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host: good morning, it is monday, november 27, 2023. the senate is back in session at 3:00 p.m. eastern today. we will begin the washington journal this morning on the issue of gun ownership in america. more than half of american voters say they or someone in their household owns a firearm. this morning, we want to hear from those americans about why you own a gun and about the process of obtaining it. if you are a gun owner in the eastern or central united states, the number to call this morning, (202) 748-8000. if you are a gun owner in the mountain or pacific reason -- region, (202) 748-8001. and a special line for those who have been through the process of purchasing a firearm in the past year, (202) 748-8002.

you can also send us a text at (202) 748-8003. if you do, please include your name and where you're from. otherwise, catch up with us on social media. on x, it is @cspanwj. on facebook, it is facebook.com/cspan. you can start calling in now. this is the headline from the washington times here and polls show a record high gun ownership among u.s. voters. more than half of american voters say that they or someone in their household owns a gun, the highest percentage in the history of the nbc news poll that dates back to 1999 with a 6% spike from 2019 when americans answered the same question and a 10% rise from 2013. the poll divides among political party lines. 66% of gop voters say they or someone in their household owns a firearm while 45% of

independents and 41% of democrats gave the same response. that is the washington times. in terms of why people own a firearm, if you -- a pew research survey took up that question. pew research found that nearly three quarters of u.s. gun owners site protection as a major reason they own a gun. 72%, according to the survey. 32% say the major reason they own a firearm is for hunting. 30% said it is for sport shooting. 15% say it is part of a gun collection. 7% say they own a firearm for their job. we are asking you why you own a firearm. if you are one of those more than half of americans who live in a household where somebody does own a firearm, (202) 748-8000 is the number in the eastern or central time zone. it is (202) 748-8001 for those

in the mountain or pacific region. if you bought a gun recently, if you have been through this process, we want to hear from you about that, (202) 748-8002 is that number. already some comments from folks on facebook when we posted this question on why they own a firearm. this is jessica, writing in that she owns a firearm because the world is chaotic and i am proud to exercise my constitutional right to defend myself and my family and my home and anyone that may need help. miguel saying he owns a firearm for protection, hunting, and shooting. krtiaying because it is her paioc duty. d this from shelley saying, i dooteed a reason to exercise god-given constitutional right. where i live, it takes 911 an hour to get help here and i am playing victim. we are asking for your post on social media and for you to call

in. phone lines split regionally. in terms of the process of obtaining a gun, this is also from the same pew research center report. a majority of americans say it is too easy to legally obtain a gun in united states. 30% say the ease of legally obtain a gun is just about right. 9% say it is too hard. the p research center poll found 58% say gun laws should be stricter than they are today. 26% think they are about right while 15% favor less strict gun laws. that is a pew research center poll from the past summer. the nbc news poll about the number of american households where there is a gun, that from just the past week. we are asking you to call in this morning, regional phone lines and a phone line for those who obtained a firearm in the past year.

jerry is first out of kansas this morning. caller: good morning. host: do you own a firearm? if so, why? caller: i do own a firearm because i am an american. host: how long have you had your gone? how many firearms have you had in your household? >> i have one. i have since i was 15 years old. host: is it the same firearm you have had since you were 15? caller: no, i have switched a couple times but i only own one at a time. sometimes i use it for going deer hunting. it depends on use. host: do you think the process of obtaining a firearm is about right.

is it too hard to buy a gun? is it too easy to purchase a firearm? caller: where you live -- where i live, it is about right. some areas, it is easier depending on who you are buying the gun from and things like that. where i live, it is just about right. in my opinion. host: where do you live in kansas and what makes it right for your part of kansas? caller: i live in -- how do i describe it? in the north eastern side. and what i feel makes it right is that there are certain laws to owning a gun and most people where i live are not criminals or anything like that. a lot people here do not have

felonies and things like that, so it makes them about the average person to go out and buy a gun if they choose to and not if they do not choose to. host: alan is in brooklyn. a gun owner in brooklyn. how easy or hard was it to obtain a gun where you are in new york city? caller: to clarify, i am from brooklyn but visiting my mother in florida now. i am glad to reach your program. i'm glad you are discussing this in terms of guns and firearms. firearms include other kinds of explosives, things that consume oxygen and emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. and virtually everyone in the country is a user of firearms in the sense that everything that we use that burns carbon is emitted into the atmosphere and is killing species and people and the climate. i think we ought to consider the fact that -- hello?

