gun homicides fell by 59%. we also go to colombia and switzerland for lessons. it's a fascinating documentary. four continents, four very valuable insights for the united states. stay tuned for the special report. welcome to a gps special. "global lessons on guns." i'm fareed zakaria. on december 14th, 2012, a mass shooting at an elementary school in newtown, connecticut, shocked the country. the horrific tragedy jolted the nation's conscience. yet as awful and traumatic as newtown was, that gruesome day in december was not an anomaly. it was part of an american trend. 26 people were killed at sandy hook that day, but every day in 2010, the most recent year of complete data, an average of 86 people were killed with a gun.

in total that year, there were more than 11,000 gun murders, more than 19,000 gun suicides, and over 73,000 nonfatal gun injuries. this american reality is truly unique. compare it to other rich countries. in 2009, the united states had six times as many gun homicides per hundred thousand people as canada, 16 times as many as germany and 33 times as many as england and wales. as far as gun violence is concerned, america is on another planet. so can americans learn something from other countries on this crucial issue of keeping its citizens safe? in this hour, we're going to travel the world to look for solutions. we'll visit one country where liberals and conservatives

actually reached an agreement that caused shootings to plummet. in south america, we'll meet a former guerrilla once imprisoned on gun charges. we will show you how he reduced violence in one of the world's most dangerous countries. but first, let's visit a nation whose people are obsessed with video games even more so than americans. is gun violence an even bigger problem there? let's get started. in weeks following the newtown massacre a clearer picture of the shooter, adam lanza emerged. alienated and alone he played military video games in his basement for hours on end, according to reports.

with access to a small arsenal, he turned video game fantasies into reality leaving 26 dead at sandy hook. so, in our search for global lessons on guns, we wanted to find a country that could teach us about gaming and gun violence. we decided to visit japan because few nations on earth have more avid gamers than the land of the rising sun. the japanese play many of the same violent video games that we do. in 2012, consumer spending on video games in japan was second only to the u.s., but there's another factor to consider here when it comes to gun violence. japan has some of the strictest gun laws in the world. the basic premise of those laws,

if you want to own a gun, good luck. japan's firearm and swords control law states, no person shall possess a firearm. before listing a few narrow exceptions for hunters and other categories. for the brave few still willing to apply for one, they face an intricately designed bureaucratic obstacle course. just ask rick sacca, a former u.s. marine living on mt. fuji. he says he's one of only handful of foreigners in japan to legally own a gun. back at his house, he showed us the binders full of paperwork he's had to deal with over the years. they were a bit overwhelming, even to explain. >> what all do you have to do? >> it is such a -- initially -- do you want to help

>> sacca took over 20 hours of lectures, a written test, a shooting range class and passed criminal background check. a doctor gave him a full physical and psychological exam. he also visited the police station more than five times where he was interviewed in an interrogation room. >> are you having any problems with alcohol, are you having any problems with drugs, relationships, family, work, money. >> the police also questioned sacca's co-workers, neighbors, and to top it off, he had to give them a detailed map of his home. >> to produce a floor map of where your firearm will be stored in your home. it is kind of unusual and photos that actually detail all of the locks that we have to have in there and show that it's done properly. >> it took sacca over a year to get approved. >> that's our actual firearms license. >> and he must renew his various licenses regularly. >> the intrusion that occurs

with the process regularly would never ever be tolerated in the u.s. >> it's a process meant to discourage people from even trying to get a gun, and it works. japan has fewer guns per person than almost any other country. less than 1 firearm per 100 people according to 1 estimate. and the country's gun murder rate, it's astonishingly low. in 2012, this nation of 130 million counted only 4 gun murders. that's right, four. by comparison, the united states had over 4,600 gun murders per 130 million people in 2010. >> japan has so little gun violence that every time a shot is fired in japan, it is national news. one of the guys pulled out a sword and slashed -- >> jake adelstein was a reporter

for japan's largest daily newspaper for 12 years. >> this is where they made you get out, and this is where they made the arrest. >> he authored a memoir called "tokyo vice." he says there is a dark side to the rising sun, but it seldom leads to shots fired. >> i have not met a cop who has fired his gun in the course of duty, and i mean i know a lot of cops. since 1993 i've been working as a reporter in japan, mostly on the police beat. >> in fact, guns are so rare and tightly regulated here, that even mobsters avoid using guns. known as the yakuzo and often recognized for their full body tattoos, japanese organized crime doesn't lack for muscle. they have reportedly had enormous reach in business and politics, once described as largest private equity group in japan by morgan stanley. but many don't like conducting business with a gun. [ speaking a foreign language ] >> translator: guns are like

