the kentucky senate president about the problems facing state government. as a tech -- secretary state on the host: good morning. it's thursday, october 5, 2017. the house returns on :00 this morning with the goal of completing consideration -- at 9:00 this morning with the goal of completing consideration. with talking to gun owners across the country about gun laws in the wake of the las vegas shooting. appears to be gearing up for another debate on firearms. we want to know what new gun restrictions you as a gun owner would support. we have split the lines by number of firearms. if you own one to four guns,

(202) 748-8000. five to 15 guns (202) 748-8001. 16 to 30 guns (202) 748-8002. if you own more than 30 guns (202) 748-8003. you can also catch up with us on social media. good thursday morning. you can start calling in now. we are talking to just gun owners in this first segment of the washington journal today. in las vegas still trying to find a motive into that shooting. the arsenal the attacker used now well known. the front page of the new york times today with a composite image of the room in the mandalay bay resort and casino where the attacker opened fire. includingom 23 guns

ak-47 and ar-15 style rifles. they also found 12 bump stocks which let semiautomatic weapons fire like automatic weapons. the target of one piece of legislation introduced by senator dianne feinstein. here's what she had to say. >> bump stocks which cause less increase a semiautomatic rifles rate of fire from between 45 and 60 rounds per minute to between 400 and 800 rounds per minute. that's the same rate of fire as automatic weapons and the only reason to modify a gun is to kill as many people as possible in a short time as possible. laws's a long history of to ensure civilians don't have automatic weapons. strict laws were put in place

after the st. valentine's day in 1929. when thompson submachine guns were used to kill seven gangsters in chicago. in 1986 a law was signed that band all new machine guns for civilians and put in place extremely strict regulations on existing automatic weapons. however there was a loophole. whichbump stocks devices were likely used in las vegas show anyone how to modify a legal semi automatic weapon so it can function much like a fully automatic weapon. sale, transfer, importation. bill is simple and straightforward. ban manufacturing or possession accessories that would

accelerate a semiautomatic rifles rate of fire to that of an automatic. that was california democrat dianne feinstein yesterday unveiling legislation. some republicans indicating they are open to discussing that legislation. dianne feinstein not the only one talking about new gun restrictions yesterday. the washington post wrapup of the various bills yesterday starting to move include one by senator richard blumenthal of connecticut. a fierce gun control advocate since the sandy hook massacre. towould reintroduce a plan close a loophole allowing some gun dealers to sell weapons after three days if a background check is not completed on the buyer. senator edward markey plans to introduce legislation that would allow qualified gun owners to use smart gun technology that

can restrict who can use a weapon. that's just some of the early legislation in the wake of the las vegas shooting. we are talking to just gun owners across america. we want to hear what gun restrictions you would support. phone lines this morning if you own one to four guns (202) 748-8000. five to 15 guns (202) 748-8001. 16 to 30 guns (202) 748-8002. more than 30 guns (202) 748-8003 . teresa is up first on the line for one to four guns. caller: good morning. i do believe in some commonsense regulation. think we need silencers on guns.

online and watching investigating this. the guns out of the black and brown neighborhoods. gangs. illegal handguns. 200rapper was busted with illegal guns. why is this not mentioned. i can't help but feel this is an attack on the white man and the hunters of this great nation. people never do anything to anybody. debateou think the gun in this country is a racial attack? caller: absolutely. when is the last time anyone has had a debate about the illegal in thes and ak's gang neighborhoods. in gang america. black and brown neighborhoods. ignored and this is

always brought up all the time? anytime there is a white dylan roof. anytime somebody of white nationality shoots somebody. it's a big debate on guns and yet it is ignored in the black and brown neighborhoods. host: jonathan is in falls church. good morning. i have noticed that every one of these laws that are proposed wouldn't have actually stopped deaths in the scenarios. they wouldn't have actually presented anything. there is a really simple law that could prevent gun deaths. 50% of gun deaths are committed suicide. we just said, you use a gun to kill somebody or yourself your inheritance is not going to

your friends and family. fund managed by the atf that's going to gun victims. theh what that does to amount of people that are killing themselves with guns. and watch how much the families get involved with people that have guns and they are showing some signs of mental disability or mental instability. will startdden they getting involved whenever they have consequences for themselves. that's all i have for this morning. california, good morning. caller: what's up big john mcardle? how's it going man? i understand what that first lady that was calling. she said about the gangs and the ghettos. what i don't understand is how come they still haven't said

that this is a terrorist attack? i have read headlines that said isis is taking responsibility for this. it's likee time everyone is saying he took like medication. what's the real true story behind all of this? host: what do you mean what she was trying to say on gangs? white gangs and white people in gangs? people,there are white there's asian people. there's any type of nationality in gangs. oakland, detroit. anything like that. the ghettos. chicago. gangs that kill each other back-and-forth for drugs, turf. they don't call that terrorist act. time, they haven't

been saying it because it's not overseas so it's not a terrorist act. i don't get that. host: you are on the line for those who own one to four guns. why do you own a gun? because itsn a gun protection. you don't know what's going to happen. i read news headlines every day and random stuff happens. i don't carry. i just have it in my home. just in case people break in. host: do you think there should be a limit to how many guns people can have in their home or how many they can buy? caller: honestly i think there price hike on bullets. let self bullets at like $5,000 a bullet and i guarantee you are not going to get anybody getting shot. ownershiperms of gun

in america about four in 10 u.s. adults say they live in a gun owning household. in aay they grew up household with guns. 59% say at least some of their friends own guns. sydney 2% of u.s. adults have shot a gun. we are talking to gun owners across the country this morning asking what if any gun restrictions would you support. of lines split up by number guns owned. eric is on the line for those who own 16 to 30 guns in virginia beach, virginia. caller: yes. i own that many guns. familyy have been in my since the 1700s and 1800s when my people were protecting their lands from knight riders from racist white people after the civil war and before the civil war. we own 32 acres of land. the whitey not call

guy that did that radical christian terrorism like they do blacks? is a muslim and they did something that doesn't mean they did it because of islam just like it doesn't mean they did because of christianity. were used back in the day for us to protect ourselves against the knight riders. people like jesse james and these racist white people after the civil war. guns were meant for white people. police in the 60's would not even allow black people to carry guns to arrest white people. the first gangs in the united states were italian gangs. hoffa.ne, jimmy russian gangs. they got ahead by doing criminal

acts and things. remember the cubans brought all the cocaine in. marco rubio and people. you always want to connect black people with evil and things. guns were meant to protect black people but black people not allowed. black people can be shot by the police without even having a gun. host: and he is on the line for those who own five to 15 guns. caller: i'm a proud they are holder.- ar why i bought it, because i could. i do not have an automatic weapon. i had an opportunity to automate my gun. because i am do it a responsible gun owner. it is against the law. laws don't stop people from shooting other people. people stop shooting from other people. this diet you had from virginia

i am offended that you let him go on about this racist stuff. racist is creating more animosity in the united states than anything else. it needs to come to a stop. thank you and have a great day. questionore you go to we are asking gun owners is about gun restrictions that you support. we showed dianne feinstein talking about bump stocks. is that something that you would support? no.er: because laws don't stop people from doing what they need to do. if they are not going to do it from a bump stock they are going to find another way. evil exists. we have to stop evil. until we find a way to stop the evil it's going to go on. i'm sorry for the people in las vegas. i truly am. i pray for them every day. but evil exists. host: annie in texas this

morning. gun holders of america have taken on the issue of a bump stock band, putting on their website a story from the associated press. they are quoted in that story. one of their executives talking stock issue.mp he is quoted as saying ultimately when congress looks at this they will start asking questions about why anybody needs this and the answer is we have a bill of rights, not a bill of needs. talking to gun owners only in the first segment of the washington journal. what gun restrictions would you support? for those who own one to four guns. good morning. caller: good morning to you. i'm going to answer your question first. yes i think there needs to be done control. here is my thoughts on gun control. bernie sanders people please listen up.