host: we are drilling down on guns, more specifically. >> i think we begin to have some kind of conversation that includes in this discussion about the harm we do to include not only guns that are historically intended to do harm to others but the harm from combustion devices such as cars or boilers or anything else we use because we do not have alternatives put in place to stop it. my reason for using all kinds of carbon meeting devices that do harm to the atmosphere and others right now is we have not gotten far enough in terms of financing and transition to get off of those things but i consider myself as guilty of doing harm to the climate as long as i cannot get off of carbon emitting devices. host: got your point. do you own a gun specifically? caller: i own firearms in terms

of a hybrid car that has a cycle that burns fuel and i run out of electric charge and a house that has a boiler that emits carbon. host: got your point. certainly a topic for another day, but we are going to drill down on gun ownership in this country. edward is waiting in ohio. good morning. are you with us? caller: yes. host: you are a gun owner. how many guns do you own? caller: several. host: why do you own your guns? caller: i use it mainly for target practice. i had a weapon in the marine corps and i choose to have a weapon for home defense. host: why do you feel you need several, for people who are not gunowners? caller: i like guns. i have several rifles and

pistols and i shoot with my son. i taught him how to shoot safely when he was five. host: do you think it is too easy or hard to purchase a gun in this country? caller: i think it is too easy p there are not enough background checks. host: you would like to see a universal background checks system in place? caller: a more thorough background check. host: what should we look for? caller: any kind of abnormality, either mentally or physically, any kind of stress that somebody might be under at the time they purchase. there should be some kind of questionnaire besides just a couple yes and no answers. host: what do you think of red flag laws and the ability to take a firearm away from somebody if a court deems that they could be a danger to themselves or others? caller: if you have been

convicted of the massive violence and you show anger or animosity to a greater extent than normal, i think you be looked at closely. host: and have your guns taken away? caller: definitely. host: that is edward in ohio on changes to gun laws in this country. this from the new york times. courts strike down gun control measures in two states of the story noting in the wake of a landmark u.s. supreme court decision last year that limits what the government can do to restrict guns states led by democrats have scrambled to circumvent or test limits of the ruling and if you have approved new gun restrictions. oregon passed a ballot initiative to ban high-capacity ammunition magazines supporters of the new gun measures suffered a pair of setbacks, underscoring the ripple effect in the supreme court decision.

tuesday, the panel in the u.s. court of appeals for the fourth circuit in richmond, virginia ruled a 10-year-old maryland law related to licensing requirements for handguns was unconstitutional. on the same day last week, a judge in southeastern oregon concluded a ballot initiative approved by voters in 2022 that would prohibit high-capacity magazines and require background checks and training to obtain gun permits violated the state constitution. that story in the new york times. he might have heard about it last week. asking you this morning about gun ownership. we are talking to gun owners about why you own a gun, how many guns you have, how easy or hard it was to obtain a firearm. in eastern or central time zones, (202) 748-8000. in mountain or pacific region, (202) 748-8001. if you bought a gun recently, in the past year, we want to hear about that process. (202) 748-8002.

