of gun-control but concerns about trying to make constitutional doctrine based on a misreading of the role in the american constitution. the original intent is obviously important by one of the factors we have decided how to read the constitution and governors also those -- as always been the way in the way we read these provisions that might concerned with that heller regime is to use the degree it says if something is traditionally an awful lot must be lawful now but what if it was brand new? they had muskets then they don't have them now and i want to make sure that's pushing this off to court to to apply the constitutional test does not choke off that

innovation that could solve some of these issues i just saw a statistic last week that is striking this will be more people killed by guns this year and buy cars. at what level that is a lot of people with the terrifying statistic a lot of that is suicide but that is a lot of people obviously but what about cars? that used to killed many more people but they made them safer they did not confiscate the cars or take away people's right to travel or drive they changed the drinking age your required air bags or seat belts in all the ways that overtime with a lot of controversy cars were made safer and there are all kinds of ways to make guns save for less likely to be

used by the wrong people whereby children or in the wrong hands or by somebody who was not a law-abiding citizen. one of the examples is the micro stamping is what marks the bullet as it leaves the gun to be traced back to the owner. that will get litigated and i wish to that the debate was says reasonable as the one that we have here so the old did carry movement runs around right now with long guns and military weapons going to fast food restaurants videotaping themselves. the nra website to announce this said it was weird and counterproductive now they just apologized for having said that an appropriate -- appropriate -- reprimanded that individual so now there

is more out there than we might hope. >> this has been a civil debate i will give you the last word all the you disagree vigorously you have to agree to reasonable regulations with that second amendment maybe not the details even with thurgood marshall. [laughter] >> he should take the victory map -- the victory lap. >> will the future come from the corridor public opinion? you expect more significant litigation like micro targeting. >> it will be with congress

and also in those forums just like all basic rights that the bill of rights and not in democracy they continue to innovate but it is meant to limit that to make sure even though politicians have ways to violate the rights it has to be honored in the second amendment is one of those principles the laws the impact the way it has ben understood will be struck down just as it impacts the way they have been found in congruent to be struck down it is of future we will limit the ability of the government to restrict our rights it is a free country and article five allows for the amended constitution justice stevens wrote his recent book he proposed rewriting the second amendment to make a look

like more of what he hoped the injustice stevens has a first amendment rights to speak as much as he wants about that and spend electing people with that point of view but at the end of the debris have to honor the text as it has written we can change if we don't like it but this is what we have. >> i told jail my goal was to bring best minds on all sides to the constitution center to let you make up your own mind it has been an honor to see the scholars. please join me to thank them [applause]

>> host: i am michael neufeld a curator at the air and space pusey and talking to jay barbree author of "neil armstrong" a life of flight" a biography of neil armstrong. i am a familiar with the boys on the radio and it is nice to talk to you today. what made you write this book? >> we talked about it for about 20 years we were pretty close friends for half the century and

moonshot did well in the deere times best-seller list and he did the introduction of that he did not want a biography but a story of his life of late and felts anything he did or any other astronauts could do especially jim will floor he wanted them to get equal credit he never thought of himself being special but when he passed away we already had one chapter out i decided to go ahead to do it because people looked at me and suddenly they made sense i've looked around and all the people from apollo are gone and we have to realize over half the people on the plan that were not even here.

eddie won less than 45 years old so low they said to me if you don't choose since you will? we need his story sewed jim asked it to be his legacy so we did our best to get it done for the history we had a heavy sales of that is great trying to get the story for history and hopefully we have taken a shot at it and we have done good hopefully. >> there was earlier biography first man. >> that is his official biography. but this is not a biography it is a real creation of his story on direct observation generally referred to.