taxof these people love to so much and to have insurance. here's the idea. if you own a gun that holds more than three shells you should pay taxes just like you do on an automobile. that kills people. you should have to have insurance. you love interns don't you -- insurance don't you? off thise some money deal. do you realize how much the city and the county and the state of nevada has paid for this idiot? a lot. let's make him get some insurance on those 30 or 40 guns. maybe that will slow it down. one voice in this debate that many around the country are focusing on is congressman steve scalise the majority whip in the house. he of course was injured in that congressional baseball shooting.

fox newsterviewed on earlier this week talking about his view on gun control in the wake of his shooting. >> one there is a tragedy like this the first thing we should be thinking about is praying for the people who were injured and doing whatever we can to help law enforcement. we shouldn't first be thinking of promoting our political agenda. i think we see too much of that where people say, now you have to have gun control. look at some of those bills. those bills wouldn't have done anything to stop this. the gunmen actually cleared background checks. to promote some kind of gun control is the wrong way to approach this. what i experienced was when there was a shooter luckily we had capitol police with their own guns. every single day in america regular citizens that have a passionate belief in the second amendment use guns every single day to protect themselves against criminals.

those stories never get told. that's a different side of the story that i think is important. guns way more to defend themselves from criminal than criminals using guns to hurt people. host: this morning we are talking to gun owners. what gun restrictions would you support if any in the wake of the las vegas shooting? we have been showing stats from the pew research center. this chart showing the agreement and divisions between gun owners and nonowners on various gun proposals when it comes to preventing the mentally ill from purchasing guns. 89% of gun owners say they strongly or somewhat favor the non-gun owners. in the same category 89%. background checks for private , 70 7% of gunhows owners agree.

when it comes to barring gun purchases by people on no-fly or watch lists, 82% of gun owners agree. 84% of non-gun owners. treating a federal database to track gun sales. 54% of gun owners agree. 80% of non-gun owners. one more, banning assault style weapons. 77% of non-gun owners agree. we want to hear from you. gun owners around the country. what gun restrictions that you would support. randy is in chicago heights, illinois. good morning. caller: morning. i own two guns. one for hunting ducks and pheasants and one rifle for hunting deer. i would bee to say 100% on board about getting rid of all of these weapons that

handle all of these big stocks and everything of 100 magazines and all of that stuff. assault weapons. except for our police and our government and our armed forces and everything. is i cantrouble guarantee you that nothing is going to be happening in our government about this. it ain't never going to end. would support that. get rid of all assault weapons. only have weapons that only hold five to six shells. that's all that you need and that's all for hunters. that's all. kevin is in sykesville, maryland on the line for those who own five to 15 guns. caller: good morning. host: what do you use your guns for? the same -- in

agree with the last caller. all of my weapons are hunting related. i also own one pistol. i hope there's no restrictions of hunting weapon just because some of us do use them to put food on the of hunte for a family. define hunting weapon versus assault style with an. -- assault style weapon. caller: there are some that would classify as both. i own a seven millimeter high powered rifle for deer and elk and taking down big game. that is a bolt action gun. you shoot one shot and pull the bald back. it does take time to reload. smallerlt weapon fires caliber bullet but faster.

they are similar but they are very different. i do not own an assault rifle. i never had one. i thought about getting one. for me there is just no need for it. i can't really comment on an assault weapon. i agree with the last caller. some of that stuff is a little bit of overkill and to me it's not necessary. some might disagree with me. it's hard for me to comment on that just because i don't own one of them. lines fore got phone people who own up to 30 guns and a line for those who own more than 30 guns. do you think there should be any restriction on total numbers of guns that somebody can own? caller: yes and no. having 30 guns is a little unnecessary. wheremight be a category

you would have to explain yourself on why you need 30 different guns such as may be a collector that collects old guns. that would be ok for me. that'shave 30 guns unnecessary in my opinion. i own i think eight or nine guns. to me that's a lot. it's hard keeping track of everything. making sure they are always locked up, unloaded and cleaned and all of that good stuff. to me, 30 weapons is unnecessary. ohio on thes in line for those who own 16 30 guns. lisa, where do you fall in that range? caller: we have like 20 to hear in the house. host: what do you use them for? caller: the husband uses them for hunting. carry. i have a concealed carry license. he hunts all kinds of deer,

squirrel. high-powered rifles. here's my comment basically. i am all about background checks. i had to wait to get a background check before i got any of my guns. if you start banning thesear's and then its happens again. there's a lot of evil in this world. it's not going to stop. if they don't use the high-powered rifles they are going to use bombs. whatever it's going to be. host: for you it's a slippery slope argument in terms of restrictions? would you restrict things like the bump stock that diane feinstein introduced this legislation about yesterday? i guess in a way

i thought it was already illegal to do that. i didn't think you could switch a gun to a fully automatic gun. i don't know if it's different states. i thought you couldn't do that. maybe you can. i'm not 100% sure on that. however i am against saying, let's charge one guy $5,000 -- people need to get their head out of the sand and really start thinking logically. that makes zero sense. remember when we start losing our rights, what's next? dataovernment controls the us. remember that. the gun debate gearing up on capitol hill yesterday. chuck schumer the democratic leader in the senate talked about the gun control debate. here's what he had to say. trump ranpresident

for office he repeatedly supported several sane rational gun safety measures including the assault weapons ban, longer to purchase as gun. in 2012 he supported obama's response to sandy hook. president obama called for action. in the wake of las vegas, president trump should do the same. again thatrd it over now is not the time to talk about gun safety because it would politicize the tragedy. my friend the majority leader said no less than three times at his press conference yesterday that it's premature and inappropriate to talk about any legislative solutions to the epidemic of gun violence. as martin luther king said in his letter to the birmingham jail not now means never. weight means never. that's what he said.

talklicans don't want to about it today, tomorrow, next week, next month or next year. we know why they don't want to talk about it. they know the country is totally against their view. it's not politically out in the country. 90% of americans support universal background checks. a significant majority of republicans support them. that's not political. it's political for him because he's afraid of the nra, a powerful lobby that is awfully extreme. not political for american people or for republicans. they are for it. over 70% of gun owners support background checks for private sales and at gun shows. the only place this is political is here. the gunecause the nra, manufacturers and their powerful lobby make these folks afraid. afraid to do the right thing.

