have specialized in the demonstration were thousands congregate someplace. no one knows where they are going and what they are going to do. they disrupt the flow of traffic when the police block them, they flow into other directions. sometimes two or three different groups are flowing out in different places than they rejoin later. if it is done properly you hope that no one gets arrested. you had a successful action in some ways so those are two different ways of thinking about it. generally speaking most of the direct actions we will hear about will probably be open and public but that is not inevitably the case. talking before the meeting began about the break-in at the fbi office in pennsylvania in 1971 where some people broke into the fbi office , backed up the truck, stall the files that were in the fbi office and went through them and released all the political files

which was a lot of files. those people were never caught. they told their story to the media long after the event was over and the statute of limitations had expired but the aim there was not to do it as a public action, not to wait around to be caught. the aim was to do it without income but it was definitely a form of direct action. our fivern it over to terrific panelists and we will take them as it happens in the order that is on this sheet and that is also the order that we are sitting up here the table. weif you do not have a sheet will pass out copies. i will say the name of the person who is doing it because the sheet has more information that i could do without taking up a lot of time. keelert speaker is randy . is good to be with you

for this very important discussion. i do not know exactly what direct action is. i do not know if there is a correct definition. if there is, i do not know it. i have rarely studied any theories of direct action. done what i just have made sense to me in the face of certain circumstances. that made sense to me strategically and ethically. ifhink mostly defined, direct action may be loosely defined, i spent most of my adult life engaged in direct action. some of that is in the program you have, i will try not to repeat. many of us who when we first get involved in direct action of any and anhere is a moment issue that gets us involved. for me, the moment was 1966 by

was 22 years old, and the issue was the u.s. war on vietnam. went gradually but steadily , peaceful protest to out resistance and noncooperation in a very public way. turning in my draft card and finally getting arrested by the fbi in a brutal incident and spending 22 months in federal prison as a result. years, i found that organizing was something that i like to do and i could do and seemed to helpful thing to do. it was not just an active participant in direct action but i spend more time organizing whether it was trying to stop 20

from beinger plants built on the montague claims north of here or stopping the construction which we did not succeed in doing of the seabrook nuclear power plant in new hampshire in the late 1970's. a number of things like that. mylso started early with wife betsy corner to feel that war was so horrendous in our minds in so many ways whether it is creating poverty and abuse, not to mention the killing of the war itself and destruction of land and the environment, so many ways that we not only -- i did not want to give my body to the war, did not want to give my tax money to the war. betsy and i have been more tax resisters ever since 1976 and as a result have had bank accounts

levied andour wages 1991, i think, seized and sold out from under us. a number of you here were involved in that. we had hundreds of supporters which was an amazing thing. most of the 1980's and 1990's i spend is organizing -- in nationalg two major campaigns, one for nuclear disarmament and the other for the abolition of privately financed big-money election campaigns. after a few years of respite, trying to recuperate from my exertions, i got involved in trying to stop the vermont yankee nuclear power plant which is north of here in vermont which has been stopped. [applause]

>> other people here have been very much involved in that. and now i am one of many people, again, including a number of people here tonight who is involved in trying to think through what should be the role of direct action and stopping this huge pipeline project that destroy major pieces of through towns all throughout western massachusetts to carry a needed gas that should never have been fracked in the first place to impart foreign markets for the corporation to want to build the pipeline. that is a whole other issue and some people will talk about that in the discussion period. let me share a few observations, conclusions may be, alternative.

about anyll tentative of these activities i have described. direction act -- and direct action is not the same as civil disobedience. civil this obedience is involved -- direct action can be a number of things, not just blocking or stopping things which is the primary activity and i have been involved in lots of those things, but it can also involve the creative arts in all sorts outays, impromptu speaking and hanging banners on buildings and sculptures and street theater and you name it. secondly, direct action so it is a key element in campaigns for social or political change, is rarely, in my estimation, able to pull off fundamental change on its own. ands at best an element

often the key element as part of a wider, broader strategy that involves a kind of other things from neighborhood organizing and theic education, use of media and initiating discussions with elected officials. vanessas dan said and clearly also said, there is a risk in direct action especially when it involves civil this obedience but the risk is undeniably a most always greater for people of color, for women, for working class, poor people, that it is for people like male, who are white, privileged people. that is the way it is and i think that needs to be always recognized. i want to also say that acts of andage, of conscience, passion are contagious. they are contagious.