steve, california, good morning. caller: i am probably the only one on your program today that has sold all of their guns. i had about 17. and i sold about half of them and half of them i gave away. along with about 20,000 rounds of ammunition. i had a lot of fun with them. i did a lot of squirrel hunting. and what caused me to sell the guns was that i am just getting too old to shoot. i was 71 years old and poor eyesight and the mayor of san jose is going to require --

trying to require insurance and i am on a limited budget. let me tell you a real quick story. when i was 11 years old and in san jose in the bay area here, when i was 11 years old i took a 22 rifle to school for show and tell. host: what did the teacher say at the time? caller: there was a different attitude about it. he did not say anything. the kids found it interesting and there was not the outrage that there is now for some things that go on in society. but that is how times have

changed. host: on the comment you made earlier, you feel you're too old to shoot, do you think that is something that more americans should recognize, that there is an age limit to owning a firearm? caller: in my case, i was having diminished eyesight. all of my rifles, i had a lot of calibers, i did not have a automatic. i think they should be outlawed. they are strictly designed for military and crowd control. there is no usage for an automatic. the .223 caliber is illegal in most states for dear. you would not want to shoot a deer anyway. it destroys too much meat.

but -- can i answer anymore of your questions? host: just the question on some states trying to ban high-capacity magazines, your thoughts on the need for magazines that hold more than 10 or 12 rounds. caller: they definitely should be banned. you do not want to have a magazine that has more capacity than a cop. you always want a cop to have more bullets than the bad guy. if you cannot hit an animal with 10 shots, you need to go back to the firing range. host: thanks for the call from san jose. talking to gun owners in america about why you own your weapon and what you do with it. this is larry in mississippi. good morning. caller: hello.

i have one gun. i have a rifle. i use it for mainly just -- i bought it for hunting and i do not even hunt. i just bought it years ago. that is all i have. host: why keep it? caller: it is a collector and i will give it to my grandson one day. host: what do you think about gun laws in this country? caller: sometimes they could be improved. the reason i think the young men are destroying people's because they are hurting inside because they do not have a family life and they look at people that have a nice family and get good things and i think they are just hurting inside. i think the children are not being taken care of and they feel they have been abused so they are taking their frustrations out on the public. that is what the whole thing is. host: and that is leading to these mass that keep happening? caller: yes, i think these

children are hurting inside because they do not have a home life. they do not have structure in their life. i was raised with good parents and went to a catholic school and was taught well by the nuns and priests. i think these children are hurting because they do not have any structure. i had nice things. my parents did everything for us. i think that is what is wrong with the children. they do not have stability in their life. host: when you say gun laws could be improved, do you have a sense of how? caller: maybe put restrictions to make sure background checks are good. if someone has done a felony or anything like that, i think they need to dig deeper into what they are selling, who they sell to, and to research that person individually. if someone has done something wrong, they should not be able to have a gun. host: thanks for the call.

on the issue of mass shootings in this country, it was president biden that traveled to maine early this month to discuss that mass shooting come up to talk about mass shootings in america. this is some of what he had to say on november 3. [video clip] >> i have been at this a long time. i know consensus is possible. this is about common sense, reasonable, responsible measures to protect our children, our families, and our communities. regardless of our politics, this is about protecting our freedom to go to a bowling alley, a restaurant, a school, a church without being shot and killed. let me close with this. scripture says the lord is near to the broken hearted. and saves the crushed in spirit.

saves the crushed in spirit. our prayer is that the crushed in spirit survive this more rapidly than otherwise. as we gather here today, we know your hearts are broken. because -- we also know your spirits are strong. the way this community has come together, the way the state has come together has been a marvel for the rest of the country. host: that was president biden on november 3. one other clip from the responses to the lewiston shootings, this is speaker mike johnson shortly after the shooting on fox news talking about the issue in america. [video clip] >> god be with the law-enforcement officers handling the situation in maine. our prayers have been with the families of the tragedy.

we would be remiss if we did not mention it. >> you are immersed in democrats and this happens with almost every shooting. the media call by the left in this country, we need more gun laws, more legislation. what is your answer? >> at the end of the day, the problem is the human heart. we have to protect the right of the citizens to protect themselves. that is the second amendment. that is why our party stand strongly for that. i agree with comments of your guests. this is not the time to talk about legislation. i want to the american people to know that all the members of the house are concerned about families involved and everyone. we pray for the law-enforcement officers doing that hard job tonight. >> you talk about the human heart. if somebody really wants to kill innocent people, there are ways they can do it beyond using a

