
I want everybody to own a gun.
I would have said house, but okay…
Yes, Republicans are the first to pounce on crime spikes
while never acknowledging that it's their dismantling of reasonable gun regulation
that's enabled the fucking thing in the first place.
And thus…
the problem with crime.
It turns out, our loudest tough-on-crime advocates
are trying to solve the problem with the problem.
They'll blame gun violence on literally anything else
so they don't have to answer for the guns they're flooding into the streets.
Bail reform, video games, family structure, porn,
Satan, singers dressed like Satan.
Too much sex, not enough sex.
The Jews!
And hundreds of millions of gun sales later, the streets are filled with chaos
and gun deaths have reached an all-time high.
Perhaps there's a connection.
And, of course, when a 1993 CDC-funded study
basically drove this very point home,
Republicans did take action by banning the government from studying guns.
'Cause, you know, guns don't kill people.
Double-blind longitudinal studies do.
But worry not.
There's a very simple explanation for all this.
The truth is, the most violent and lawless cities in America
have the most stringent gun controls.
Look at Chicago.
If they worked,
Chicago wouldn't be the murder hellhole that it has been for far too long.
He's just mad at Chicago 'cause he's never found the bean.
Yeah, the bean.
I'll say it again.
Ted Cruz has never found the bean.
It's there in Chicago.
Right there.
There it is.
You know you've gone too far south if you hit the brown line.
Listen…
That would be a great point about cities and their permissive gun laws,
except 66% of guns recovered at crime scenes in Chicago
come from states with weaker gun laws.
In California, it's 45%.
And in New York, 81% of guns used in crimes
are trafficked from "anything goes" states like Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.
You might even suggest
that there's a caravan of undocumented and illegal guns
flowing over the border and flooding our cities with violent crime.
Perhaps we should build a wall…
and have Mexico pay for it.
Except, unfortunately, almost all the guns recovered at crime scenes in Mexico
are from the United States.
Yeah.
It means the right's whole law and order persona is bullshit.
Especially this part.
Now is the time to support our law enforcement.
We will never defund the police.
Republicans back the blue.
We proudly stand with our brave men and women in blue.
Yes, I know that.
You're losing her! Say something about pronouns!
Look, this isn't about banning guns.
But all the loosening of any regulation or restriction
or permitting requirements around guns actually fucks the blue.
Don't believe me? Ask the blue.
I believe that open carry is a result--
will result in fear and confusion of our officers.
That officer has to make that split-second decision
if he's a bad guy or a good guy.
You won't know whether or not a person has a conviction and is carrying a gun
or doesn't have a conviction and carrying a gun.
This poses a exponential threat to every law enforcement officer.
We need to stand our ground on this.
Call your representative, call your senator and let 'em know.
Let them know that this is bad, bad legislation.
Since the 1980s,
Republicans have made it harder for police to track and trace guns used in crimes.
They even prevented law enforcement from upgrading gun data from paper to digital
so records can't be searched electronically.
Republicans scream about Democrats defunding the police,
but they've so defunded the ATF, the federal police,
that it currently has fewer employees than it did in the 1970s.
As a result,
it takes the ATF 12 to 14 days to perform a routine trace on a crime gun.
It's so hard for the police to piece together evidence,
they're only solving 50% of murders and violent crimes.
Imagine if half of Law & Order episodes just ended with Ice-T going,
"Well, we tried."
I guess the victim wasn't that special after all.
And the net result,
more cops are being shot and killed in the line of duty.
And in ten states with permitless carry,
police shootings of civilians went up 13%,
'cause we are all outgunned, and we are all paying for it.
The right wants strict rules for everything,
from what teachers can teach,
to who can read to children, to what color mermaids are.
For God's sake, they want a registry of who's having their periods.
For, I assume, the maintenance of a well-regulated menstruation.
But when it comes to just fucking filling out paperwork
to get a gun, too far.
But inconvenience is not the same as infringement.
And your fear of some dystopian authoritarian future
is making it impossible for the rest of us
to make life better in our dystopian present.
Take a look at this.
Democrats are destroying this country…
…with their weak-on-crime policies.