and when people step out with compassion,science, passion, and in compassion take a risk. it inspires other people. it is contagious and that is key to building a movement. some number of people always end up doing that and it spreads and it inspires. mentionwanted to just some people have told many of us , certainly have told me why do you bother risking arrest or taking time off from work or disrupting family life or any direct action or event when you know it just will not do any good, you know? you cannot fight city hall. who cares, it does not matter, so forth. i want to say that i have heard that many times. noant to say that for me,

active conscience, of courage, of passion can ever be said to be futile. simply because we do not know what ripples grow out from what we do, who hears, who in my own life, i have a rather dramatic story to say, i was in 1969 -- peech just giving a talk -- i was talking about the fact that i had been arrested by the fbi. i was almost certainly on my way to prison. there was a guy in the audience, whose name happen to be daniel, who later revealed to the public i didtop-secret papers --

not he was there, and did not know he would somehow here something i had said which is, what can we do more than we are already doing to risk imprisonment. he said that he knew the top-secret study had to be revealed to the public, showing years and years, if not decades, of lies about the war in vietnam to the public and the press. he faced a potential 115 years in prison. nothing is futile. another personal story i would give is when i was in federal prison, a number of us hotheads, some of the older convicts called us, that we should organize a strike. we were told, this place had not

had a strike in 40 years, no one .ould strike, forget it finally, i went on my own personal strength because i was set up with the conditions. weeks later, we had the first strike in 40 years, and guess who led it -- you got it, the chicanos and the mexicans. who would have thought. you think, maybe this does not work, maybe this sales, but you never know down the road what the ripples are that go out. example iat is the could give. finally, women over others to me is a key feature, and should be a strategic focus of all the actions we do. win when we get enough people, if not joining us, to support us, to force

decision-makers to change things. we have to think, what does what we do affect other people, and will they run for us, or will they join us? finally, open and active nonviolence is also absolutely key. people are afraid of those who use violence, no matter who they are, and their cause. most people are afraid of that. there is a reason, if we are to win over others, not to use violence. also, for me personally, it is both an ethical and a spiritual question. it coincides with my values, and allows me to feel good about the actions i do, and keep on doing it over the long-haul. the last thing is there is something called the law of and

and means. i regard it as a fundamental law of the universe, which is to say, we get not what we want, we get what we do. it is like chickens always come home to roost. what goes around comes around. if we use violence, somewhere, it will trigger counter violence. oft is the sad, sad story our country, and the world. it is one reason why we think about how we do things, and not just what we do. thank you. [applause] >> thank you very much. ky. next speaker is pa

>> i want to know what i think is direct action. sometimes it is walking, sometimes it is just standing. i was talking to one of my sisters and black lies matter -- lives matter, and i said, what do you want from me? she said, i want you to walk with me. with leastthe people privilege are the people we most listen to. when i think about direct theon, i think about actions i participate in. one thing i think of is the sense of community that i have. i could talk to not for 12 minutes -- god, i could talk to you for 12 years about the power of community, but i will not.

we will do something even better than that. my good sisters, the raging grannies are here, and we are going to sing a song. this is one of the things that are community of raging grannies does. we are passing out song sheets for you to sing the song. we are not doing a concert. we are doing one song. we thought, what is the best song to do right now, right here. won the contest is the one about the pipeline that randy just talked about. diane, do you want to hit it? join in. if you are not singing the same notes as your neighbor, don't worry. pete seeger said that is just your own way of doing your harmony. ♪