they know it's the right thing. coming up in about an hour on the washington journal we will be taking our viewers live to frankfort, kentucky where the c-span 50 capital stores continue. we will have officials from kentucky join us aboard the c-span bus. and includes robert stivers .llison wondered in grimes they will join us in just about 40 minutes this morning. then we are having this conversation with their viewers across the country. gun owners only. gunant to know what restrictions you would support. guns, own one to four (202) 748-8000. five to 15 guns (202) 748-8001. 16 to 30 guns (202) 748-8002. more than 30 guns (202) 748-8003

. will also be taking you through some of the reaction and comments by members of congress on this issue of gun control in the wake of the las vegas shooting. here's a few tweets from the past 24 hours. from alabama saying, i am a fierce believer in the second amendment but enough is enough. closing loopholes as common sense and we must help stop gun violence. king, republican from iowa asked how do good people defend themselves from murderers if liberals take our guns? john lewis, civil rights icon. don't tell me this is about protecting the second amendment when you won't stand up for the first amendment, he tweeted. abouttell me this is anything other than greed and money and fear. we were elected to lead. have a rock current to make a down payment on ending gun violence in america. we cannot wait.

series of tweets from john lewis yesterday. virginia in sterling on the line for those who own one to four guns. good morning. good morning. i'm glad we are having this discussion in a sane manner. i own four guns. i am a registered gun owner. i do have a carry concealed weapon. i am an officer of the court's and i support gun control. i don't know how else to say it just because we have a constitution and the second amendment doesn't mean we should all become stupid. host: what does gun control main george? caller: it means a lot of things. it means who should be permitted access to a gun. everyone is not qualified to own a gun. either mentally or physically or emotionally. number one.

thatr two, the idea machine guns were banned -- they were banned for a reason. it's called public safety and the good of the people. not to be made paperweights, not for target practice. these weapons were made to maim and kill people. i just don't understand the mentality of saying we can't do anything about it. it's like saying we shouldn't have any laws because crooks are going to break the laws anyway. it's ludicrous on its face. texas, the line for those who own five to 15 guns. go ahead. caller: good morning. i would like to say i have a chl license and i went and got it

after a friend of mines son was murdered. what is a chl license? concealed carry. after taking the class i didn't want to own a gun evening. another friend's son was murdered in the wrong place at the wrong time. i went and got my chl and i have one. there are gun laws that i would support. i just know what they are yet because i haven't heard anything that makes much sense. people are dying every day. it seems like we pass more gun laws. it's like masturbation. it feels good, it's just not productive. we need to do things that will save lives. not just spend a lot of money talking about it. is in watertown, south dakota on the line for those who own 16 to 30 guns. good morning. yeah i own a lot of

guns. out here in south dakota you get your first rifle when you are a. you get your first shocking when you are 10. i have been collecting guns for years and i don't believe anybody needs a full automatic for several reasons. it's too hard on the barrel. ammunition costs too much and when i was in the service a full automatic -- why would you want a weapon that shoots 600 rounds a minute with a 15 shot clip? you can't aim that fast. people who own them just like to make noise and gun ranges could have automatic weapons that you can rent but you don't need one at home. i don't even know how many guns i've got. i've given some to my grandson who is in the air force. people don't need machine guns. host: can you talk about the

process of getting guns? did you go through background checks each time? how does it work for you when you have that many guns? carry permit. a out here in south dakota you can -- guns at garage sales and it's just, a gun is no different than any other machine. or for useor sport and for hunting. it's a person behind the gun that the criminal. thatthat idiot drove into crowd of people down there at the protest you didn't see every jumping up and down saying we should ban automobiles. when oj killed those people you didn't hear people saying they should ban knives. host: do you think the universal background check would help

identify those criminals or at least cut down on it? absolutely. i have been through background checks with carry permits and stuff. this thing invent las vegas? the guy had no criminal record. it's scary because some things you can't prevent. i just hope in his autopsy they would giant tumor that explain why anybody would want to kill strangers. i mean, it's just stupid. host: in ashburn virginia. line from one to four guns. good morning. good morning. i would like to first comment on my friend just commented here that the person who was shooting in vegas was not having a background. a criminal background. which he did have criminal background. and his father according to the report had.

another thing i wanted to mention is whoever wants to have a gun they should go through some kind of medical evaluation. they should have some kind of training certified for carrying guns. as far as the gun control it is very hard to control the guns because people fight. there are guns coming from the philippines sold in the united ou ges. ?your gun caller: i bought it off a gun dealership. it to go practice and go hunting. that's the only gun i have. i had a nine millimeter pistol. i sold it because i didn't see any need for that. have believe that people guns for protection which is totally understandable.

those people who carry more than a couple guns like 15, 30. i think as far as gun control they should be registered with their county authorities. the government should every now and then come to the house with sure their guns are locked safely. how did you go about selling your gun? who did you sell it to? what did you know about the person when you sold it? not sell it back to the person. i sold it back to the dealership where i bought it. as you know, buying a gun from a person if you really trust the person and know them for a good amount of time -- it's pretty risky to buy from a random person. the gun could be involved in anything and it will put your life in danger. nicholas kristof in

today's new york times runs through his recommendations for what the government can do before the next mass shooting. it's a series of nine different steps. among them imposing universal background checks before buying than, noting that more four out of five americans support that measure. imposing an age limit of 21 on hispurchases is one of recommendations. enforcing a ban on possession of guns by anyone subject to domestic violence protection orders. limiting gun purchases by any to know more then two a month and tightening the rules on straw purchasers. investing in smart gun technology police departments and the u.s. military to promote their use.

those are among the recommendations. are any of those something you would agree with as a gun owner? talking to gun owners only in this first segment of the washington journal. mike is in wyoming on the line for those who have five to 15 guns. good morning. how're you doing? i am basically against all accessories pretty much. bump stops, silencers. that would killings have been happening in vegas if he had a silencer on those ar-15's. i have shot both. i am a vietnam vet. stock isee how a bump legal. it shouldn't be legal.

does it surprise you that this story in today's front page of the washington times notes that firearms dealers are expecting a run on bump stops? around and interviewed some dealers who are expecting them not to say on the shelves very long now that members of congress are talking about possibly banning them. caller: no, it's not surprising at all. i just don't believe in bump stocks. i have shot both. it just doesn't make any sense. rapidfire. host: what about the idea we just talked about about that you should beat when one before you buy a gun -- be 21 before you buy a gun? caller: you can't buy ammunition for handgun unless you are 21. host: you would be ok with that? caller: yes.

in oklahomar mike for those who own 16 to 30 guns. agree with that caller on the bump stocks. that is one accessory to any semi automatic rifle that does not have to be out there for the market or what they called the hellfire. the only thing i can say that's going to get as good gun owners like me and other people that have called in and a lot of trouble about our rights to own guns. i'm not in favor of that particular item being out there and i wish they would do away with it. i have no problem with that. host: what do you use your 16 to 30 guns for? caller: my guns are the old west guns.