nuclear weapons, weapons that the yakuza has but won't use. >> a former yakuza boss sat down with us to give us his take on the mob's attitude. he insisted on wearing a mask but showed us his tattoos and his partially missing finger, another yakuza trademark to prove his identity. >> translator: guns are kept and controlled by strict regulations within the yakuza organization, so it is prohibited for members to take the gun out and use it. >> that's because punishment for gun infractions are very high in japan, he says. simply firing a gun can get you life in prison. and if a foot soldier in the mob gets caught with a gun, his boss can also be held responsible.

so these days, the yakuza conduct business using less efficient methods. >> translator: there aren't specific orders on what weapons we should use, but obviously there's only knives or japanese swords instead of guns to kill. >> jake adelstein says japan's lesson for the u.s. is a simple one. >> if you make strict gun control laws, and you assign cops to enforce those laws, and you actually enforce them, the rate of gun deaths in the united states would plummet, but you have to do it. >> so despite lots of barbaric video games, gun violence barely exists in japan, but the country does seem so different from america. well, next we will visit a country with lots of guns just like the u.s. but not a lot of gun violence. find out their secret when we come back. cg/úññ

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if there's one country with a love for guns that rivals america's, it's the nation best known for its alps, switzerland. welcome to the feltzschutzen, switzerland's annual field shooting festival that is said to be the largest shooting competition in the world. towns and villages across count towns and countries stage tests of marksmanship. families bring the kids. and after the competition, there's a gigantic party. one festival in the town of selivanoff was especially boisterous this past year. the winners of each event were cheered wildly and the champion of the prestigious 300-meter competition, known to all as the

shooting king, was wheeled out triumphantly to the tune of cow bells. switzerland is, by many measures, a gun lover's paradise. according to one estimate, the swiss rank third in the world with 46 guns per 100 people. trailing only yemen and, of course, the united states. >> ready, fire! >> why is switzerland armed to the tee? well, thanks to a tradition that dates back to the dawn of the nation, it's citizen militia that forms its army. all able-bodied men from farmers to financiers serve at least 260 days in the militia. they're all trained to shoot and most of them keep their guns at home. militiamen can hone their skills at their local shooting clubs.

gun appreciation societies that boast hundreds of thousands of members offering classes, competition and camaraderie. >> we do competitions together, and we are young people and we are older people. >> pistol-packing ursula lutz has been shooting for most of her life. on this day at her club, she hits the bull's-eye 18 out of 20 times, not bad for a 70-year-old. >> i was very surprised, yes. i never did it. >> even the youngsters here are expert marksmen. dave herbert is all of 10 years old and started training two years ago. his advice for the inexperienced -- "don't fidget while shooting." despite the swiss people's enthusiasm for guns, gun

homicide rates are much lower than the united states, six times lower, in fact. supporters of gun rights in america have claimed that the swiss prove one of their main points. lots of guns doesn't necessarily mean lots of gun violence, but that's not the whole story here in switzerland. >> their interest definitely is not that any crazy man with a criminal history should go out and be able to buy a gun at any the spot. >> dr. martin killias is professor of criminology at university of st. gallen. he points out that many swiss gun laws are much stricter than those in america. >> there are not these fools they used to be in the past. >> everyone who buys a gun must pass a background check. automatic weapons are banned and gun purchases must be registered with the government. the nra, killias says, would not

be very happy. >> i wouldn't say it is a communist country, definitely. >> in the militia, soldiers can take home their weapons but not their ammunition. >> ready, fire! >> after a soldier has completed his service, he must now reapply for the right to keep his gun. >> you are criminalized. every militia soldier is a potential murderer. >> herman suitor is the vice president of protel, switzerland's version of the nra. it's named for william tell, switzerland's mythical marksman who according to the legend shot an apple off his son's head. suitor sounds a lot like charlton heston. >> only over my dead body. i will not give my personal arm away. >> the truth is, many gun owner's attitudes in switzerland are very different from the nra.

ursula, from the looks, the pistol-packing 70-year-old loves to shoot. but she is not interested in gun laws like in america. >> i don't want people walk on the street with guns. >> switzerland may look like a gun utopia, but it combines the availability of firearms with significant gun control. next, we'll visit a country where politics about guns was very contentious, but liberals and conservatives there actually reached a political agreement on some far-reaching measures. it's donut friday at the office. and i'm low man on the totem pole. so every friday morning they send me out to get the goods. but what they don't know is that i'm using my citi thankyou card at the coffee shop, so i get 2 times the points. and those points add up fast. so, sure, make me the grunt. 'cause i'll be using those points to help me get to a beach in miami. and allllllll the big shots will be stuck here at the cube farm. the citi thankyou preferred card.