gun. i am sure this will become a bigger issue weaving forward. -- moving forward. is there any specific gun law you will look at or any new legislation you look at? >> i have been on the job for 48 hours. we will see. there will be lots of discussion . your point is well taken. in europe and other places, they use vehicles to mow down crowds of parades. they have done that in the united states. it is not the weapon. it is the underlying problem. we have to address the root problem of these things. mental health is a big issue. we have to address that as a society and government. there are lots of measures on that as well. host: thou that the end of last month after the lewiston shooting. asking you this morning about gun ownership in this country. a new survey shows more than half of americans live in a household where somebody owns a firearm.

talking to gun owners only about why you own your firearms and the process of obtaining a firearm. special line for those who purchased a firearm in the past 12 months. sheldon is on that line. >> good morning. host: the process of obtaining a firearm, how was that process for you? >> it was pretty easy for me because i am a retired army vet and i have never broken any law and i own a 12 gauge shotgun and handgun. they are strictly for home defense. i am a believer in the second amendment, but i do not like automatic weapons like rivals -- rifles. they should be banned. host: because you do not think they are useful for home protection?

>> they are ok. i went to iraq twice and carried an m4 both times. weapons are designed to kill vast numbers. a mass number of people. why would you own and ar-15? and police right now are outgunned in most situations. only law enforcement should have ar-15's. host: so handguns, shotguns -- how do you do this with rifles? you're just banning the ar-15 style of rifle or is it all semi-automatic rifles? caller: i just do not like the ar-15 style of rifle. i have a problem. why do you have an ar-15? for what? host: when you talk to other gun owners, what do they say to you? caller: they say it is their right.

i guess if you live in america, it is. i feel bad for people that have been victims of the shootings and i feel bad for the families. nobody wants to do anything about it, so i do not know what else to do. but i am going to protect my family. host: this is randy in louisiana. you are next. caller: i am a gun owner. i own a shotgun to shoot skeet. i have a pistol, a semi automatic pistol. it is my right to have that. i am a law-abiding citizen. i do not like being lumped in with all the criminals out there. i do not like that. host: how do you feel like you

are being lumped in? i think randy hung up. this is ted out of hawaii, up very early this morning. caller: glad to hear your show. i have been a gun owner for over 60 years, since the 1960's when i was a teenager. and i only own a three shot clip. i am in the middle of getting -- i live in a very rural area. it takes me six to seven hours to drive to costco to get a prescription. it would take a cop an hour or two to get and it is common out here, takes a long time. so that is why a gun is necessary, because it is literally the wild west out here in terms of we have no protection. you protect yourself or you are gone. there is a lot of drug users out

here that are somewhat insane. with guns can you do not need high-capacity magazines. if you have taken gun lessons and go out, if you cannot hit something with two shots you should not own a gun. you do not need high-capacity weapons. anybody that has guns for a lot of years knows that you only need one or two shots. i have shot pigs out here. there are thousands of pigs in hawaii they are trying to eradicate. one or two shots does it, even from 400 feet away. i am in the middle -- in the process in hawaii is you have to take out 600 questions. you have to take a test and get over 80% on that test, which is really easy because they are simple questions. then you have to take that and wait weeks for a certificate to come from them and take that to the police station and they do

another background check on you. and it takes weeks to get that done? you can get a certificate on your weapon. it is a long process. it is several months. in other places that would help. host: you do not think it is too long of a process? caller: it is a long process, but i'm willing to go through it. i am not in a rush. if everybody had a process like that, it would cut down on problems we see and nobody needs an ar-15. a good pistol and three shot old-fashioned bold action clip that they had in world war ii is more than adequate if you know how to shoot. host: so semi automatic rifles is not something we need? caller: not at all. i have friends that have them and they are just -- they say they really like them. they are interesting, but i go, in this day and age, even though

we are way out in the middle of nowhere and it takes hours to drive anywhere and there is no police protection of here so we have to protect ourselves, that is the only reason i want a gun, to protect myself. i have always felt that way. even though i do hunt and i used to. i rather go buy my meat. host: what time is it in hawaii? caller: 2:30 in the morning. i weighed up for you because i do not go to sleep until 4:00 and get up at noon. i am retired. i love watching her show all the time. host: thanks for being up late with us. this is sean out of maryland. caller: good morning. i want to remind everybody that criminals do not follow laws. they have guns that they gained illegally.