i am talking single action winchester rifles and things of that nature. i do own semi automatic handguns. 70's colts on a 1911 frame. things of that nature. older shotguns. that's the reason i have those guns. i do have one rancher which is a mini 14. it shoots a two to three. enjoy shooting that gun. it's in the same configuration as the day i bought it. wooden stock, five round magazine. that's it. host: in terms of the check system you went through can you talk about the background check you experienced? caller: yes. i'm glad you brought that up. people misunderstand going through and getting checked. fbi or evens or the the state. all i had todealer do was get one gun, transfer my

license to the dealer. he would transfer his license back to me and i could legally own the gun. gun in my inventory. if i sold the gun the person that what the gun from me had to fill out what back then was called a yellow sheet. it was a little bit less invasive to what it is now. now you have a white sheet to fill out. there is more questions to answer on that. host: what are some examples of the more invasive questions? caller: they ask you your race, where you are from. things of that nature. are you mentally impaired. any domestic had violence charges against you. sheet thatyellow wasn't there. on the new white sheet it is. it's actually a good thing to happen. on the old yellow sheet there was a waiting period. on the new white sheet if you

are delayed for any reason you have to wait three business days before the gun can actually be transferred to you. people out there kind of misunderstand all the requirements it takes to legally buy a gun from a dealer. that pewe from research report from over the summer. the reasons gunowners site for owning a gun, for protection. 67% of gunowners say protection is the reason. 30% say it's for sport shooting. say they own them as part of a collection. 8% say they own it for their job. we have been showing steps from the pew research center report from june 21. the key takeaways on the key takeaways on american views of gun ownership.

been listening to gunowners across the country asking them what gun restrictions if any would you support. mike is on the line for those who own 16 to 30 guns in maryland. good morning. patrick in pennsylvania on the line for those who own one to four guns. good morning. caller: good morning. how are you today? i'm in complete disagreement with any modification of any gun rights whatsoever and i'm incredibly suspicious of this whole issue of what took place in las vegas. comes in, asation the dispatches are being publicized, as the witnesses including the australian who was in residence next to the purported shooter conveyed that he heard multiple voices. closed policemen shoot

a security guard. questionsso many about the narrative that's being fed to the american people about this whole event and of course there's the -- host: said by who? caller: the mainstream media. the mainstream media is completely deceiving the american people. caller: why would they want to do that? caller: why wouldn't they want to do that? you're controlling the public. you're manipulating the rights of the american people. you are conveying a situation in order to establish further controls on the constitutional rights of the american people. reasons toumerable convey a contrived narrative in the controlled media and i have a message for lumen tall and schumer and so forth.

the security detail should not be able to be armed. if you are going to prevail message to the american people that gun control is going to conclude everyone needs to include your security details, it needs to include -- incorporate your rights. are they prepared to surrender their rights? host: got your point, patrick. arizona onn tucson the line for those who have five to 15 guns. good morning. good morning. i had more guns. i have sold them off. the reason i like guns is because they are an incredible means of making money in the sense that the price of good guns goes up, not down. areve sold to people that

friends of mine. i have never sold to a stranger. i have a lot of guns still. they are all locked up good most of them are locked up and gun safes. the reason i would continue to keep guns is because of the politicians, schumer and feinstein and people like that. i don't trust them. i don't trust the government when it comes to power grabbing. able't trust them to being to control guns because look at what they're doing with the medicare and all of this other stuff. host: you are on the side of no new restrictions. caller: no -- the restrictions that we have should be enforced. host: do you think there's any current restrictions that should be loosened? caller: no. host: you think we are in the right place right now if we just enforce what we have? you are chasing shadows if you try to enforce more.

enforce they try to more that's going to be involved in our rights as citizens. infringement on my rates anymore. host: senator bernie sanders joined senator dianne feinstein yesterday at the risk conference where she introduced her legislation to outlaw both stocks. here's what senator bernie sanders had to say. >> we agreed as a nation many decades ago to band fully automatic weapons. unfortunately the so-called bump stocks provide an effective workaround to convert a legal weapon into an illegal weapon. in other words if we want to enforce and honor of the law passed in 1986 it is imperative that we passed senator

feinstein's legislation. common sense suggests that we have got to do everything possible to prevent the conversion of semiautomatic rifles into automatic rifles. if not the 1986 law means nothing. well it is too late for the victims in las vegas and the victims in newtown and charleston and the other terrible shootings that we have seen, it is not too late to prevent the next set of innocent americans from becoming victims. now is the time to save lives in this country. now is the time to pass this legislation. host: about 20 minutes left in this first segment of the washington journal today. the phone lines split up up by number of guns owned. we will get to more of your calls in a second. what talk about some other news going on. tribune review

with a story about the retirement announcement yesterday of congressman tim murphy of pennsylvania. scandal plagued murphy won't seek another term. the congressman announced yesterday he will not seek his marital scandal and built them including allegations that the married pro-life republican asked his mistress to get an abortion. tribunehe pittsburgh that first reported this story. the statement from the congress and yesterday saying after discussions with my family and staff i have come to the decision that i will not seek reelection at the end of my current term. i plan to spend my remaining months in office continuing my work as a national leader on mental health care reform. other stories from yesterday on capitol hill and continued action today on budget planning. congressional democrats slamming

the republican budget plan for 28 team. that's the headline from the washington times today on the budget battles and tax reform issues that are currently front and center on capitol hill. be talking will about a few of those issues. the president of the committee for responsible federal budget will be on this program tomorrow morning. talkinglso going to be about the congressional hearings this week that gotten a lot of attention on equifax. house and senate leaders grilling the former ceo of equifax over the past couple of days. u.s. public interest research group will also be here tomorrow morning. here is one story from the equifax hearing. to your calls this morning on gun restrictions that you as a gun owner would support.

don has been winning in wisconsin on the line for those who own five to 15 guns. caller: good morning. i did agree with the color from south dakota who was on much earlier. every word he said was true. north-central wisconsin and a federal judge put a stay on any hunting appeared so when these walls when they get active and start isolating some livestock especially in the spring of the year when there's calves and you have to check pastors i would like to know who would like to go out with a clip with only two shots and decide which two of those are going to be effective. we can go out in the spring of the year. we've got bears that are in the wild. i don't see the need to restrict the clip when it's for your own self protection.

is there such a thing as owning too many guns? different guns have different calibers. i've got shotguns. i've got a gun but i like to take out when the weather is .asty i have some that are worth more and some that are worth less. if it's raining out and i don't really want to take one of my better guns out i will take a different one. different calibers for different purposes. 22 calibers. 30 odd six calibers. we farmed here for 50 years and there's 300 50 million people in america and i have had not yet once people who drive down the road and come drive in my yard and say, i would like to buy a 250 dollarscorn for

a bag because i like seeing the deer. that comes back to me for people who want to cut down on hunting. that's an expense. you mentioned the number of people in america. here are the headlines from usa today. americans really like their guns. they own 42% of the 650 billion -- million civilian firearms worldwide. ted is in shelton, washington on the line for those who own five to 15 guns. good morning. good morning. if you look at gun control there are some common sense ones and there is some stuff they are trying to show out that is in. restricting bump stocks and stuff, that's perfectly -- most nra members and stuff that don't do competition shooting would be for that.