If you want to stop crime…
Let me save you some time…
-It's clear the answer is… -Guns…
-Guns…
What about social policies…
-…for the mentally ill… -…and the poor?
Get out of here with that…
You dumb schmucks.
-All we need is more… -Guns…
-Guns…
-Guns for teachers…
-Guns for… -…preachers…
Guns for hunters…
-Guns for… -…punters…
-Guns for women… -Guns for kids…
But not for dogs.
Bad dog.
No. No.
No more guns for dogs.
-More guns means more crime… -Means more fear…
-Which means more… -Guns…
-Guns…
Guns, guns, guns, guns, guns, guns
Part of the world We love guns
Say hello to my little friend!
Oh, my God, that is great.
Welcome back. Now…
All right, here we go.
To discuss our nation's incredibly sane gun laws and culture,
we have Greg Jackson, executive director of Community Justice Action Fund,
a gun violence prevention group.
Orange County, Florida Sheriff John W. Mina,
who also spent 27 years with the Orlando Police Department.
And Richard Feldman, former NRA lobbyist
and president of the Independent Firearm Association.
Guys, thank you so much for being here.
Sheriff Mina, I'm gonna start with you.
Make this make sense.
All I hear from the right is, "We back the blue."
But the way I look at it, loosening all these regulations
makes cops' lives more dangerous,
and thus more dangerous for everyone around them.
Is that the case?
Correct. We already have a very difficult job.
I've been in law enforcement for 32 years,
and I can tell you that our officers and deputies
need to make split-second decisions out there on the street
and the prevalence of guns, not knowing who has a gun,
things like permitless carry,
really will inhibit our ability to do our job an effective way.
-And, Greg, you, you know, you're in DC. -Yup.
And what they'll say is, well, DC's got strict laws.
How come you guys have guns?
What's the answer in a city like that?
Well, you know, I was shot in April, 2013, in Washington, DC,
and this is a city where the guns aren't coming from our communities.
I mean, we're not growing them on trees, right?
They're being trafficked into our communities.
Please don't give the NRA that idea.
-Hey, I'm sure they'll try. -Gun trees!
But I always ask, you know, where are the guns coming from?
And so, when we look at what's happening
in cities like Washington, DC, and Chicago, New York, Detroit, Miami,
most of these communities are actually being victimized and targeted with guns.
Not necessarily seeking them out,
but these are the most vulnerable at-risk communities,
where it may be harder to find a library than it is to get a gun in your community.
My God. Richard, you've got some insight
into the kind of the mindset from the NRA.
Why wouldn't they want to make law enforcement's job easier,
in terms of solving crimes and tracking guns?
The whole gun issue has become all about politics.
It's about fundraising. It's about membership recruitment.
It's about identity politics, but it's not about policy,
because if you ask Americans, gun owners and non-gun owners alike,
"Do you think it's a good idea for violent, predatory felons to have guns?"
Nobody says yes.
The problem isn't guns, per se. The problem is guns in the wrong hands.
And if you remove law enforcement's ability
to tell the difference, then it exacerbates the problem.
In Florida, right now-- You're in Florida.
That's correct.
They're about to pass a permitless carry.
What would be the advantage, safety-wise, of permitless carry?
There is no benefit to the community.
So, right now, in Florida, just last year,
because people try to apply for a carrying concealed firearm permit,
over 7,000 people were turned down.
7,000 people turned down from getting a permit.
-That's correct. -Well, it's already passed in--
I think it's 25 or 26 states.
-Right. -Yeah, and in every single one
of those states, we've seen a sharp increase
in gun-related deaths, in homicide.
I mean, they just released a report that analyzed the 2021 CDC data,
and they found that every state that has these loose gun laws
have the highest number of gun-related deaths per capita.
And so that former argument of, "What about these cities?"
No. What about the states?
If we look at the states, there's a very clear line in connection
between gun ownership, weak gun laws, and gun-related deaths.
So what is the lawmakers' rationale down there?
And I assume these are lawmakers who will say to the cops,
"We got your back," but they don't.
So, I can't speak for them.
I will agree that it has become a political issue,
and somewhere along the lines, we stopped listening to law enforcement.