>> come on, sing loud! >> ♪ no white lies for us ♪ we will keep them all out ♪ we will raise and we will shout ways we makeo many power these days ♪ from the wind and the sun, don't you see. frackingp the

to keep us healthy and whole ♪ we come here to say, no fracking [applause] >> not only was that a nice but, a wonderful rendition, you, in singing with us, become part of the community. i know some of us are already part of the community opposing the pipeline, but anyway we can emphasize our connections in resistance is a

good thing. thanks for singing along. i'm paying attention. do was reallyto spend a little time looking at how i came to this. my own story is that i grew up in new orleans. your grandparents were born in 1943. i was born in new orleans in 1943 in the apartheid south. it was an amazingly horrific time. i did not know it because look at the color of the skin. i was very privileged. i had another dimension of my life. that was with my parents, who were extraordinarily quiet advanced alcoholics.

where did i turn and where did i find support? where i found support was in a church. in nuns and priests, who were strong people, caring people, and provided those seeds of my appreciation of community. not only were they there, caring,g and ca they were aware of the racial injustice that was happening. it was through them that i learned what was happening in the various dimensions of racism that you know about and have heard about, and was actually there when we took the signs down. we were working for integration. we have come some way from that. it was a step.

as i have talked to my other friends, particularly other white southerners, who have also learned about how not only did the people of color suffer, but .e did because we bought a lie it has taken many years to undo those lies. that is just the early seeds. since then, what i have come to is we are in this in a place of confluence, where all of our context matters. it is so important, i think, as i look at some of the students, and not so students, and i realize that each of us is located in where we came from, our own stories.

in knowing those stories, we are informed to participate in this present, where we find ourselves. an extraordinary time. we are talking about the press. once upon a time, when we did activities, actions, i was part of the women's pentagon action. that actually made the washington post. the energyple at commission right, fasting, protesting, and i'm sure you have read all about it. , or we dohave a press not have a press that covers anything of substance. let me tell you a story about something that happened last week.

i was down in washington, and last tuesday, the day after labor day, there was a man speaking at the american , oneprise institute -- aei of our friends dubbed it the american empire incorporated -- anyway, dick cheney, who some of you may remember was giving the talk. god knows what they were paying him. he was giving a talk. one of the young people, a number of friends try to get an, only one person got in, a young intern with code pink, who got onto the front row, and during mr. cheney's speech stood up with a banner that said, arrest war cheney, he is a

criminal. that was pretty amazing. needless to say, there was a man who was upset about this, and started pulling the banner away from her. she did not let it go. finally, he actually felt over, trying to take it away from her. later in the day, and she was out -- sheete escorted got a call from the press, who wanted to know, what was her workout exercise. [laughter] i mean, how irrelevant can you possibly be that that was their question. , why are you here, how did you get in? but, this man not being held accountable by anybody, and this godyear old, young intern --

bless her. that is why we need to keep doing what we are doing. if we do not make the noise, if we do not tell the story, they do not get out. i'm looking around at friends who have radio programs on our local low-power community radio stations, and know that is where you are going to get your news. forget fox. even nbc and abc, you are just not going to get it. these are the pieces of news that we have to keep alive so that students today will know it is not simply a question of what is your exercise regime. that is one of the pieces. the other thing i want to bring up his the issue for me, of what i could call personalism --

get distracted by numbers and statistics. how big is the pipeline, how millimeters.w many i am just not a mathematician. says, this is a really bad thing, and i want you to learn about it, and come and stand with me, i will do that. i had the good fortune recently to be offered that kind of invitation by father roy, the guy who started the school of americas watch. we happen to be at the same house, and he said, by the way, tomorrow, i'm going to the salvadoran embassy because they are doing terrible things to , sending them to jail for 40 years, would you come and protest with me.