you have to have a license to do that type of shooting. background checks, we all go through them. i don't care what you do. if you apply for a credit card you go through a background check. there should be a thing worldwide. the equifax thing. you can manipulate all the information you want and the person working with the form, if they don't know you you could be anybody. as far as why i own guns, i like to go to the range and shoot. don't do much hunting anymore. bad back and stuff. i go and compete against myself at the range. of nra membersot do. and there's a lot of hunters out there. if you start looking at our , if you lookment youur president today what want him to be in charge and

have all the guns and you not have one? sorry. the people we have running the government today aren't as trustworthy as they were in the 50's and they weren't much better then. can form a better opinion of our government which republicans are talking about and the democrats are talking about. we have to be better towards the people. there was a republican on yesterday talking about it. my thing is, is it fear that americans want to have so many guns? that's what you need to find out. why the theory is. why we all fear our own government. on the line for those who own 16 to 30 guns. the question to you from the last caller. do you fear the government? is that part of the reason you own guns? caller: no, not at all. i don't fear the government. thank you for having me on.

c-span1 has been going over guns for the past three days now. the first two days i was able to ignore most of the comments from the anti-gun people. listening to the gun owners today i am very disappointed that so many of them want to point restrictions on guns. we already have a lot of restrictions and most of the measures these days that are effectivelyld not be effective. host: like what? caller: talking about limiting these fire stocks which by the way, nobody talked about a week ago before the shooting. people who are so-called experts about gun control didn't even know about them until this incident happened. christian schneider in

today's new york times takes on the issue of the bump fire stocks. he writes if the shooter had been using a semi automatic rather than the modified automatic rifle you might still have killed dozens of people. even so he probably wouldn't have been able to kill 58 citizens many of whom would likely still be around had he not had such easy access to the parts that enabled the mass slaughter of innocents. caller: this is possible. that me give you two points on that. i don't need a pump stock to simulate automatic fire. there's a thing called a bump stick. you can google it. which will do it. that's a piece of wood. i can use my own hand. i could put it on a belt loop and i don't need any slide fire or bump fire stock. the gentleman that created all this having in las vegas was a pilot. he could have had easy access to explain and crashed his plane into all those people and how

many people would he have killed then. maybe we should ban planes. host: you are on the line for those who own 16 to 30 guns pretty what do you use that many guns for? caller: a. schu host: doug is in washington. caller: hello. i finally got my first gun. i am 55 years old. it is just for protection. any rights ive in should be taken away despite freedom of speech. the only thing i can think of, let's just say, let me put it this way, slowdown. i think people can known as many as they want, it is just like collecting cars. . some people collect guns. they are an investment -- some people collect guns. they are an investment.

there are rifles for deer and elk, and different kinds of guns. when it comes to the weapons that guy used, that creep, i definitely think on that, you know, because some people like them. that is just the way it is. but there should be a limit on ammo for sure. 300 rounds, and that is it. and then you have to go and get another 300 and wait a week to get them. . that i may go with as far as be as -- that, i may go with that. our young boys going over fighting wars at 18, if they want to own a gun, they should be able to. host: do you think there should be any national age limit, doug? know, i thinku they have the right to protect themselves to, especially at 18

years old. i don't think they have to wait until they are 21. and kids as far as hunting, they get trained when they are young and have to go to that gun school. andy hunt with their fathers and stuff. but they different don't get the right to buy a gun or anything. but 18 should be fine if they can fight a war, they can have a pistol. but yeah, there is definitely something wrong when someone can have thousands of rounds. that is just ridiculous. there should be something that should be easily, you know, controlled, especially these days with all of the computers and stuff. host: thank you for the call. 8:00 on the east coast, we will be taking our viewers to frankfort, kentucky in 10 minutes as our c-span bus tour continues. we want to talk about another story getting a lot of attention around the world.

that would be secretary of state rex tillerson, his comments denying his wrist with -- his ri ft with donald trump. denying long-standing rumors about his resignation after a report yesterday morning that he refer to president trump as a moron, and had been taught out of quitting by the vice president -- and had been talked out of quitting by the vice president. [video clip] >> to address a few specific that had been erroneously reported this morning -- the vice president has never had to persuade me to remain as secretary of state because i never considered leaving this post. i value the friendship and the council of the vice president, and i admire his leadership within president trump's administration to address the many important agendas of president trump, both from a foreign policy perspective, and

a diplomatic, i'm sorry, a domestic perspective. let me tell you what i have learned about this president, whom i did not know before taking this office. he loves this country. he puts americans and america first. he is smart. he demands results wherever he goes, any holes those around him accountable for whether they have done the job he is asked them to do. accountability is one of the bedrock values that the president and i share. host: 15 minutes ago, the president tweeting about this issue, saying on his twitter page -- rex tillerson never threatened to resign. this is fake news put out by nbc news. no verification from me. two minutes left in this segment. want to hear from gun owners only. what gun restrictions would you support?

ben is in north carolina. good morning. caller: yes, good morning. i would like to say all automatic weapons should be banned. any tools that make automatic weapons should be banned, including the bump stock and the tools they use on the inside of the receiver to candid to an automatic weapon. an automatic weapon is a quick kill. i was in vietnam. that is exactly what they are used for when you're in a situation when you have to kill a lot of people. semiautomatics, if you like them, fine. ar-15 and the civilian version of the ak-47 are fine because they are single shots really. you have to pull the trigger each time. but as far as automatic weapons, there is no use for them here. as far as a handgun, and i have three handguns.

i have an antique, and i have one for house protection. i could care less about people having them for home protection. the way this society is today, you'd never know when there is going to be a riot and when a ride breaks out, you have all these people running around, stealing, looting, killing. so you have to have protection, but other than that, as far as automatic weapons, they are totally unnecessary. it is just a joyride for a lot of people to have an automatic weapon. believe me, if you have carried it long enough, you will not want an automatic weapon, trust me. and i thank you for your time. host: annie in roanoke, virginia. go ahead. caller: yes sir. i disagree with a few of your earlier callers. 1000 rounds, if you go to walmart and buy two boxes of 22

shells, there are 500 in each box. that is 1000 rounds. people think you have a whole lot, you really don't. number two, the bump stocks, i don't really believe that. however, people need to look and see when the batf approved them for the guns -- when does the atf approved them for the guns? under which administration with a approved? you know, i don't think there should be a limit. i think there should be background checks, but you know, everybody is looking at these bump stocks. they need to figure out when the atf approved them? host: despite when they were approved, do you think it is time to rethink that in the wake of what we have seen this week? caller: i disagree. i don't really think people should use them. all it does is cause more jams and more problems with the gun

than it solves. it is not an automatic weapon. do it the legal way. the bump stock, they should not be sold. but who made them legal to be sold is my question? when did the atf approved them? host: good point. lilaila is on the line -- is on the phone. caller: i called in on the wrong line. but i do have something to say about guns. i grew up with guns. and i do believe that we should have the right to own guns. but i think the only people who should be able to own the semi automatic weapons are the people who are trained, like your police, your military, your guards. i think there is a good reason for having those guns in the right circumstances. look at the movie "red dawn" with patrick swayze.

but training is the key if you're going to have a weapon. when i grew up, everybody had a gun and kept it in their car. there was no shooting, there was no mass shooting. people used them for hunting. host: what kind of guns do you own now? caller: only one pistol. but i do have an old shotgun, 20 gauge shotgun from my childhood. but it is a single shot. eatody who wants animals to , you don't need a semi automatic for that. you need a semi automatic or when your country gets attacked. host: the last call from ocala, florida. caller: thank you. a bumpt even know was stock was until i watched your show.