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john fidler, his wife, gaye, and walter mitlack can relate to the massacre all too well. >> he just walked up and stood in front of people and just shot them. shot them in the heads. >> i know what it is like waking up the next day. it's your birthday. you wake up alone, and there's a card on the bedside table that's not been written in, and there's no noise in the house, and it's not going to change for quite a long time. >> the fiddlers and mitlack were forever changed by the worst mass shooting in australia's history. >> gunshots. >> on april 28, 1996, over 30 people were shot dead at a crowded tourist destination, a historic prison in port arthur tasmania. 28-year-old martin bryant arrived at the site, ate lunch,

then walked into a cafe and pulled a semiautomatic rifle out of his bag. his first shots killed three of the fiddlers' best friend, wally bennett, kevin sharp and kevin's brother, ray sharp, who were gunned down right in front of them. >> i froze. i couldn't move. i didn't know what to do. i thought this is the end. >> i said to john, i've been hit, and with that, he turned around and pushed me under the table. and the man behind me hasn't gone ahead. and now the others under the table told me to be quiet. and john told me to shush, and then we pretended to be dead. >> miraculously, the gunman moved on, and the fiddlers made out with their lives. outside the cafe walter's wife and daughters donna and madeline were having a picnic. they flagged down a car. unfortunately the killer was also in the car.

she pleaded for her family but the killer shot madeline, then chased down alana and shot her behind a tree where she was trying to hide. >> the doctor said that national and the girls are all dead. i just remember this primal scream. i really wanted to be with them. at that point in time, i would have been much happier to be dead than alive. ♪ >> in all, 35 people were killed before bryant was captured by the police. >> do not take your children for granted. >> it was said to be the deadliest mass shooting by a single gunman the world had ever seen until 2011 when anders breivik shot almost 70 people to death in norway. >> the overwhelming feeling was, this is terrible. we had to do something about it. ♪ >> prime minister john howard had been elected just weeks

before the massacre. other mass shootings in australia had provoked outrage, but with so many victims from different parts of the country, the port arthur shooting shocked this small nation of 18 million to its core. >> in politics you either use political capital for a good cause or you watch it waste away, and i felt that i had to use the authority of my office to change things. >> a dramatic reduction in the order of automatic and semiautomatic weapons -- >> howard proposed the toughest gun laws in australia's history. a ban on semiautomatic rifles and pump action shotguns. mandatory gun registration requiring a reason for buying a gun and new rules for storing guns. if they passed, they would represent one of the most dramatic changes to a country's gun laws the world had ever seen. it wasn't going to be easy.

howard was a conservative, and many of his supporters were rural gun owners who were dead set against tighter laws. >> as he traveled the country to sell the plan, howard met plenty of resistance. >> those decisions are not going to be changed. >> wearing a bulletproof vest at one rally. >> it wasn't all that popular. there was a lot of critical outbursts in the media, but was it the right call overall for australia? yes, it was. >> tim fisher was howard's deputy prime minister and a somewhat unlikely ally. a proud gun owner and a veteran of the vietnam war. but he supported howard's efforts wholeheartedly. >> i'm totally opposed to automatics and semiautomatics being in the suburbs of australia or anywhere. >> thanks to howard's broad

coalition, all of australia's states and territories enacted reforms within about two years of the port arthur shooting. to get rid of all of the newly banned guns, the government sponsored a gun buyback program. paying everyone to turn in their illegal guns so they could be destroyed. over 600,000 guns were eliminated, an estimated one-fifth of australia's civilian firearms. after the new measures were passed, some of prime minister howard's right wing allies were voted out of office. but overall, the reforms were popular. >> in a short period of time, they are rising out of a terrible tragedy. we did bring about a change which over the years has demonstrated to have saved lives. >> according to one study, gun suicides fell 65% in the decade that followed. and while the sample size for

gun homicides were small, they still fell 59%. what's more? there hasn't been a single mass shooting in australia since port arthur. still, for the victims of port arthur, painful memories will never be too far away. >> one of the things that affects me the most is if we wake up to the radio in the morning and there's been shootings overseas, particularly america, and that really does make us take a step back sort of thing. >> it's almost like what happens in those events is not that far from this normal life. it is the cancer that's eating away the united states of america. but it is possible to change the way things are. >> australia offers a hopeful example for those who support gun control. the political leadership can make a difference. up next, the remarkable story of a former guerrilla fighter turned big city mayor who reduced gun violence in one of