that is what it is. i hate to biographies i don't want to do those. >> host: the you have done to of those already on the other one was moonshot. >> in terms of values started the book because the new campbell longtime? >> i've met him 1962 when he skated with jeff and i nine but he lost a young girl and she died of a brain tumor at the age of two and it was really difficult for deal. i've lost a young son and one morning he came to cocoa beach 1964 i was talking and

he looked at me and said he shot your dog? i said i had the tragedy and we got to talking about it. most people did not know even had a daughter but now it is named after neil armstrong research center now. anyway we got to the point we were trusted friends i was not his best friend i dunno who his best friend was that we were friends and trusted friends and work together when the challenger blew up he was called to be the vice chairman to do the investigation i am working on this story to days later

in the first person that called me what is neil. what it did you know, that you did not tell brokaw? i told him everything but a couple times he said we would get started on the of book even though we did other stories together so we talked about doing this all along but then if somebody had to do it then i wanted to take a whack at it so hopefully it turns out okay. >> host: tell me about the background of you reading can because you were a correspondent a reporter for nbc. >> when i met him he was part of jeb 99 with the press our impression is he

was so wet blanket he did not say much not outgoing so i know you and we talk but there was nothing special about him is, until that morning when we talked about losing two children then it hit. >> with like to give the viewer a background. >> guest: i started nbc news july 21st, 1958 and i was covering though launches since april. i was a veteran when shepard flew. i did not set out to do but i wound up covering every fly by american astronauts and thereé-dsáal were 166. i was fortunate enough if they look at the inside

cover rare you could see where deal made the step of the moon you could see him stepping off but by then i knew him pretty well and he told me some things and confidence that are not in that book even though he is passed on i will not break that confidence and because we had a working agreement of a porter generally if i say to you and we talk and the discussion is not off the record then everything is open but with a neil you had the friendship to protect we worked so many thingsç together so first i would say i want to use this if he would say go-ahead. we never had a situation when that didn't take place and he told me things that i cannot talk about even today but i was lucky that and i

got a lot of records behind the scenes and when he was investigating the challenger accident, he and i talk to another couple of times a week and updated him and nobody knew that and we worked together but nbc decided to give me a dinner after being there 50 years you cannot invite anybody then they said you can invite to three astronauts. i invited kneale and john glenn. they went through a jungle training together and that is where their friendship started. alan shepard was dead so i could not invite him so i invited edgar mitchell and all three came for i was

lucky because kneale did not go anywhere but he came down an earlier they asked me to come up to cleveland. they had all 19 astronauts when we just had a great time. and there is a picture in the beginning sitting at the table laughing and john glenn was up there doing standup comedy. [laughter] that was the way things went. but i never did anything on the air until he said go. >> host: new established that early on at least after 64 but before that time he was just part of the nine and was just anonymous and

he was shy? but very reserved and private. >> a very private person and would take everything out if you're asking a question he would think it through before he answered to make sure he did not give you an answer he would have to change later but called the quickest pilots that ever lived 20 was falling but the slowest to answer. [laughter] >> so you know, that mercury astronauts very well? >> because it in those days that is to humans to. >> was there a bomb big endeavor to integrate all nine guys into is a proud group?

>> we have a great chapter that involves kneale and stafford in they were standoff. so what you need to do is throw a dinner for them. black-tie. and show respect. he said i will put it together. the first words that came out of his malice is who will pay for this? the hotel will because tom went to the naval academy on scholarship and to even though he was the three-star general afterwards his mother had to borrow the money to buy the bus ticket

to annapolis in he was very tight with money and one of the jokes was the last time he picked up a check he was hitchhiking. [laughter] but they got together and brought in the guys with the black-tie and when they sat down for dinner it was suppose to be fried deal with potatoes but it was fried cardboard. [laughter] and the potato and the salad was sitting in the sun all day. >> with that culture.

>> but the pilots always did that. >> the practical jokes were important of which just reading about that the another day are you a turtle? you had to give us certain answer for you had to by everybody as a drink in a matter of the priest was there or not. >> host: why was he chosen as one of the nine? >> he was tough fighter pilot of the korean war and had gone and on the program that i forget the name of an admiral and all in he got a scholarship to wit and it was part of the naval rotc

program it is in the book. he was supposed to spend two years at her douzaine to go for a year's trading then come back the second two years then get his wings. after he was there two years the navy needed pilots so they sent them to flight training in pensacola and kept them out for the navy. he actually went over as of fighter pilot midshipman he did not have his bars but his wings he actually flew in a combat as the midshipmen. he was there to with three months before he got his ensign bar. he was born august 5 solely