you got a lot of advertising for people. know, this bootleg market that these people want to start is ridiculous. gun, i'm sorry, a machinist can make a gun and a seller. you know, and you got, then you got manufacturers -- manufacturing of guns that is going to take away a lot of jobs. either like the fact that i got three guns, but i --t told everybody

[indiscernible] caller of this segment. coming up, c-span's 50 capitals tour continues. this morning, we are in kentucky's capital of frankfurt. we'll talk to robert stivers, a republican, and then later, allison linderman grinds. they will join us when washington journal continues. ♪ >> this weekend on american history tv on c-span3, saturday at 8:00 p.m. eastern on lectures a professor discusses the evolution of the national park systems. >> this was not a case of setting aside an already natural landscape and leaving it alone,

which is what we tend to think of anything apart protection. what he was doing was making nature out of what was old sheep's ties. there was a big grassy areas of the park on the sheep's meadows because there were sheep on it. >> on american artifacts, architect and a store preservationist hill on slave houses. >> one documentation is a type of preservation. slave houses are buildings that are disappearing from the landscape. so, by documenting them is one way of preserving them. documenting them and through database, is also a way to share information and get it out there and learn from them. >> been at 7:00 p.m. on oral histories, we continue our series on photojournalist with an interview. >> end up following a woman named sandy, who ended up on the

front page of the post. yelling at freshman with their chins step down like this. that photograph went everywhere in the world. helpednvinced that story make the post. >> american history only on c-span3. >> washington journal continues. bus: today, the new c-span is in frankfurt, the capital of the, of kentucky. this is our seventh stop on a 50 state capitals tour. joining us on the bus with the president of the kentucky state city, robert stivers. senator stivers, thanks for being with us. frankfurt is one of the smallest

state capitals, about 25,000 or so people. what are the dynamics of having a capital in a small city when you have lexington and louisville relatively close by? guest: i think it is a good dynamic because being in a small town, i think it helps the economy here. but also, not being overwhelmed by the volume you would have in orajor city like louisville a good city that has sufficient size, but not a huge population. i think it creates a good dynamic. i think it emphasizes the state government and it is not overlooked being part of the bigger conglomerate. invited you on to talk about some of the fiscal issues that kentucky is facing. aswant to invite her viewers well to talk about some of the fiscal issues their states are facing. but what is the fiscal situation right now in kentucky? aren'twell, our revenues

growing very well. we are having a very slow recovery coming out of the recession. on top of that, we had some major expenditures. we are currently doing with. we have pension problems, which is not uncommon with many states. those two combined with slow growth and large obligations to our pensions, and unfunded liability, create an answer an uncertaineate dynamic. host: what are some of the approaches the state is taking to address the pension issue? several billions dollars short at this point. i have made the statement that we need something that is morally right and illegally defensible, and fiscally responsible. we do have obligations to people who came into the system, so we want to try to meet those obligations for people who are going to come into the system.

for a new hire, they will be under a new system. doing these two things about being -- along with putting additional moneys, we will come up with a good plan between now and the end of the year for a special session. you want specifics. we can get to send specifics, but if you get into assumptions andthe validity of those, how you mesh those with obligations, it gets pretty detailed and we would be here for quite sometime. but i think basically those of the two areas that i think we are looking at -- changing the system for new hires and going forward with a system that limits, or caps are exposure over the period of time we need to to come back into compliance within the budgetary parameters that we have.

host: senator robert stivers, president of the kentucky state senate is our guest. the numbers are on the screen. kentucky residents 202-748-8000. all others call 202-748-8001. are you moving with my defined-benefit plan? 2013, we wentg in to what we call hybrid cash balance, which was more of a defined contribution. we have to in the long run, when you look at the states around us that have done this, some have gone back and forth, but overall, i think most have concluded that a defined contribution is a better plan for a fiscal --better plan from a fiscal standpoint. if you get and hail appropriate rate -- if you get an

appropriate rate of return, it is a better plan for the recipients as well. host: are you getting pushback from state employees? most stateink employees want to be able to complete their service in the state under the belief, or parameters for when they were hired. i think from that perspective, most know that it has to change for all new hires. so i don't think there is a lot of pushback from current employees, as long as we meet the obligation to them. host: now, senator stivers, your governor has called for cuts in the state budget. is the state budget balanced at this point? what is it, 21 billion over the next two years? andy you have a balanced budget amendment in your state? -- and do you have a balanced budget amendment in your state? guest: we are a balanced budget

amendment. we give the authority to the governor to make cuts. are we balanced? we have to balance. the governor takes the necessary steps towards the end of the fiscal year to make sure we do balance. we run about $11.3 billion in is 22.5ral fund, which billion over the. period. we have had some shortfalls, but i think this past year based on what we did in a reserve account, the governor was able to conclude our year with not much money in a savings account, but we were balanced. host: do you support the cuts that the governor has proposed? um, he has not really proposed any cuts. he has asked his cabinet to look at potential ways to cut up to a

percentage. we have not seen any detailed orn for how corrections health and human services, or tourism, or parks, or transportation would cut their budgets. it has just been asked to go to a certain percentage. so to say that i agree or disagree would be a little premature. until we see a defensive plan, i would not want to try to assume or guess what that plan may entail. host: for that be a part of the special session as well, or just the pension issue? as it stands now, there would be nothing related to the budget and a special session. it would be exclusive to dealing with the pension problem we have in the state of kentucky. host: when you talk to officials from other states, is kentucky unique here in facing some of the budgetary and pension issues that you are facing? guest: i don't think we are

unique at all. recently, i came back from a meeting with many of my colleagues who are senate president score in comparable positions in other states, and illinois has just gone through this. utah did it a few years ago. withear about the problems the pension systems all throughout the united states. it has been well-written though. some of th. have aell-known that we serious pension problem as well as other states. ours may be a little more dire than others, but still, many states are dealing with it, and they are dealing. with sluggish budgets -- and they are giving the sluggish budgets. host: how do you think kentucky got into the situation? guest: i have had discussions with many people on this, including the press yesterday,

and the governor because coming from the outside into the governmental world, and i have been here 20 years, many people say the legislature kicked the hca down the roadn -- kicked the can down the road. there were red flags back in 2006 and 2007. thingseen many different and that -- it has been many different things. there were bad assumptions being used by the respective controlling boards of the pension systems. and that is where i talk about assumptions. but when you are starting to assume, you are going to get a 7.5% return on your investment in virtually any rating agency or any investment groups say you should not move more than a 6% rate of return. that get you into trouble really quick. plus, the fact that we were

paying out pensions much longer than the working life of the individual. pensions were never envisioned to be that. people can relate that back to the newt gingrich/bill clinton days when we had to reform social security. life expectancies have gone up. so, there are a series of things that have perfected the perfect storm to create pension problems for many states. and we're going to have to we are goingtick -- to have to reevaluate state-by-state. host: what is your personal view on tax increases? guest: i am not in favor of tax increases. the government to me is kind of like something you need to take control over. it can be good in many ways, but you don't want it to get out of control. it is kind of like keeping your dog on a leash. you want to control it, but you don't -- but it is a good thing

as long as you can control it. we have to make sure our government is as efficient as possible. there are things that we are testing on that we are properly spending money on governmental functions. and if we don't have requisite revenues after we look the public in the eye and said, we have done all these things to make sure we are being good stewards of your tax dollars, and we still cannot meet our obligations, then you may have to look at additional revenues, but only after we do our due diligence, making sure we have an efficient government that doesn't have any waste, fraud, or abuse in it. host: senator stivers, you mentioned that the kentucky state budget on a yearly basis is about $11.3 billion in the general fund. what is the majority of that money go? -- where does the majority of that money go? guest: the majority of that will go through education.