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this is ciudad boulevard, a shantytown in colombia, an area known for high levels of violence. here and throughout bogota, police take to the streets daily to confiscate guns and other weapons. at this bar, they find this knife. it's all part of an effort to disarm colombia's capital and largest city since general luis

martinez, the head of bogota's metropolitan police. [ speaking a foreign language ] >> translator: bogota has a big grave problem and that is that on weekends as the product of consumption of alcoholic beverages, crime, homicide and personal injuries increase. >> bogota, a city of 8 million people, had over 1,600 murders in 2011 alone. most involved guns. when gustavo petro took office as mayor in 201, he decided to take this on completely. [ speaking a foreign language ] >> translator: in a country they had a president who said for eight years consecutively, arm yourself, self-defend, create a culture of us against them, i propose a totally different thesis. disarm yourselves. let's all disarm ourselves. >> so petro instituted a trial ban on guns in public places.

no weapons allowed on the streets of bogota, not in cars, not in bars. it's a bold proposal in a place where guns form the fabric of daily life. >> in these very unique country of latin america many people prefer this to their own self-security. >> this man, part of an independent think tank that analyzes armed conflicts, points out that the right to bear arms is not enshrined in colombia's constitution. in order to obtain a gun legally here, you need a permit from the military. to get that, you need to prove a genuine reason whether you want the gun for sport, collection, or for personal protection. >> then after demonstrating that, you pass some medical examinations and clinical

examination background checks, and you can get a weapon. restrepo estimates that there are about 1 million guns, legal and illegal, in circulation throughout bogota, and what the ban does is allow cops to confiscate every weapon on the streets. the gun restriction, which began as a three-month trial, was generally supported by the public and was implemented by the military and the police. but mayor petr o's measure of banning weapons in public wasn't without great irony. [ speaking a foreign language ] >> translator: part of the reason for violence in colombia is that we have armed ourselves, the states armed themselves, insurgencies. i was part of the colombian insurgency. >> that's right, the second most important elected official in

colombia and one-time candidate for president used to be a member of the n-19 guerrilla group, an insurgency that once sought political power through armed struggle. >> translator: the war hit us hard. i was imprisoned. they tortured me. the majority of my friends died. >> he spent almost two years in prison. the charge, illegal possession of a firearm. now decades since petro first disarmed, he asked his constituents to do the same. >> it's very notorious for a man that wasn't armed against the state to say, let's get those guns back to the state. those guns need to be in the hands of the security personnel and professionals of security, and we are going also to provide security to the people.

that's the main focus of his mayorship, and he's been quite successful with that. in other areas he is a disaster. but in that area, he is successful. >> indeed, he has been so disastrous in those other areas colombia's inspector general asked for him to be removed from office. he was barred from holding a public office for 15 years. petro can appeal the decision. now the gun ban may be the only positive part of his legacy. and there are numbers to prove it. the weapons restrictions along with better strategic policing have reduced bogota's murder rate by 24% in 2012. according to the mayor's office, this represents a three-decade low for the city. the ban has been extended and will be in place for the

foreseeable future, and petro thinks that the united states could stand to revolutionize its attitude on guns, as well. [ speaking a foreign language ] >> translator: i watch from afar, but it's undoubtable that there is a sickness within the american society with regard to an idolatry to guns, which is part of its history and which is doing it much harm. could it be that bogota can say to colombia and the most violent region in the world which extends close to washington that we can escape violence. >> if that sounds farfetched, consider this. last year, detroit and new orleans had about 54 homicides for every 100,000 people. bogota, colombia, had 17 homicides for the same population, and that has declined since then. up next, a retired united states general who wants to take away soldiers' guns.