it is like with randy, or any of even if jeffere -- said, would you come and do this protest with me, to the state house because i trust you, and livesou -- when black matters says, we are doing something, would you come and be there. i think that is what we are called to do, to be in community, and keep moving, keep shifting things. a lot of us are familiar with the martin luther king jr. quote, "the arc of the universe is long, but it bends towards ?ustice," have you heard that i what you to know the rest of the sentence. ark. a neutral it only bends towards justice

when we put our weight on it. stay awake. , andour weight on the arc bend it towards justice. thank you. [applause] >> one very minor personal footnote before i turn the mic over to karen. my brother and i differ in our politics. the demonstration of that will be the 6'5" guy who tried to pull the banner away from code pink was in fact my brother. [laughter] speaker is karen, nolking about springfield -- one leaves a group that fights for foreclosures. karen: my name is karen, and i am a member of "springfield no

one leaves," an organization that helps people in their housing struggles. tragedies struck my inily when my son was killed an auto accident. four months later, my mother passed away. i spiraled into depression. i used up all of my short-term disability, and borrowed from my life insurance to stay current with my mortgage. exhaustedfter i had all of my disability, i began to on my mortgage. i immediately contacted the bank to work out some kind of arrangement to keep my home.

they refused to work with me in any capacity to keep my home, and told me that my only option was to sell my home. after years of fighting for my home on my own, i found springfield no one leaves. i found that i was not alone, that there were thousands in my city, and i had rights. during my interactions with "springfield no one leaves" i learned many things. particularly how banks target women, and, working-class people, making houses for profit, and not for people. withore involved i became "springfield no one leaves," the more i've found that injustices ,ere happening in my community

and the underlying systems that were allowing this to happen. people were being evicted that had a fear of paying rent, or had recovered from the economic crisis, and could not afford to buy back their homes at the current value. i found the banks having no humility or compassion, and putting children, elderly, and ultimately, families out on the street, making more and more homes vacant in my city, instead of making money by accepting rent or working with families to help them stay in homes, they were ruining our neighborhoods and our community. , one of of this year the families received an eviction from the judge. that family included a two-year-old child, her disabled

grandparents, and her parents. through my education with "springfield no one leaves" i knew this family would not be eligible to go to a shelter, and would be outliving on the streets. eating evicted by a judge is proof that you are homeless. you have to show that you are living in a car, or on the street. i decided that i was not ok with this, and was going to do everything i possibly could to keep the family in their home. i attended an eviction blockade training, facilitated by luke bryan and "springfield no one leaves" to see what role i could lay and keeping this family and their homes. all roles that people could play were laid out on the table, including the practice of civil

disobedience. even though i had never participated in civil disobedience before, i decided then and there that i believed enough and this movement that i was going to block the doors alfredo,comrades -- turner,ose, and chris one of the owners of the home. in our training, we discussed in beingxperience arrested could differ from one another, even though we would all be doing the same exact act of civil disobedience -- locking the doors. we could be treated differently because of the color of our skin, our gender, and other disparities. also made it clear that some of us could be held longer than others, based on the same reasons. i was not shocked by this ,nformation, as a black woman

we are still facing the same disparities we had in the civil rights movement in the 1960's and 1970's, and here we are in the year 2015. being a woman of color, i was now educated completely on the byk that i was taken practicing civil disobedience. i did not care. the thought of seeing a two-year-old baby living on the streets overrode any fear or doubt that could possibly cloud my mind. the thought of another vacant home and family pushed out on the street, and made homeless, cap me from being scared or nervous. i was ready. the first eviction blockade in to a was called off due technical error by the bank, that was cut by the judge -- caught by the judge. in april, the bank again serve

the family with a notice of a fiction. after thousands of phone calls, the bank again called off the addiction. finally, in may, the family was again served with another notice of eviction. negotiate calls to with the bank, another alternative to the scheduled a fiction, the family was told alternative, and they would follow through with the scheduled a fiction. the morning of the blockade, i woke up, and was angry and motivated to do what i felt was right to keep the family in their home. i knew that i had been properly trained and made aware of what i could possibly be facing that day. i did not care that i was at a higher risk because i was a black woman. i did not care about the conditions i would face in the jail cell once i was process.

was consumed with making sure the family was not rendered homeless. we gathered at the home as the eviction was scheduled for 9:00 that morning. around 8:30, the banks attorney cap driving back and forth along the streets, and taking pictures with a cell phone of the protesters who had gathered that were quietly talking with one another, and enjoying coffee. up8:50, the sheriff showed at the home, handed the family a notice, and probably left the premises. the family met with the "springfield no one leaves" familyers and handed the the notice.