i believe one has the right to defend their family and protect themselves. i am a law-abiding citizen. i was a marksman in the military. i own an ar-15 and handgun, but i sold my ar-15 because i felt i did not need it. in maryland, gun laws are so absurd. i do support the red flag laws, but most mass shootings are happening through people with mental illness. maryland, you can buy in ar-15 the same day with a clean background check but you have to wait three weeks to buy a handgun. in maryland, the supreme court says -- a judge just overturned the licensing requirements so it is absurd here in maryland, kind of strange gun laws here. host: when did you first own a firearm?

when did you learn how to handle a firearm? caller: back when i was in the military in the navy. i qualified as a marksman. i had a pistol in the military but i did not own a gun for many years. until recently with the uptick in violence. so two years ago i bought the rifle and handgun but i sold the rifle because i did not need that. to protect myself or my family. host: what you say to folks, and they have called in, who say it is their god-given right to own a firearm, so if i want to own an ar-15 i should be able to own that? caller: my take on that is that why do you need an ar-15? you cannot even hunt with an ar-15. why do you need a high-capacity

magazine? if it is your right to own a gun, have something adequate to protect yourself. but i do think the red flag laws need to be in the mentor to detect people and take guns away from people with mental illness. that guy in maine obviously had problems and nobody paid attention to it even when the army said he was in the mental hospital because of ptsd. why was he a certified arms instructor? it does not make sense. it does not make sense that you can walk out and buy it ar-15 the same day but you have to wait three weeks to buy a handgun. the laws are absurd and some people also own ak-47s. strange. host: thanks for the call. it is just after 7:30 on the east coast and we are talking to gun owners in this country about why you own a firearm and the

process by which you obtain your firearm or firearms. it is (202) 748-8000 if you are in the eastern or central time zones. in the amount or pacific time zones, it is (202) 748-8001. then a special line for those who have bought a firearm in the past 12 months, (202) 748-8002. we will take this conversation to the end of the hour. this is kate from twier, saying our right to free press and religion are important, but none of the matter very much if we cannot defend our own lives agnsaggression. from pamela on twitter, a deer rifle and shotgun is what pel owns. we no longer hunt and we do not feel a need for an aen. that is unnecessary. this fromar in michigan, saying i own firearms to facilitate personal precon. i will give them up with the secret service and all protections for the supposedly

leads have their firearms taken away. and saying my asons he owns a firearm but it is better to have it and not nde then to need it and not have i i have had a gun pulled on me more than once. i have been shot at on my own. i have people that depend on me now. for them, i carry. we will keep looking and taking her calls. this is doris in georgia. >> i still own a gun because of -- i'm a business owner in missouri and i still have it locked away and i really needed it to lock it away because my mom who had slight dementia was a feisty southern woman who grew up on the farm and wanted to know where the gun was. i was surprised that she had found it. perhaps i will not be talking to

you today. so i still have the gun. she is in a facility now. i do not know what to do with it. i forgot how to use it, even though i had to go to a class and get training, had to put a picture on my license because i owned a firearm and had to go through fingerprinting and now i understand. because i am in atlanta, i understand an 18-year-old could just about anybody can get a gun now in st. louis. and i do not have a problem with gun ownership. i have joined a gun club even though i am not ready to buy a gun or go through the effort of doing practice and everything. i do not think anyone needs an ar-15. i believe those people who do

tend to want these ar-15's and it is my own prejudice. i think a number of them are sort of conspiracy nuts. they think the government is after them and coming to take them away. if these people and cyst on having ar-15's, i would like to see that they purchase insurance and declare that they have the ar-15 so we know who has -- who is in ownership of these dangerous guns that can kill more than one person. those guns are not for protection. they are to kill a number of people or some people feel they are to protect them from the vermin in the country. that is my feeling about gun