The men and women who patrol the streets every night
at risk of their own lives--
Go ask the street cop what he or she thinks about
encountering lots of people
-with a gun stuck in their waistband. -Right.
It's not gonna make our communities safer, it's gonna make them more dangerous.
And just like how Sheriff said we stopped listening to law enforcement,
we also stopped listening to the survivors
and the people that are being impacted by gun violence.
The people that are lying on the concrete are black and brown bodies,
and the biggest thing that we see in the media is gang violence,
it's drugs, it's crime, but statistically, that's not true.
You know, 70% of gun-related homicides in the Black community
are not connected to another felony.
89% are not connected to gang-related activity.
But yet, the media is painting this picture that over-criminalizes us,
and I personally was victimized by it.
When I was shot, I wasn't met at the hospital by my doctors or surgeons.
I was met with investigators,
and I went through three rounds of interrogation
while I was literally bleeding to death
before I could get into surgery and nearly lost my life.
And what we're seeing is a world where we look at solving the crime first
and then saving the life second.
And that's what's destroying so many people,
but, frankly, it's getting us further and further away from the real solutions
that are community-based, that are public health-based,
that are wellness-based.
We are a traumatized society by gun violence.
A balloon pops at a mall and thousands of people run.
What would it take to get through to those individuals
who really hold to it most tightly
that we're already living under a form of tyranny?
That's an interesting question,
but I wonder if they're really the relevant people,
and that if we want to move forward
like the intelligent citizens we once were in this country…
-When was that? -…facing a problem--
Well, good question, but I look back,
times in the 1960s when John Kennedy said,
"We're going to go to the moon in ten years."
-We did it. We were Americans. -Right.
We set our eyes upon it and did something.
Not sure he's the best example in a gun conversation, but I hear you.
But, actually, he was an NRA member.
Well, back then, the NRA wasn't the politicized organization it was.
And our country wasn't the politicized country that it is.
That's the problem. This visceral reaction of us versus them.
We're all Americans.
-We're all in this together. -Right.
At least we can make forward motion on the things we're in agreement with.
Most people agree, I think it's over 88%,
that you should have some type of permit to carry a firearm,
-in our country. -Right.
That's most Americans.
You should know something about how to use the gun.
You should know even more about the laws on the use of deadly force.
You know, you had a law that you wanted to pass in Florida.
What was that law?
So, we had a number of gun stores that were being broken into by criminals,
and they were just getting through the front door.
Maybe pushing a vehicle through the front door.
-'Cause that's where the guns are. -Yeah.
And stealing 30, 40 guns, rifles, handguns, shotguns,
just 'cause they were able to break the display cases.
And the legislation that I was pushing for was to have the gun owners,
at the end of the night, take those guns and put them in a safe
or put a cable around 'em,
-and that went nowhere. -Right. Which, by the way,
they do for, like, sweaters.
-Every jewelry store does it. -Right.
-Old Navy. -And so that didn't pass?
That didn't even get a committee hearing.
But they're gonna pass permitless carry?
-Yes. -Mind blowing.
Thank you guys very much for being a part of the conversation.
Ladies and gentlemen, Greg Jackson, Richard Feldman, Sheriff John Mina.
Thank you guys so much.
We're obviously talking a lot about how gun regulations
reflect on gun crime in America.
But the bar for gun deregulation is set by a few trendsetting states.
Oklahoma…
of the musical…
they passed permitless open carry in 2019
and pioneered the nation's first anti-red flag laws.
So I sat down with Oklahoma State Senator Nathan Dahm,
who co-authored that law.
This year, I think, 50,000 Americans died in gun-related violence.
Would you agree that is a problem?
We're done! That's it.
We have our agreement. This is all worked out.
It is a problem.
Any death is a loss of life. It is a problem. Yes.
So we agree we want to reduce the amount
of people who die in gun-related violence.
I would like to reduce the amount of deaths that take place
through any means, but also, when you talk about gun violence,
and you say that 50,000 number, you're also including suicide rates.
Sure. So tell me the gun laws that you've proposed
in Oklahoma and why you've done that.