that thehad filed them atwas putting risk. they were unable to carry out a fiction of the family. the family was to appear at a court hearing scheduled at 2:00 that afternoon to respond to the allegations made. the family, and some "springfield no one leaves" members and organizers organized against this notion.

that day we were successful in keeping another family in their home. we kept another child housed with the roof over her head. we successfully kept an elderly, disabled couple from being pushed out into the street. we won the battle that day. the war against the bank is ongoing, and will continue until it is recognized that housing should not be for profit. housing is a human right. [applause] >> our last speaker is rose webster smith also from " springfield no one leaves." ofe: i have been a member

"brings up no one leaves" sense freddie mac foreclosed on my home. i am still in my home. i am still fighting to keep my home. i will continue to fight, even when a judge tells me to leave. [applause] nowugh my journey, i have become a community organizer with "springfield no one leaves," and i am on staff. i believe in this movement so much. 68,000 families have lost their home. 60,000 families -- families are not eligible because massachusetts law says you are not eligible for shelter. we have thousands of families that are out on the street which, we believe is not correct. 1300 figure homes.

there is no reason for anyone to be homeless. some of my direct action that i participated in is i have been part of a national coalition that is made up of fannie mae and freddie mac fighters. we have been pushing really hard to get policy changed. 60% are backed or owned by fannie mae or freddie mac, and overseen by the federal housing financing agency, which is overseen by the federal government. there are three demands we want them to do. one is principal reduction. we have millions of families, due to the housing

bubble that will never have equity on their home. they will never have retirement. we believe the banks should reduce the principal to the current market value. we also believe that you should be allowed to rent after foreclosure. why make another home vacant and make your neighbors property value decrease if you can pay to stay in the house? the banks have a practice to make sure we continue to feel shamed. another way of doing that is addicting the family from the home forcibly. i have participated in civil disobedience in washington, d.c. where we shut down washington avenue in front of the fannie mae offices. from there, we moved and drove

to for genia to the freddie mac offices and protested out there. from there, we drove to maryland to the then head of the hsa, and we held a protest and a pizza party in front of his home, ofling for the firing someone because he was unwilling to work with the people. actions, of our direct we have gotten significant policy changes. mac usede and freddie to have an arms length deal which meant that i was not able to buy back my home. if you were going to come and buy my home, you had to sign a deal that you would not rent to family, have in my no contact with me, and that was

the only way you would be able to sign and close on the home. 2014, we haver gotten that policy changed. now, i am in the process of buying back my home. [applause] gotten that as hsa fund a trust for housing. push is that they implement the use of it, and not in a bank. sit

if they moved to sell it to an investor, they have to accept the rents, and no fall exist you. passedspringfield, also the strongest ordinance in the state, which included mandatory mediation. when mandatory mediation was 90%emented, it has a success rate that the homeowner and the bank will work out a deal to state in the home. along with that, if the bank refuses to mediate with the family, they will be charged with a $300 fine up to 105 days during the process. sustainable income. it also requires the bank to put down a bond on any home they were to foreclose on because if that home becomes vacant, the

upkeep of the property is taken off of the city and the taxpayers. us.ks, of course, sued we are again in boston, pushing clarifyll looking to .unicipal authority a little bit about -- i am a mother of two young children. very carefulvery, if i want to be an active participant in my children 's education because if i do not have a clean record, i will not be able to chaperone my

children's activities. i am always in my kids' schools doing participation -- presentations on real native culture. not i risk arrest, i risk her to stay in my child's education the way i always have. it is a risk i believe in, as much as i believe in participating in my child's education, i believe that everyone has the right to education in this country, and i believe that it is a human right. it should not be for profit. [applause]