he was that much over his 21st birthday and they went to knock out those bridges and when they went down for a the second pass he released the last bomb bell lived good and carpenter was the division lead and as he came up about 500 feet off the ground here was the anti-aircraft people and check off half of his right weighing and he had to fight to to keep it going and he went 350 daunts or 20 feet off the ground and he said you don't wanna do is 350 knots 20 feet off the ground to but he could not

land on the carrier he could not slow without rolling. so carpenters' stayed with him and nursed it back so with all the lucky was picked up by his buddies so when the navy put out the story that he hits a guide wire it took 3 feet of the and then the stars andcu @&c @&t

night i brought this up and then 3 feet now is 68 feet. he said it was the anti-aircraft and then talking about that and a few other things that we did not know about because we closed the bar together. he said i would like to have the fax no known that. i said with this book we have been talking about talk about the opening chapter not your whole life but the life of light. that would be the perfect opening chapters rice sat down and wrote it and e-mail the he checked it and liked it and i said that is the

opening chapter but i could never bring him to the computer. he could never brag on himself. he finally looked at me and said you covered every mission in he says go-ahead. do with it on your own. you are a pilot i said i could not carry your lunch box. but then he passed an unexpectedly. >> host: i have to bring this up by her the family was upset with the initial advertising it was the authorized biography? >> guest: no, no, no no. you are familiar with the galley.

is the rough addition of the book to pick up the mistakes. i wrote nothing for the jacket of the book but you have publishers is new york that right the most grandiose things that they can think of that i was his best friend the authorized autobiography. and immediately i wrote as the attorney for the trust and his estate also the widow's attorney. i explained all of that. then for a very private

people and one reason i don't do a biography is any person has experience can these people are my heroes teaching me what i know and never do a biography. the family will drive you nuts and takeover every line. don't do with. nobody in his family did. i had a courtesy i sent to carol the first three chapters that they could locale and it was never a biography from the beginning. i offer you can have any parts of the book you wish. and the same thing to bark and they said they did not

want to. i don't know if they really thought if i had as good chance to have a substantial publisher. but i have sent them everything and then the question and they have asked and mark sent me an e-mail saying he resented one line that i said three talked about this 20 years and i said we can change that but i can go back. 1982 your father wrote moonshot the introduction it was paid for by michael reagan and he was part of that and he was going to be on the whole book but at the time he was going th>=qt.ñmñ a divorce and he just didn't want to do it i said at least to the introduction.

but we all met in atlantañr. then free talked about the other book we offered to others so if you look at everything plus the story's over the course of 20 years years, there is a 28 year run of defense we were talking about it. there are people living better witnesses and i have stacks of emails that i still have our conversation between kneale and i. no question but it isn't necessary if you don't like it. >> host: it is not on the jacket flap copy. >> is on the bottom of one of them but we would take that off. >> host: interesting you don't think of it as a

biography but it seems to be biographical but you made that choice just to do one story then move on instead of through boyhood. >> host. >> guest: but i was not interested in his uncle because i could care less we wanted to do his flight. he was so extraordinary i hope the we have done the repertoire irish is a real creation of the events based on direct observation of which i was there for all of it and i talked to deal for all of it with documentation. that is the representative for draw -- the of the appetizers. but then he went out in cold

blood as -- he went out there and interview the people plus got to know the two killers and was with them throughout the whole process before they were hanged. so that was his own that's so i love it "to kill a mockingbird" that is based on heard life and chairman is in there. >> they were childhood friends. and another example is tennessee williams says streetcar named desire so it is a technique and what you do to recreate something you are a witness with. >> host: you are comfortable writing dialogue

your conversations? i am more cautious about writing a conversation bayou see that more as a recreation? >> guest: ibm and i was there and most of the dialogue with neil i tried to get absolutely correct. ian there is as you know, a transcriptppj every word spoken by him on the apollo 11 mission. now to put a caveat on here there is back channels where they talk to flight directors. but he also told me this directñr the stuff that i have in there and i was quoted as closely as i can get to say

that he told me this or that and conversations about being the commander of apollo 11. i have those i have the transcripts and we talked about it. for example,, when they were going out with apollo all three members sought a flashing light and it appears like it was following them. it would go away and come back. so deal thought it was something manmade. he did not think it was aliens or anything silly but buzzing and mike got carried away but when they got back into the quarantine in houston, a neil called me and said you got anything?