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every day in the united states, on average, about a hundred americans die by suicide. more than half of these cases involve firearms. for members of the military, between 2008 and 2010, nearly two-thirds of all suicides involve firearms.

one man says enough. he is a seasoned leader from an organization that literally lives and dies by guns. you're a general, you're an army man. you have spent your life around guns. you are comfortable with them. you know they can be used responsibly. but you also feel that when people are at risk in terms of mental issues, it is very dangerous for them to have access to guns. >> it is very dangerous for them to have access to guns. i believe that. >> general chiarelli took over in 2008. the suicide rate hm doubled in 2001. >> this is an area we have to attack. >> he was tasked with battling the epidemic. >> as soon as they go, drop it. >> i would be very, very careful in not underestimating the impact of 13 years of war on an all-volunteer force.

i think we were seeing in the suicide numbers some of the effect of repeated deployments and high stress and trauma. [ playing "taps" ] >> to better understand the issue, chiarelli was briefed on the details of every single suicide that occurred during the four years that he was the army's number two officer. in 2010, a eureka moment. >> i do want to express our thoughts and condolences -- >> admiral michael mullen, then chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, had sent an article from a medical journal to the pentagon's top brass. >> it showed how this particular medical organization working with a really high-risk population of people who could commit suicide had lowered their suicide rate to zero for a three-year period solely by recommending to people who were in crisis to separate themselves from their privately owned

weapons. that was striking to me. >> but when he tried to institute it in the army, pentagon lawyers told him it was a no-go. >> our freedom is under attack like never before. >> the nra, they said, would block him, and that's exactly what the gun advocacy group tried to do. the nra got congress to include a provision that barred military commanders from even collecting information about a troop's personal weapon. was that frustrating? >> it is frustrating when you working with an at-risk population. the reason why it is so frustrating is that this science is so inexact. we need to have the ability to recommend to that individual that they separate themselves from that personal weapon. and that's what's frustrating about it. >> frustrating also to a dozen senior retired generals and admirals who joined chiarelli in lobbying congress to amend the law. they argued it was directly prohibiting conversations that are needed to save lives.

shouldn't you be able to order a soldier to do this. given how compelling that research was? >> well, the fact of the matter is, as far as congress was willing to go, is we can make the recommendation. we can't confiscate. we can't force. >> it may not be the law chiarelli wanted, but the national defense organization act now allows military leaders to ask troops about private firearms if they believe members are at risk of harming themselves or others. >> i think we're on a journey. i think it was a huge win for us to get that out of legislation so commanders can now ask that question. >> just look at israel. in 2006, the israeli defense forces tackled the rising suicides among their troops. they forbid soldiers from bringing their weapons home on weekends. on weekends, the suicide rate dropped by 40%. the weekday rate remained flat. >> it is hugely powerful. you don't have to just look at israel.

there's just so many studies. >> what do you say to those who say, well, there is the second amendment, and that's why you can't go much further with your efforts? >> i don't buy that. i don't believe the second amendment was put in place to take a person who is at high risk for hurting themselves and put in their hands a weapon that, in an impulsive moment, at a time when they're not thinking straight, they can end their life. >> last year, a record 350 soldiers killed themselves. that's more than died on the battlefield. and it's not just a problem for the armed forces. more than 38,000 americans kill themselves in 2010 using guns and other methods. that's more than double the number that died in homicides, according to the cdc. over the last decade, suicides among middle-aged americans increased by a staggering 28%. >> when i started to oversee the army's suicide prevention

efforts -- >> retired general peter chiarelli thinks mental health professionals should also be able to do what the army has started to do. >> i think we should look at that nationally. individuals that provide behavior health counseling to people who are at risk, that they make that recommendation to their patients. >> that they separate -- >> that they separate themselves from their guns. i am not a doctor, but i've read enough evidence along these lines to indicate that would truly be a best practice that we should adopt. >> a study by the harvard school of public health shows that suicide rates were higher in states with lots of guns, states like wyoming where about 60% of house holds report owning guns. the 15 states with the highest levels of household firearm ownership had a popular of about 39 million people.

that's roughly the same population as the six states with the lowest rates of gun ownership, which had 40 million people and yet during those years, 3.78 times as many people committed suicide with a firearm in the 15 high gun states compared with the six low gun states. again, that's comparing two populations of roughly the same size. another study just released shows that reducing gun ownership by 10% in all states would result in between 1,640 and 2,960 fewer deaths by suicide each year. suicide is a complex problem, but one thing seems clear, certainly to retired general peter chiarelli. >> we need to quit pointing the finger at the services and look at this huge national problem. are we putting the resources we need against the research necessary to understand this and to study it.