>> thank you very much. we have had some terrific presentations. questions,time for and so on. i think it is best if people , andy line up at the mic are prepared to ask questions or make comments. do not be shy. if you could begin by giving your name. >> my name is mary. the terms that have been used, that i would like clarified, -- there are just a few terms. i really enjoyed the presentations. there are just a few terms that i would like clarified. i'm not sure everybody here --

aould you clarify what it whory is and -- fannie mae andnni freddie mac are? >> hold onto that thought. next? >> my direct action is mainly limited to talking. i do remember -- >> state your name. >> my name is stan. i do remember, in the 1980's, there was a movement against apartheid in south africa. it is hard to visualize now that there were 5000, as many as 5000

people who attended these .allies from the student body they say that in numbers there is strength, and if you want to andomplish anything -- apartheid was put out of business in south africa, so to speak. , and i do notd say it was that one action, there were actions around the world. i think -- i don't know what eleanor roosevelt would say if she were here, but it would be a good idea to put an end to the high tuitions that people are paying here in the college. when i look at how much people college, and lived about four years on that debt. that would be a very good thing to get started here. actions,,

demonstrations, and all of that against the high tuition and the location the x students are going through. one more thing is organizing the student athletes. they are one of the most exploited people in the colleges. concussions, injuries that last for life, and what do they get out of it? they lose their scholarship, and they do not even play anymore. [applause] name.rt with your >> i had the privilege of being the chair of the resistance studies, an entity where we are studying resistance into performs. i'm an activist and a scholar at the same time. i wanted to ask -- in my

understanding, direct action has a defining quality that we are trying to solve the problems ourselves. we are not going through legislators. we are not trying to get others to solve the problems for us. that could be legal, or civil disobedience. for me, it is truly about people power. my question is if you would agree on such an understanding of it. thank you. last one.ll be the >> good evening. my name is jim. i'm from asheville. i'm a local anti-pipeline activist. my history also includes activism and antiwar, anti-nuclear arms.

indeed,ave seen is that it is about numbers. it is about people. how doeson tonight is the panel c nonviolent direct action as a way to pull in people of different political persuasions? every one of you at the table basicallyng against those in the hive minority positions of power who are taking resources, whether it is lives from us, from the people. nonviolent direct action cutting across political boundaries, color boundaries, wealth boundaries to bring us as people facing the

inlaught across the board putting us in the position of defensiveness and loss? thank you. panelists a chance to respond. each panelists can take up to two minutes. we will start in reverse order, if that is ok. rose? : a corey check is a background check that includes criminal -- basically, a complete background check that police systemhe and reports to whatever agency has asked for it.

fannie and freddie are giant, .asically mortgage guarantors there is a reason why small that back the loans so people can get mortgage loans. they are the entities that are behind-the-scenes. most of the time, people think that even though your statement says "u.s. bank," most of the times it is just the servicer, and it is fannie mae and freddie mac that own the actual note. >> let me quickly replied to of the questions. this will be very brief. i will remind you, and then i will pass the mic down the table. the first one has been answered. i will skip to the next three which were about direct actions

around high student tuitions and ar student athletes, second, defining quality of direct action of people trying to solve problems for themselves, what to panelists think about that, and the third is to what extent and in what ways is direct action of way to pull people in and cut across boundaries in mobilizing actions? paki: i think those were more comments than questions. i certainly do not have any answers to that. i appreciate the comments and encourage students and folks everyt the rusty and institution of higher learning to organize, and support them.

i think there are issues that john raised about direct action. multifaceteda thing. on the one hand, it certainly is and can be, and we have seen, particularly in europe, and probably among the folks in mexico, where people have really taken over as part of their direct action, by thing here -- here, we are still naming the problems. i think there are places where people have taken over. i think that certainly "sprinkled no one leaves" is one of the places where we could support people taking over. there are how many anti-homes, and how many people that need homes? that is a perfect place to do it ourselves, and not wait for the

mayor of springfield or city council to do something. that would be an excellent action to get involved in. other thing -- jim's question, or comments about building a movement. i do not know if we ever get everybody right of way. everything about the vietnam war, and how long it took before it really became a mass we will just use that as one example. of, and i is part don't much use the word "education" because i think it has a pejorative kind tatian, but when people know what is happening to our commonwealth, tar rivers, to the places that we love, that if they are not awakened to it, we just need to