i said yes. get was a very sensitive to spy satellite of a national asset them had pulled over and died but it was still tumbling in page -- but it was tumbling and of the sun was right you would get the flash i knew exactly what it was. and he told them get off of it. we sound like hollywood trying to make the avian movie. >> host: to fuel that ufo conspiracy theory from those astronauts in there are too many already. but after korea is the next torrey about here is an

experienced. >> when he finished his engineering degree at purdue when he got out he wanted to go to lou the predecessor to nasa because that was the civilian agency doing exploration and flight and he wanted to be the research test pilot at edwards. they liked his record in his dry but they did not have an opening at edwards so they had won in cleveland. survey guide neil to apply it to go up there all he had was a good tool be 51. >> is the d.c. three. >> as soon as that happened

he goes out to veterans and flew everything out there he flew the co-pilot he did everything he was supposed to and it came down standing in the next 15 flights but that was a rocket and could take you to the edge of space the highest he ever threw went was 37 nautical miles because he skipped off the top of the atmosphere and came back when he came back he was supposed to be into position and he was 100,000 feet. and then taking bets and

that was right after his little girl's death than maybe that might have affected him but he had control of what he was doing. then because chris who was the chief flight director was with neil help there before nasa. said they knew the old and they all thought he was the step above the air force and the navy. i did to. said they really wanted him. they were disappointed he did not apply for mercury but he thinks his next promotion he had every reason to believe he is next the next to us by the.

to think i am going to space and he was glad to see it. >> host: eisenhower actually specified military test pilots item '03 was given the opportunity to apply. >> guest: i don't know if he could not be but they did so much stuff behind the scenes to cut through that. the reason alan shepard and the first in space is because kennedy was davey that is the type of stuff and in debt is one of the

reasons jird far away from the president he did not hate them but preferred not to talk to them. there was so much going on in and he were is building a reputation and he and the guys thought that the 29 back there. and they wanted him. and they were so glad to see that he applied and left the x15 program and went to nasa next door neighbor with ed white the first to walk in space in dieted down the fire. >> host: not was a strong group and other astronauts said they thought the nine was the strongest group may be even mercury.

>> guest: yes. they were better qualified. you are absolutely right. better qualified. plus they were in position to do apollo. just like colophon. and neil was considered kreme at the top for the guys who were in charge. when his turn came to fly coming he lost to jump in i at not only flew the first docking in space but then he flew the first emergency return from space. the way he had to handle that because he was on the other side of earth out of contact with mission control. this is why we talked so often'' she will -- we

should be doing in space today is fly out in increments we have not been out of orbit in 42 years we have commercial space which is great but this is like eastern airlines and twa not doing anything different than we have not been doing. you have to get out and explore in anchorman's. of the biggest problem is to deal with the irradiation because once you're out of the of protection we have to learn how to deal with it. we don't know how to go to mars. it is that simple and if we did with that radiation david the idiots when they got there. you have to come up with something that protects you in increments. neal said doing in threes.

don't get any farther away from the three seconds of communication and three days to get back to earth. when you can live in space past the moon or to other points when you can live out there and fly absolute you say if and that should be in its budget every the nba talks about google but that is fine. but what they're doing has been done for years. if they do commercial putting up satellites but to

build on the stockpile of knowledge to build on that we have to explore and go beyond what we already know and beyond space stations. kneeled wanted to be a program to do that. >> host: so i do want you to tell the viewers about jim and i aid to. they know apollo 11 but it tell them that story because it was dramatic jeb and i was of bridge between mercury and apollo so with mercury they just put it into orbit then it had control jets to position in gemini they could fire a larger thruster rocket

then they could run the video -- rendezvoused but they had as a couple of things bin they lost the target rockets. so flying with dave scott and then practicedç in this but he worked every way to catch the target and dock with it. it came off like clockwork to have the sleep period and a lot of contact with mission control on the other side of earth then this

spacecraft star is spending. have first dave thinks his control is off but his gyro was showing the maddow bank so they started to fight a land immediately suspected a fault. then it got to the point it was almost like 400 revolutions a minute and almost ready to pass out so deal had to make the decision to get off of that they would pass out and they were dead so he made it and in order to get enough rocket power to get off of that spending agina he had to fire a section of his return rockets for reentry. he fired the a bank to get