Yeah, we've passed several pieces of legislation,
including-- that were mine specifically,
that I introduced and passed,
one of which was constitutional carry
to allow those that are 21 and up, able to legally purchase a firearm,
they could carry a firearm without having to go and get a permit.
-Outside of their house? -Outside of their home. Any place--
-Concealed or open? -Concealed or open, both.
-Doesn't matter. -Doesn't matter.
And one of the main reasons for that is, obviously, the Second Amendment.
I'm a strong proponent of the Second Amendment.
I believe the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
That's the one right that's listed in the Constitution that uses
that very specific affirmative language, you know, shall not be--
Well, it's also the one right that uses the phrase, "well-regulated."
Correct, when it's talking about the militia and the state.
-So-- -But the right of the people
to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
And so, you know, being a strong proponent of the Second Amendment,
I see that as a barrier requiring people to get licensing,
requiring them to go through training.
And so, it actually harms those people
that need a firearm to be able to protect themselves--
-By the way, just for clarity's sake-- -Yeah.
I'm not against the Second Amendment. I don't want to ban guns.
But the things that you propose
make it less likely that we will solve gun violence rather than more likely.
Well, no, I have introduced legislation that would actually solve
some of those problems, including eliminating of gun-free zones.
So the problem for you is not enough guns.
No. The problem for me is that citizens are not able to defend themselves
in these gun-free areas,
-and these criminals know that. -You'd have guns everywhere.
These criminals know that, and so they actually go
and they attack those vulnerable people in those areas.
The research shows that the more guns you have,
-the more violence you have with guns. -Which research?
Do you guys have that sheet?
The general research.
2022 National Economic Bureau of Research study.
This is, "An expansion of carry laws were associated with
an increase in firearm homicides by 13%, increase in violent crimes by 29%,
increase in gun thefts by 35%.
The state leaders of the Fraternal Order of Police,
Major City Chiefs,
International Association of Chiefs of Police,
have spoken out against these lessening."
So that-- I guess, that research.
So there's also research out there that indicates and shows
that actually having more guns actually lessens crimes,
especially when you look on it on the scale of--
You're probably quoting John Lott.
-A lot of John Lott stuff. Yes. -Exactly.
And I think he's very controversial.
I'm just gonna go intuitively.
You're saying more guns makes us more safe.
Yes.
So when?
We got 400 million guns in the country.
We had an increase and gun deaths went up.
So, when exactly does this curve hit that takes it down?
-Would a billion guns do it? -Let's just run those numbers.
-400 million, 50,000. -Uh-huh.
You're talking about less than a fraction
of not even a percent, of a hundredth of a percent.
But it goes up, not down.
So your argument is backwards.
But if you want-- Okay. So, let's come up with a solution, okay?
So, one of the issues, a contributing factor--
Again, I believe it's the individual that is the problem.
So your solution to that is,
give them more guns.
So, I'm saying that because people are the problem,
we need to look at the problems that those people are facing,
and how do we address it?
-For instance-- -But you've removed the ability
-for the state to do that. -No.
Because you're--
If you don't have background checks
and you don't have registration and permitting,
how do you know who has a problem,
in terms of the people who you're giving a gun to?
You wanna talk about the background checks first,
-or do you want to talk about solutions? -I want to talk about,
what you're doing is, you're bringing chaos to order.
That's your subjective opinion that it's bringing chaos to order.
-It's not my subjective opinion. -It is.
We have 50,000 gun-related deaths. That's not a subjective opinion.
-Okay, so-- -That's dead people.
Let me back up for a second.
In every other place in your life, you want to bring order.
But guns are the outlier for you.
So, let's start with immigration.
You want registration.
Maybe a wall, maybe not a wall. Why do you want that?
Well, one of the reasons is because of the fentanyl crisis.
Right. And you don't know when it's coming across.
So what do you do--
But the fentanyl crisis is twice what the gun death crisis is.
-Okay, so until the gun crisis… -No.
-…gets to the fentanyl level… -Not "until it."
-you don't want to bring order. -No, not "until it."
-But-- -But do you see my point?
If we're gonna talk about protecting lives,
that's a larger issue in America than guns is.
If we're talking about individual lives, of ways that they can be protected--
Loss of life in America.