when 38,000 of our citizens take their own lives every single year, this is a national problem that we need to attack, and we can. >> the good news is that active duty military suicides were down 22% this year. that's still meant 245 soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines had killed themselves by the end of october. that's 245 too many. the reasons are complicated. increased awareness and vigilance likely play a role, but also the shrinking of the u.s. military. as it draws down in afghanistan, as it deals with the sequester, many active duty are turning into veterans, and there the numbers are not very promising. the most recent statistics show that 1 out of every 5 people who kill themselves in america is a military veteran. that's 8,000 people every year. up next, what to make of all these lessons from all over the

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we've gone all over the world in search of solutions. ways to bring down the epidemic of gun violence that afflicts

america. we saw many interesting ideas that work. all of them centering around some simple commonsense ideas that will put some checks on the unfettered sale and possession of firearms. what we did not find was a large-stale nationwide example when expanded attention to mental health issues could be tied to a reduction in homicides or suicides using guns. this might surprise you. every time there is a serious gun massacre in the united states and alas these are fairly common the media focuses on the twisted psychology of the shooter and asks why we don't pay more attention to detecting and treating mental illness. >> when i started to oversee the army's suicide prevention efforts -- >> but as people like general peter chiarelli told me and tasked by the armed forces to look into, while you can identify mental issues and be aware of reasons for stress it

is ultimately impossible to predict who among the many under pressure will snap, when that might be and what form that break will take. the question we should really be focused on is not the specific cause of a single shooting, but why there are so many of them in america. to remind you in recent years there have been around 10,000 gun homicides a year in the united states. according to the u.n. in germany and canada, there were fewer than 200. in spain, fewer than 100. in australia, fewer than 50. america's per capital gun homicide rate in 2009 was 12 times higher than the average of canada, germany, australia and spain. does anyone think that we have 12 times as many psychologically troubled people as they do in these countries? there are other reasons often given for gun violence. popular culture and violent video games in particular. but as this survey across the

world should have shown, countries that imbibe much the same gory culture in european and australia have much lower levels of violence. japan with its particular fascination with violent video games is actually stunningly low in gun deaths. >> say hello to my little friend. >> so whatever you think of violent video games and movies, they don't seem to be the key cause of gun violence. and we do have an actual experiment. >> the dramatic reduction -- >> in the aftermath of its own newtown massacre, australia changed its gun laws much the result, homicides and suicided plummeted in the decade that will toed. of course, like all real world problems, the link between guns and violence is a complex issue, but one rarely has so much evidence pointing in the same direction. that finally leaves the issue of the american constitution.

the argument that the second amendment makes any kind of serious gun control impossible. i'm not a legal historian but i will note that many serious ones have pointed out that the second amendment was not invoked for much of american history, often applied only to well-regulated militias and for many decades did not stand in the way of sensible gun regulation and that the supreme court upheld such regulation. all that started to change in the 1970s and '80s as part of a spirited political movement to make gun rights invie laable. i'm not a lawyer but listen to someone who was, war enberger, a conservative republican appointed by richard nixon. here's what he said about the second amendment. >> this has been the subject of one of the greatest pieces of fraud, i repeat the word "fraud" on the american public by

special interest groups that i have ever seen in my lifetime. now just look at those words, there are only three lines to that amendment. well regulated militia, if the militia which was going to be the state army was going to be well regulated why shouldn't 16 and 17 and 18 or any other age persons be regulated in the use of arms. someone asked me recently if i was for or against a bill that was pending in the congress calling for five days' waiting period and i said, yes, i'm very much against it. it should be 30 days' waiting period. >> but let's get away from the legal issues. here's how i think about it basically. one of the most important tasks for a government is to keep its citizens, especially its children, safe on the streets and in their schools. every other developed country in the world is able to fulfill this basic mandate. america is not. and the greatest tragedy is that we know how to do it.

tune in to our regular show every sunday at 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. eastern. good night and thanks for watching this gps special. hello, i'm martin savidge. news newstopping our stories. a huge snowstorm dumps up to 16 inches of snow from kansas to maine. that's creating dangerous conditions on roads and a real headache for thousands of stranded air travelers. outrage across the country over a wealthy teen's slap on the risk sentence for a deadly dui accident. our legal experts weigh in on the legitimacy of the affluenza defense. and pope francis, he's "time" magazine's person of the year but he's