50% will going to that area. then it breaks down into corrections, social services. , bonding, butess over 50% will go into education, and that is the largest portion of our budget. host: when it comes to medicaid dollars and the affordable care act, where does kentucky stand? look, it is ally, laudable goal we want to have coverage for everyone, and we want to have efficient coverage. anyon't want to drop off for the delivery of medical services or delivery of insurance or acquisition of insurance, but to that extent, i think the aca or obamacare has been an unmitigated disaster. i do not dispute the rules of the numbers that 20,000 more people, or 20 million more people are on some type of insurance, but what type of insurance is that? if you are talking about that poverty level, or just above the

poverty level, the working poor, i had a friend tell me i did not realize that my level of income that i had a $5,000 deductible before i had coverage. i think people need to understand that. --il they go to the doctor before they go to the doctor after write that check. that has something that has been sold that is not really insurance. it is a catastrophic plan, but it is a laudable goal, but i don't think it is workable because on the backside, for those individuals who are in the private markets, their rates are up, and the middle class rates are up catastrophically to where they cannot afford, so they are having to choose between pensions -- between insurance payments and some other household needs, or some of their, you know, recreational things that people need on occasions to take part in. is the unemployment

rate in kentucky, which is higher than the national average , about 4.6 million people live in the commonwealth. one of them is dean in louisville. you are on c-span was senator robert stivers. caller: good morning mr. stivers. i cannot say the company name, ago, --or seven years [indiscernible] -- one off my friends my friends retarded 44 years old. [indiscernible]

they're retiring earlier and earlier. telling my kid's generation that they are only going to get social security. host: senator? i really had a hard time picking up what his question was. it was broken on my earpiece. i know he was talking about something related to a 401(k) and people retiring in their 40's, which people cannot retire cannot40's and make -- retire in their 40's and make the pension system work. the only thing i really picked up that i could understand was that. i did not hear a lot of what he was saying. host: i think you caught the just of what he was saying. of what he was saying. let's go to lee. caller: good morning, sir.

thank you for your service. guest: thank you. caller: i would like to ask, what part of the pension -- in as' in a fit is benefit is medical coverage and pure money? host: why do you ask that question? caller: i work for a private industry, but some of my friends at work for public entities, they found out, they experienced that their medical costs, because medical costs are so high, it is really cutting into their benefits, and for the next generation, the state workers and county workers, they are cutting the benefits because the medical costs are so high that they are not getting the monetary returns on their money

that they voluntary -- that they voluntary put in -- that they voluntarily put in. guest: he is correct. part of the driver, the cost-driver in a retirement system is the indemnity, which is the cash component that is paid to the retiree each and every month, and the medical benefit is also a cost-driver. we have been fortunate in the state of kentucky to be able to keep those costs down for the retirees and for state employees. it has not been as big of a cost-driver as it has another states, but to give you an exact percentage, i couldn't, but i agree with him. i agree with lee. it is something that the state spends a lot of money on, but i 70/30.give you 60/40, or

i don't have those numbers in front of me. host: where is your district, senator stivers? guest: i am in the southeast portion of the state of kentucky. just above theok tennessee line, i have a couple of counties that touch the tennessee border. if you are familiar with history and geography, i am not far from the cumberland gap the daniel boone walk through several years ago to come into kentucky. that is predominantly the bulk of my area along i 75 and the tennessee border is before you get to the eastern point of the cumberland gap. host: and bill in chicago, you are on the" the washington journal." caller: i have a plan. social security at best. it would work for any pension plan, public or private, and it will pay over a billion dollars a year in social security, every

year. oft: bill, what is the just your plan -- what is the gist of your plan? caller: social security can be an asset. income can benefit social security if the recipients have flat 5% fee. it could be repaid through deductions and 10 months or less , at no more than 10% of your total a month. it must be paid in full before another one is given. that formula could work for any pension plan in any land. host: that was bill in chicago. senator stivers, how was the governor, matt bevin doing in your view?

i am: well, um, naturally, a republican and he is a republican. i think he has got a lot of good ideas and we have a lot of good discussions on how we want to move this state. we had a very successful session this past spring where we think that we passed a lot of legislation that will stimulate and spur growth. we have already seen some of the benefits with some major announcements of job growth, job development, some reinvestment and new investment. ,e are well ahead of the pace and well ahead of any prior records for announcements of investments. so, i think the governor has done a wonderful job and going out and selling this state and recruiting people to the state. , theorking with myself senate republican caucus, and the house republican caucus to

pass legislation to create great job growth. when you think about that, that is really what spurs our economy. and i want to say this about the state of kentucky. it is a wonderful state. tremendous location. we're within a 10 hour drive of almost two thirds of the population. great diversity from the river city -- the diversity from the mississippi river valley to the appalachian trail. we are going to continue to change the dynamics. uruguay to have a wonderful state that people want to come to paris i forgot about -- we are going to have a wonderful state that people want to calm to. host: i know one of our representatives enjoyed the beautiful drive. thank you for your time, robert stivers. minute, wen just a will continue our visit to frankfort, kentucky, and allison

, because secretary of state, the name might be familiar to you if you follow politics, she ran against mitch mcconnell at one point. we continue our visit in just a minute. ♪ c-span's cities tour takes book tv and american history tv to south dakota. we will for the rich history in literary life of the state's capital city. saturday at noon eastern on book tv, and author talks about pioneer cowboy and 11. integral to the cattle expansion. >> director of the pioneer girl project explores the memoirs and

inspiration of laura ingalls wilder. >> this is a research and publishing program of the historical society that is designed to study and publish of comprehensive portion pioneer girl, her autobiography. >> on sunday at 2:00 p.m. eastern on american history tv, we will tour south dakota's state capitol. >> there are also four corner areas with flags. obviously the south dakota flag, the flag from dakota territory, the flag from the united states, and flags for spain and france because they controlled this territory at different times. and then each corner has -- one corner has a white flag, one red, one black, and one yellow. those of the native american

collars that symbolizes the four directions of the compass. >> in your about lewis and clark's encounter with the dakota sue along the river. tv andpan2's book on american history tv on c-span3. the c-span's city's tour. visiting cities across the country. >> it became clear that my impression of breitbart having an experience on the election was an understatement. according to research, bright part was the driving force on the right side of the political spectrum. writeray night on q&a, will hinton talks about his

story down the breitbart whole. >> i think this is what gets to the disparity between -- i have always heard and continue to hear people talk about breitbart is this hysterical, shouty, machine for creating offense. reality of thea news organization that it functions on a daily basis. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span's q&a. washington journal continues. host: and her visit to frederick, kentucky continues, and joining us now on the new c-span bus is a kentucky secretary of state, alison lundergan grimes. she is a democrat. secretary grimes, what is the rolling of the secretary of tate? guest guest: good morning.