under control but as soon as they unstalked they thought that is it they started to spin again. then he realized it was gemini eight. then they found the culprit and thus thruster number eight. they had to leave that to get under control to let it bleed itself of its fuel but then the rules call for them to land on the next opportunity. that was in the middle of the pacific 400 miles off of okinawa coming in over china by themselves. which they did because they got to a tracking station to talk to mission control a

couple of times. but they were set up then they lost them not intel the plane was over them. >> host: when you were sitting in mission control as a reporter you did not know what happened and after retrofire? >> no one did. with the tracking plane got close enough it picked up the signal from deal and he said everything was well on board and we were happy with that. >> they had tot flow to in the ocean for a couple of hours. >> host: a dramatic mission to be terminated and cut short. >> guest: and the decision was made strictly by the astronauts on board because they did not have that much contact with mission control

and criticized by the second gasser's but when kurtis and bob they thought neil just had trouble but as soon as they found out they had a stock ( fester they said we would have done the same staying we would not have done anything different. they were very impressed then he started to train this lunar lander vehicle a lot did not want to fly yet because it was so tough he said i don't want to learn to land on the moon 200 feet above the surface. >> and first of all, they

tried to simulate they had a big turbofan rocket and when they got ready to simulate the landing with the rocket engine with the gravity they still had the wind factor and flying under one sixth of the gravity with the same thrusters and i forget which number about one day he was out there the wind was too tough he did it anyway and

he lost all control of everything but we did nail that down and it never had been an end to those that have the transcript never before had that been found to an end to the edges of split-second off the ground he would have been killed? no. 2.eight seconds almost three seconds but that is close but when i rolled over with a control he knew that he had to reject -- eject and saved everything but his ability to react under circumstances was another

feather in his cap to be the first to land on the moon. chris and robert wood didn't want him to practice any more than he insisted that they should and when he landed the eagle on demand he had 61 flights and he told me it was easier landing eagle on the moon the hon flying in the trainer. on the practice and research paid off because when they came down it turned off the original target was a crater the size of date football field so he had to fly over the surface of the moon running at of gas and then spotting him below 50 feet he calculated

if he had a global low of 50 feet if he ran out of gas with one sixth gravity it would settle them and not destroy itself hopefully have the right position so he was not that concerned but when he did touchdown the best calculations he had 16 seconds of fuel left. >> get was a closely in doing. >> why was he chosen as said commander again? his first assignment was backup commander he never had to be second commander. you have given some of the reasons and crests and bob to work to them earlier they

had more confidence and with a lot of the speculation going on in it had nothing to do with it. and to handle and it more from neil and one thing about it is that i want you to know that if you have to abort you will get another chance to land on the moon. item when you take chances to land because you think it is purely only chance and he made the promise leader to the and others to be smart enough to know after he landed on the move that was it he would not get another shot because that is what

kennedy did to john glenn after he first -- flew the first flight is now he is a national hero you don't risk his life and glenn and kennedy became good friends. >> host: obviously a great skill to be picked to be commander also some lucky that they wind up in order. >> guest: that's right. and when then lined it up in the first landing they talked about it during the apollo eight. with mission control. >> with the backup commander so they talked about at

asking about the crow they're not beer drinking buddies he said was not looking for buddies to drink beer but the four best there i thought nobody out there handling that command module and with the buses ph.d. he made this finance boys happy. another with a lot of speculation that does aldrin was so mad he was not the first on the moon and did not take one picture of neil armstrong on the moon. so i asked a neil and he said what the hell of a talking about? i had the camera and buzz had to put up the experiment. i gave does the camera before he had to get back on

board and he took one of the loading of rock. that is the picture on the cover him loading rocks taken by buzz aldrin. but it never occurred to them the press did not know better. that is the way it was. >> host: i thought it does have a chest mounted camera? >> neil had it but he passed it to him. he had to take it off and then does gave it back. no later on i thank you are correct i have to check but later they both had cameras because of the moon walk in some of them did that twice. >> host: there has been a

lot of discussion if above is resented being displaced and deal with dow first? but neil did not think there was much to this? >> no. . .