ownership. one day, i may train again but i believe you have to be trained but as you stated the last man who killed a number of people had excellent training and background, so i do not know if training and classes will keep a crazy person from killing other human beings. host: you say you do not use your weapon but joined a gun club. why? caller: i joined the gun club because some of the crazy people during the trump administration were talking about -- in georgia , that killed that young boy,

and it scared me and i said, some of these people here in georgia are crazy. they are out to kill people. maybe i need to be around a group of people who understand guns and understand what you would need to do to protect yourself. from these crazy militia people. host: what did you get out of the gun club? are you still part of it? caller: i am a member on paper only. i did not even buy a gun. the gun i have is in missouri and my home in missouri. the membership wishes to see -- to be around other people who felt it is necessary -- who feel it is necessary to protect yourself. i am a black woman. from some of these racists who are around here. host: thanks for the call from

atlanta this morning. this is jack in butler, pennsylvania on the line for those who have purchased a gun in the last year or so. what was the process like? caller: it depends on how you look at it. i got it from a flea market and there was no process. i just had to have the amount of money. i wish you would ask me other questions that you have been asking, like why do i need my ar-15. because i am getting prepared for the next election and what could possibly happen. i'm not going out to hurt anyone, but i am going to protect my home. that is why i think we need in ar-15, because if 35 people decide to come to my house because they do not like who got elected i am not getting drug out in the street. host: do you think that is going to happen? caller: i think they are calling

for it all over the internet. i think trump has been inciting all kinds of things. what if he incites a civil war? i do not want to join a civil war. i do not want to kill anyone, but i do not want to be bothered. not bothered, but i do not want to be drug out of my house and killed because i do not agree with donald trump and i think that is highly possible. as far as the guns go, i own very many and i went out to own the ones that i needed to hunt whatever i needed to hunt for my retirement. i own handguns, none of them that i got at the flea market. my handguns are registered and i do belong to a gun club because i live in a city and it is legal to shoot in the city so a gun club gives me an opportunity to go somewhere that i can legally shoot. host: on the flea market, should

people be able to go to a flea market and fork over cash and be able to have a firearm? >> it is not illegal, if that is what you are asking me. host: do think it is right? caller: no. it is alright for me because i do not have no intentions to hurt anyone. i bought a double barrel shotgun and i'm trying to think. i'm really into pellet guns a great deal. i like the idea of if you shoot them the lose energy real quick. i am a varmint hunter. i hunt crows and groundhogs and things like that. i have a pasture filled, some friends that have horses and i try to keep the groundhogs cleaned out. they are useful. i have an ar-15, like i said,

and i'm getting prepared to protect my home and my family. i also have a bulletproof shield that i can put out in front of me and i practice shooting from around it. i am a very peaceloving and very nice man. all my neighbors i am fine with and i buy all the children a christmas present in the neighborhood. i am not a crazy person, but i just enjoy them. host: that is jack in butler, pennsylvania. about 15 minutes left in this segment. this is steve in south carolina. caller: it has been a long time. good to talk to you. kudos to the gentleman from hawaii who was a devoted viewer, so devoted he gets up at 2:00 in the morning.

i thought i was a dedicated viewer, but i'm not like that. host: i hope you had a nice thanksgiving as well. what are your thoughts on this gun question? >> i do not know if i have shared this with you in the past. i am a gun owner. i have a concealed carry permit. i rarely carry. i did it while back. south carolina is an open carry state. i do not open carry. when that law went into effect, people were up in arms but that is an unintended pun. nobody -- i have not seen one person with a gun hanging on their side. that is just silly. nobody would want to do that. i am concerned about protecting my family and the direction the nation is going in. i think it is a little too easy for some people to get firearms. i am a law-abiding citizen and i