There's loss of life through fentanyl. There's loss of life through obesity.
The obesity crisis in America costs six times the number of lives as guns.
Right. And you're the guy saying,
"You know what would help this? Ice cream."
No.
So, you know what would help the problem that we're facing with firearms?
What?
The fatherlessness crisis that we have in America.
-If you look at the statistics… -Right. Yeah.
They're dying from gun deaths.
80% of school shooters either came from a broken or fatherless home.
Uh-huh. So you would say, "No guns for fatherless homes"?
No, that's not what I would say. I would say that
-fathers need to be more engaged. -Great. So let's--
Crime with a firearm if they don't have a father at home.
Let's put more resources into areas that are poverty stricken. All for it.
And into fatherlessness. And that's something that we're doing--
But why, with guns, are you against bringing order?
-I'm not against bringing order. -You are.
You're also making it less safe for cops and for people.
When the police go to a domestic call,
it's the most dangerous call they can go on.
In your world,
if they knew that there were firearms in the house, that's a safer call.
-Is that what you're saying? -No. Because police--
Because why?
Because police treat every situation as a potential--
But more guns makes us safer.
So why don't-- When the police go to a house filled with guns,
why don't they breathe a sigh of relief,
knowing that this Second Amendment
that shall not be infringed, is being exercised so fruitfully in this home?
Are you familiar with the 39-year-old woman in New Jersey--
-I'm familiar with a ton of anecdotes. -Yeah.
-I'm asking you a simple question. -This is not an anecdote, Jon.
-When the police go to a house-- -This actually happened.
She had a restraining order on her ex-boyfriend.
I can run through hundreds and hundreds of examples
of women killed by their domestic partners by guns
that were not taken away through the lessening of red flag laws.
-You're pivoting to anecdotes. -No, this is not anecdotes.
What the police say:
if we had gun registration, if we were able to track purchases,
if we are-- They have a technology that every bullet
would be stamped with an individual-- like a fingerprint.
If we had an ATF that wasn't defunded,
we would be able to enforce gun laws more effectively
and we would be able to solve gun crimes more effectively.
You're against all of that.
Because the person is the threat, not the firearm, not the knife.
-I get it. Great. -The person, the individual is the one
that is the concern here.
But you don't want anything
that could help law enforcement or society determine
whether or not a person is a good guy with a gun or a bad guy with a gun.
-Most-- Even law-- -The registry would allow you to have
much more effective background checks.
So, I don't understand why you won't just admit
that you are making it harder for police to manage the streets
by allowing all of these guns to go out
without permits, without checks and without background stuff.
Why is that hard?
-Why can't you just stand by that? -Because that's not what I'm doing.
I'm defending the individual's right to keep and bear arms.
-That's a different argument. -Okay--
You may do-- Here's what I'm saying.
You want to say, "I'm a Second Amendment purist and I'm making it safer."
You're not.
You're making it more chaotic.
And that's not a matter of opinion. That's the truth.
That is a matter of opinion, Jon.
But why take away their tools?
Because certain of their tools that they're using would be infringements
upon the people's right to keep and bear arms,
upon their constitutional rights, upon due process, upon other things.
You're saying that registering is an infringement?
-Yes. -Okay.
Is voting a right?
It's a right for citizens. Yes.
Do you have to do anything to do it?
-Yes. -What do you have to do?
It depends on the state.
-What do you have to do? -Sometimes you have to--
You have to be at least 18-years-old.
-What do you have to do? Keep going. -And in some places you have to--
You have a government-issued ID.
What do you have to-- You have to…
-You have to be on the voter rolls. -…register.
You have to register.
So, you have to register to a right. Is that an infringement?
Does the right to voting say, "Shall not be infringed"?
-So this is just a semantic argument now. -No, it's not.
You believe voting rights can be infringed because it doesn't say specifically,
"Shall not be infringed."
Is it an infringement upon a 17-year-old's right to vote,
since they don't have that right to vote?
-No. No. -It's not an infringement on them?
-Absolutely not. You're-- -Why not?
'Cause you're the one making the argument, not me.
I'm saying even rights have responsibilities.
-And that within those responsibilities… -Responsibilities, yes.