it. talking about i cannot imagine anyone who has learned about what that pipeline will do that would not be up in arms, and want to do something to stop it. stan, i too have long thought of how it would warm my heart, and how i could help if there were student loan inisings, which has happened other countries. as the fodder of the daughter that is still paying off her loans 10-15 years out of college, and she does not have as big of debt as some others, i think it is just outrageous. i do not know if your comment might have been in response to something i said, but i meant to

say that while nonviolent drug ction can be key in any movement or campaign, in most cases that i know, does not succeed without being embedded in a multipronged strategy that includes other things besides nonviolent direct action. the directh you that part of "direct action" means that instead of appealing to someone else to do something for us, we take some action for ourselves. to jim, i do not know how you broaden the thing. we have struggled with that question in so many movements that i have been part of. i think part of it is that we, as individuals -- what we do know the mostwe

feared if we do not know people who are other than others, different from us, we do not have connections to some kind of .ympathy, community then, we are operating in isolation even if the issue seems to be something that everybody should be aroused about. i think it is a question of personal contact and building community across lines. those student loans, maybe if you could give me some money to pay those off, that would be great. in terms of direct action, i vesnk that black li matter has empowered people of color. that, it is a

movement, not a moment. we need to really talk about intersection audi, talk about women. i did not talk about trance trans women. the most marginalized people need to be leading our movements. we need to constantly be having these conversations. directot just that a action will happen and solve everything. it is something we need to continually work on. >> [indiscernible] rose: on the question that you asked about people power, in ngfield no oneone leaves," we have a sword and shield model.

we have our sword which are direct actions, and we have our shield, which we believe every good offense needs defense. a lonalong with direct actions, we push for more laws and toect homeowners, build up the protections for the people. today on c-span, from the commonwealth club of california, gun violence.n then, a conversation on gun advocates.ega later, a memorial for the victims of the paris terrorists attacks. >> john hinckley was the person who shot president reagan. president reagan was not wearing a bulletproof vest that day. it was a short trip from the white house.

"q&a," robert varioustalks about assassination attempts and physical threats made to presence and present of candidates throughout history. >> there have been 16 presidents who have faced assassination attempts, though none eyeball to eyeball. i talk about present of candidates -- presidential candidates. long, roberthuey kennedy, and george wallace, who was paralyzed for life. it is a long list. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern and pacific on "q&a." saldaña spoke at a

national bar association discussion on immigration policy that be will show you tonight. here is a preview of what she had to say. [applause] and ir those of you -- think there are a few of you that practice immigration law -- that is our statute. half of our 20,000 people at the immigration and guided byforcement this. if you do not think that is convoluted and complex, or you sleep, get a good nights open to the front page and start reading. it is extraordinary what you find in this book. this administration speak strongly, and i will speak on behalf of the and administration on the issue -- we do need competence of immigration reform.

we need to get started. we need to face the reality of what we have in our country today, and deal with it head on. not just through simplistic answers, as some people are throwing around, but a real rolling up your sleeves, and figure out, how can we honor our values in opening our doors to the immigrant stock of the long history we have of doing so. at the same time, have some structure and immigration enforcement system that makes sense. >> tomorrow night, a look at immigration policy from the national hispanic bar association. .e will hear from sarah saldaña you can watch that at 8:00 eastern here on c-span or online at c-span.org. four days of nonfiction books and authors this holiday weekend 's book tv.

the saturday at 3:00, from george mason university, robert poole on the plot at arlington cemetery known as "section 60." kathlyn, whod argued the case -- roberto a kathlyn, who argued the case that struct of the marriage equality act. i will be honest with you, i did not believe her. i thought she was stalling for time. first of all, i do not get to be a plaintive all that much. she had had a lot of health publications during the case. we wanted to make sure that not only was she still alive, but healthy enough to enjoy it. that was weighing on me. i said to the government, forget it, no extensions.