have guns gathering just 40 years. i have handguns. with regard to the ar-15, a majority of those gun owners go out and shoot it -- i do not see how they afford it. i have been to the gun range and it sounds like a small war. the air 15 is the high-capacity magazine. you put a wooden stock on that -- people used to do that back in the 1960's with foreign-made military weapons to turn them into hunting weapons. they put a wooden stock on and say that is fine. it is not fine. it is a high-capacity magazine. but the rounds is no more lethal than several hunting rounds -- it is just hundreds of hunting

rounds. host: do you think we should not have magazines that hold over 10 rounds? do you think the ar-15 is a style of weapon that should not be sold? what are you advocating for? >> i'm advocating just like a hunting rifle, a five round magazine, getting rid of the high-capacity. here's the problem. i can buy an ar-15 in south carolina and other states. i think this law -- i think if you are a private gun owner and you sell a gun, let's go back to the flea market deal, you should have to complete a bill of sale, get that id, and send that bill of sale to the atf and fbi and they should collect those things so that serial number will follow that gun around. also, personal health

information -- i know this is going to be tricky because when you start talking about medical records they are protected. if there's somebody that is mentally unstable, i think there should be a database that should go to the atf. if that person tries to purchase a head gun -- handgun there is a red flag. i know doctors will disagree. again, a mother can buy a gun and give it to her child. sometimes it is just a no win situation. people can sell guns on the street. like i said, i can do it in south carolina. i would not do it in a flea market, but we have got to find a way to keep mentally unstable people who doctors will say, as long as he is that she will be fine. once she starts monkeying around with something and goes crazy.

the last thing i will say, before we give another dime to any country around the world, the safest school in the world is in indiana. you can look it up. i sent a link before. it costs a lot of money. look at the safest school in america. there needs to be funding to make every school like that school and then i will say let's get money to countries around the world. host: this is don in nevada, recently purchased a firearm. what did you get and what was the process like? caller: yes, i had a complete background check. i bought a .22 semi automatic rifle and i also own a gun for the rats in the backyard. but i would like to preface this to let you know that i have been

calling in for between 33 and 35 years now and i want your program regularly and the reason i bought my .22 semi automatic is because we have a daylight robbery across the street. we had a nighttime holdup that people were surprised three doors to the left of us and about 12 years ago we had a crazy guy down the street with a shotgun that i understand we were sleeping and he was arrested in the front of my garage. so mostly for protection and i had quite a few background

checks with the fbi and also as an airport employee and also as the liquor control board in the state of nevada, so mostly i buy the 22 rifle semi automatic for protection and the pellet gun for the poison rats that were roving around in the backyard. host: thanks for the call. just about 10 minutes left. plenty of calls to get to and we appreciate you waiting. this is jody in tennessee. what kind of firearms do you own? caller: i have a shotgun. it is only for sick animals that wander onto the farm. so i do not have to bash them in the branch with a rock because that is traumatic and it was

easier to get that done that it is to vote. it is easier to get guns that it is to find a doctor when you are sick. host: do you think that is right? is that how it should be? caller: no, these people are mentally ill or physically ill and the capitalists make money every time there is a mass shooting and the problem is the guns. we got three college kids that got shot because of the racist calling people vermin on this tv show a minute ago. host: this is leo in north carolina. you are next. caller: talking about guns. i own close to 50. i got my first one when i was 21 years old and i am 68 now. i have had a concealed carry permit since 1995 and renewed it about five times already. i got too many fourteens, a

springfield 308. i have never been in trouble, so i can have them and afford them. i feel i should have them. host: why do you need that many? caller: i don't need them. i just like having them. host: are you going to keep collecting guns? caller: yes. i bought one back in 1978 and i have never shot it. i have a bunch of guns i ain't never shot. i just let collecting. i got a gun safe i keep them in. guest: for folks who do not own weapons, do you open it up and just look at them? caller: clean them. i enjoy having them. host: that is leo in north carolina. this is edward in arizona. you are next.

caller: i have been a concealed carry owner -- holder for 20 years. it is a very vetted process that you go through. i own a gun for self protection and it is a concealed carry permit so you carry concealed. you do not carry open. i do not know why people are so against self protection. with the crime, with criminals that we have running loose, all you have is yourself to rely on to protect yourself. it is -- we have a god-given right to that.