…are responsibilities and order. Otherwise, it's chaotic.
I'll go you one further.
You want to ban drag show readings to children.
-To minors, yes. -Why?
-Why-- -What are you protecting?
Why can we prohibit children from voting-- those under 18 from voting--
Why are you banning-- Is that free speech?
Are you infringing on that performer's free speech?
They can continue to exercise their free speech.
-Just not in front of a child. -Why?
Because the government does have a responsibility to protect--
-I'm sorry? -Government does have a responsibility,
-in certain instances-- -What's the leading cause of death
amongst children in this country?
And I'm gonna give you a hint. It's not drag show readings to children.
Correct, yes.
So what is it?
I'm presuming you're gonna say it's firearms.
No, I'm not gonna say it like it's an opinion.
That's what it is. It's firearms.
More than cancer, more than car accidents.
And what you're telling me is,
you don't mind infringing free speech
to protect children from this amorphous thing that you think of.
But when it comes to children that have died,
you don't give a flying fuck
to stop that because that shall not be infringed.
That is hypocrisy at its highest order.
-That's your opinion. But no, it's not. -It's not my opinion.
It's not, because the First Amendment is treated differently
than the Second Amendment.
Why is it treated differently?
One aspect of the Second Amendment,
and I know a lot of people don't like to hear this,
is a protection against tyrannical government.
And I know people will say, "Well, that's never gonna happen here in America."
So there's protections in the Second Amendment for prohibitions on tyranny
at home and abroad.
And so, that's one of the aspects that sometimes is forgotten
or overlooked or dismissed.
What about the tyranny of roaming bands, of well-armed militias,
that are politically, ideologically extremists,
who are allowed to just go through the streets unfettered,
causing fear and chaos?
Isn't that a form of tyranny?
You dismiss it very easily.
Where is that taking place, Jon?
When the Proud Boys show up at a drag show armed.
-That's tyranny. -What about when ANTIFA shows up
at the same drag show armed?
-I'm not a vigilante guy. -Okay.
I don't believe in armed groups of vigilantes.
But, you know, you keep saying,
"Well, this is to protect us against tyranny."
But in my mind, it's creating tyranny. A different kind of tyranny.
Your lessening of all of the regulations and all of the administration
-makes us less safe. -That's not true.
And every time you get pinned, you just turn and go, "But it's my right."
-And that's why your arguments… -You said that.
…fall apart the further out we go to them, because they become absurd.
That's your subjective opinion.
-Does training with guns make you safer? -Yes.
-And you would remove that as mandatory? -As mandatory, yes.
-So you are making us less safe. -No.
Are you familiar with logic?
So, can guns be on planes?
-That is not-- -Can guns be on planes?
Guns should be allowed on planes, if that's what the--
Should we have bazookas? Should people have F-1 fighter jets?
-Operational tanks? -Not operational ones, but--
Well, yes, operational, if you keep it on private property.
And grenades and all kinds of things?
You can buy a flame thrower now online.
Great. That's so exciting for us.
I'm sure you've heard about it.
-Can I say one more thing? -Yes.
You're entitled to your opinion. I will advocate
for the free speech rights of you being able to do that.
I truly do hope that you will consider looking at the fatherlessness issue.
Talk with your producer meetings. I've seen some of the shows.
Because it is a problem here in America.
I think it would be a great solution
to a lot of things that we are facing in this country.
I think the way we would look at it is not so much fatherlessness
as much as we would look at the cycle of poverty and incarceration
and the systemic racism
that I know you believe in, 'cause you want it taught in schools, is…
Thank you for having the discussion. And thank you for being here.
Interviews are so fun.
That's our show.
Fuck!
For more resources, head to our website. I made it myself.
I took a coding class. It was my final project.
We got a weekly podcast. If you play it backwards, who knows what it says?
Why don't we end tonight with a final "For Fuck's Sake"?
I'm a class-three dealer. That's as high as you get.
This is a very hard place to rob, and most people
don't have the guts to even think about robbing Dragon Man.
I got, like, 36 cameras. I got double fences, double doors.
I lock the gate on the driveway.
I have seven German Shepherds that I let out before I go to bed.
They stole 84 guns.