oe she is interviewed by z tillman. watch book tv all weekend, every weekend on season two. -- c-span 2. panelists discuss gun shootings. from the commonwealth club of san francisco, this is one hour and 10 minutes. >> good evening and welcome to tonight's meeting of the commonwealth club of california. a place where you are in the know. you can find the commonwealth club online. coleman of "mother

jones," and the moderator of this program. the data on gun violence in the united states is sobering. according to the centers for disease control and prevention, each year, more than 33,000 americans are killed by guns and at least 80,000 are treated in hospitals for nonfatal gunshot wounds. more than 20,000 of the gun deaths per year are suicides. hundreds of kids die annually and gun homicides. each week seems to bring news of another child accidentally shooting himself or sibling with an unsecured firearm. while violent crime overall has declined steadily in recent years, rates of gun related injury and death has climbed since 2011, and public mass shootings have become more frequent. among 15-24-year-olds, gun

fatalities are about to surpass car accidents as the leading cause of death. years,last several organizations such as the american bar association, the american public health association, and the academy of pediatrics have all urged that gun violence should be considered a serious public health issue. what are the realities of gun violence in our country? what kinds of innovative solutions are being put forth to reduce the carnage? tonight, our panel is here to discuss how gun related injuries and death impact the health of americans and their communities, and what can be done to help solve the problem. ,oining us are dr. ricky choi who serves on the board of directors of the national physicians alliance. margaret hirsch.

mcbride froml berkeley, california. and, robin thomas, executive director of the law center to prevent gun violence. please join me in welcoming our panelists to the commonwealth club. [applause] begin with ato basic question about gun violence as a public health issue. why should it be considered a public health issue, and why the general public tend to see it as a public health issue? maybe we can start with you, dr. choi. dr. choi: public health is about protecting people in the communities where they live, work, go to school, and play.

it is about reducing injury and harm, and gun violence is a direct threat to these aims. physicians are on the front lines every day dealing with this in our hospitals and clinics. in situations where victims and up in the morgue, all of these victims and up in our clinics. there is consensus that gun violence is a public health issue that we as health care providers need to take very seriously, that as a physician, i need to talk to my patients about gun safety in the home and to review safety measures. >> to you want to comment on that? >> i think traditionally people think about public health issues in terms of diseases, the kinds of problems that confront our society that we don't have the same level of agency and control over sometimes. with gun violence, i think the

, iception, similar to cars think that's a good analogy because of the agency of intervention in the problem. but if you take a step back and look at communities in danger of being harmed, and there are preventative ways to address the problem. you can make guns safer the way we did with cars. you can affect people's behavior . when it comes to public health, people here public health and they think of chickenpox. they don't think of cars and guns as being public health crises. but if you look at the number of people being harmed by all kinds of diseases that very readily we it isteps to deal with, so obvious when you look at the 100 thousand people getting shot every year that this is an absolute epidemic. and there are so many things

that can be done that would have an impact on those numbers. host: one of the countervailing arguments to epidemic is that on a percentage basis relative to the population, gun violence is small. but i am curious what your thoughts are on how this is seen inthe local level communities and medical facilities. what are people not seeing in gun violence beyond what we see in the daily drum pete -- drumbeat of news that i think most people are desensitized to at this point? >> the reality around the daily impact and effects of gun violence, at least in the way i imagine and experience it, it is to always very quantifiable a news report. thatevel of trauma families and communities are constantly having to process and

they themselves are victimized by gun violence, whether someone in their immediate family has been victimized by gun violence, or is a community affected by trauma, when we see the way these issues are covered , which is thedia pipeline of how we get and process information, it is solely demonstrated as an act of violence or an abrasive violation. rarely is it narrated in a way constantlye are having to live in many of our communities in this country in assaultinghat are the psychology, the emotion, and people farof young

beyond the physical toll. shootingsckly, 600 have happened in the bay area averaged over the last 26 years. in the city of oakland, 120 killings or so. so you can imagine the concentric circles of trauma of to deal with have homicide, not even speaking suicides. >> the impact of this goes far beyond the immediate family. i am sure you see that in the day today hospitals as well, dr. choi. dr. choi: it is a really sad thing in the bay area when we know that it is going to be a will beer, we know we seeing more n