i do not know why people are so against that. the police cannot be everywhere to do that for you, so you have to take response ability to do that for yourself and for your family and for your -- whoever you have around you. the process is very thorough process. we have to go through a background check, which is -- you have to submit fingerprints. takes a pretty good while to go through it. i have been carrying concealed for 20 years and i go everywhere . the places i don't go are the places where they have signs on the outside the say no weapons.

i am noticing there is a pattern. i do not know if everybody else notices, but it seems that every place that these mass shootings happen, it is always in places which says no weapons. and the people who are mentally deranged or criminals are going to -- that is where they are going to gravitate to, so people need to think about that when they are out and about in the world. that they are actually putting themselves and loved ones that may be with them in danger when they go to these places because all they have is a sign out there saying that and there is no one on the outside checking everybody who is going on the inside of these buildings to make sure they are following what that sign says. host: that is edward in arizona. a few more of your comments from

social media and the five minutes we have left. this is lawrence saying, i boug one because it was fun to shoot. since crime is billing outside of big cities such as atlanta, which i live outside of, it does not hurt to have a few for protection. matt saying you never see a shooting at a gun show or gun shop. don saying, we do not need a reason to exercise a constitutional right. and mark saying, legal gun owners own guns because of legal gun owners. time for a few more of your calls this first segment until 8:00 a.m. eastern as usual. this is steve in charlotte, north carolina, regionally purchased a firearm. what did you get and what was the process like? caller: it has changed here. it used to be you had to go downtown and get a background check from the sheriff, but they

regionally changed the rule and all the gun stores told me everybody went crazy. they had lines out the door. i bought a snubnosed 38. basically for self protection and home protection, but i am a hunter. i have been -- i got taught by my dad when i was eight years old how to hunt and properly handle things and i have -- i do have an s ks. host: for folks do not know, ask lane what it is. -- explain what it is. caller: it is a russian gun that shoots the same bullets as the ak-47. there are all different loads for that. but it was made before the ak-47 during world war ii as a defense

gun for the russians. host: why do you on that? -- own that? caller: i first got into these things because they were cheap. the first rifle i bought was $70. at the local flea market. and i have also bought regular guns through the old process, which only discontinued this year. so mainly i hunt. i have shotguns and 22's. i hate to say it, but i really like firearms. i have been around them all my life. there have been bad accidents in my family, unfortunately.

host: involving firearms? caller: yes. my uncle was out hunting with his brother and turned around real quick and shot him in the head. i remember that one. i was four years old, long before they had icus. we watched -- watched uncle mike go in, but i have also been shot at. and i made sure i had guns after that. and they were a little easier to get at the time. in fact, this is no longer true, but in new mexico the liquor stores used to sell ammo so you can pull up and get your ammo and liquor and it was a drive in. you did not even have to get out

of your car. it was pretty crazy. i think they have changed that law. host: let me try to get one or two more in. calvin has been waiting in texas. good morning. >> i own a -- i bought guns for two reasons. number one, i live in rural texas and they have a lot of wild animals. i put up trail cameras and i was amazed at the animals i saw coming out of the national forest. when president obama was elected, a lot of people went crazy, talking about seceding from the nation and buying guns and bullets. living in texas, you have to reject yourself. even going into the grocery store, some guy will block your island look at you crazy and he will not move, won't get out of your way and you know the only reason he is doing that is because he probably has a gun on him. the only reason he is brave is

because he is strapped. so you walk around, you're not looking for trouble, but i'm not going to sit here and let somebody hurt me if i can avoid it. if you live in texas and do not have a gun, you're probably crazy. you need to be prepared. host: that's calvin in texas, our last caller in this first segment. stick around, plenty more to talk about and up next, we will turn our attention to focus on the economy. the white house and bidenomics. later, we will be joined by our guest to expand school choice in the united states, stick around, we will be right back. ♪