it is a pleasure to be here. changes from state to state. i am currently serving my second state. i'm the chief business official watching over all of the businesses that operate in the commonwealth small to large. and also the chief election official, watching over all of the elections. but more importantly that your viewers can appreciate, it takes me into all of our schools from middle school to collect all across the commonwealth and serving as the chief advocate for human engagement. making sure voices make a difference. host: you mention you are the chief election official. a lot of news and talk in washington about election security. what are your concerns in kentucky? guest: well, obviously, as we are watching what is happening nationally, with the commission that was set up literally based

to take out a security that our president has for losing the popular vote, my fear is that right now, nationally what we are seeing at best, a waste of taxpayer dollars. edwards, one of the largest voter suppression efforts this nation has ever seen. here in kentucky, watching over our elections is something i am do andged and humbled to to serve in that capacity, making sure that we are breaking down barriers to our ballot box. that has been my mission for the past seven years. we have come a long way helping our military and overseas voters don't access to our ballot box. helping victims of domestic violence with our programs, and expanding early voting for folks without an excuse. for example, people with a disability or illness. my hope over the next two years, we will see early voting come to the commonwealth.

we are already the 32nd state in the nation to launch online voter registration with govote kentucky.com. we have to give people an opportunity to vote. some people are out and out the door and not able to come to the polls on election day. we need to get people ample time to vote. we can do that by becoming an early voting state. it is my hope you will see the general assembly, that has long been a part of making our laws forward, will join in an effort that people in kentucky are demanding. host: if you want to talk to the kentucky secretary of state, alison lundergan grimes, kentucky residents, the top line, and all others on the bottom line.

is -- and id requirement to vote in kentucky? guest: we do have voter id laws in the state. you are either to be known by your precinct election officer. we have 3700 precinct offices in the state monitored by 300 election officers. four in the event you are not known, you have to show a drivers license, a social security card, credit card, or another form of id. host: you mentioned the president voter commission. what was requested from you a secretary of state from that commission, what was your response? guest: well, earlier this summer, we saw the president, when he was a candidate, had claims that are system was rigged. then upon becoming president, continued with false allegations completely unfounded that folks from both sides of the aisle have condemned. that folks voted

illegally in the last election. this commission was set up out of and insecurity of the president to chase down fiction that literally facts do not exist to support. those of the claims he perpetrated and made accusations of prior to becoming president, and then after being elected. and what we have seen instead of going after what is the biggest problem our nation is facing, people actually participating in our elections, the lack of people participating in our elections, they are requesting that every secretary of state across the nation, official site myself, for every registered voter, their name, address, the party registration, their voting history, and the last four digits of your social security number. this is information that invades the privacy of 3.3 million kentuckians and millions across this nation. and it is something i was not willing to sacrifice the privacy

of folks here in our state for an insecurity of the president. in the 10th amendment, which leads elections to the state, that is her best asset we have. that is the reason why the headlines for the efforts we saw with interference in our elections, want worse. system true asset of our and something i was not going to sacrifice because of the insecurity of our president, cynthia commission that is not demonstrated that it started off even on the right foot, seeking information for the right purposes. host: let's hear from some callers. let's begin with randy in michigan.

hi, randy. caller: i want to thank the secretary for the work she has been doing to help protect our voter rights. think --on is what you my question is what do you think what do you think the true purpose for getting this data is? guest: randy, thank you for your question. we have family in michigan. i can only speculate as to what the purpose of this commission is, but what we have seen the lack of ability for the public to give input. not actually encouraging voter participation. wingof them are from right columns.

breitbart supporters. they are chasing after fiction that the president continues to try to put forth to the public to try to accept a fiction many officials, like myself, saying there is no basis for. saying millions voted illegally in this last election. i don't think we need to be creating a national voter file. every registered voter's ones whoon, especially reside in the white house, we don't need it to be -- we don't need to make it easier for foreign actors to harbor our information. ron is in paducah, kentucky. you are on with alison lundergan grimes. guest: i want to personally thank you for standing up to washington to protect my voter information from intrusion. you, ron.l, thank

it is a pleasure and a privilege. and it is something that not only myself, but there are 40 secretaries across the state that of said no to the request from the voter sham commission which is what i like to call it. upare not willing to put information. your information, to me, whether it is the work we do in the office of secretary of state or the attorney general protecting it through equifax, we take up responsibility seriously. host: what kind of systems does kentucky use for voting. what has been done in the last couple of years to enhance security? systems, wef our are in the process of auditing our entire election infrastructure from our online voter registration to the

systems used on election day. none of our systems on election they are hooked to the internet. fore is no wire capability the possibility of intrusion, which is something that public should know -- that the public should know and feel protected in. in terms of the audit capability of our systems, we are in the process of reviewing all the systems that are used. we are taking a cue from our sisters, a fellow commonwealth in virginia. decertifying machines. our elections in the state, we are grateful to have over 120 amazing county clerks who do wonderful jobs. 15,000 precinct election officers that help watch over our systems. but we always know that the possibility, the likelihood, the potential threat, they exist and

they are out there each and every day. as i see here right now, we want to stay ahead of the curve and that is what we will continue to do in this state, not only watching the equipment we use making sure it is up-to-date and ,efensible with a paper trail for the public to have confidence in the system. host: let's hear from another bureau calling from london, kentucky. hello. grimes.hello, ms. i was so touched and uplifted by your grace. london, a restaurant in and the parents were leading the children in a chant "i hate obama, i hate obama." it was so sad. i would like your response. don'the poor -- i

get the disconnect. host: secretary, grimes? guest: thank you for your question. obviously, i am one of two democrats elected statewide in kentucky and one of the last women remaining in the south. in terms of your commitment to the state and educated voters, it goes a long way. there is lot of work still to do. i believe in the first amendment and the freedom of expression, but i have to respect the work that are former president did, leading us out of a horrible recession and increasing our economy, making sure people could get back to work. but there is more work left to be done. the economy in kentucky, we have worked still yet to do. revenues still to find and people we want to make sure have good paying jobs.

here in kentucky, a big part of the work that i do as an elected official, and something we need to do more of, is educating folks about what is occurring in our capitals and what our general assemblies are actually revealing. right now, across the nation, we have 100 bills in over 30 states that are seeking to make it harder for people to vote. i hope that is something that you will speak out about. get out and get loud, as i like to say. we need more people participating in this process to make sure it isn't a few dictating things for a majority, but in majority of folks participating in the system, making decisions for not only kentucky, but this nation. host: is there another senate run in you or another office in kentucky? guest: well, i sure appreciate

the encouragement and inquisitive question. i am really happy doing the work i am doing right now. 200 29 days from now, it will be our 2018 election. it is a huge balance where we will have all of our officials on the ballot, as well as our entire state house of representatives, state senate, several congressional races on the ballot. my focus is making sure we are prepared for 2018, especially with all of the discussions that we have had on the heels of this presidential election, and the foreign actors continuing to interfere with our democracy. one of our great equalizers that we have is our ballot box. grow our economy, making it easier for people to do business in the state, and breaking down barriers so people can go to that ballot box in 2018 successfully. and from there, maybe we can

talk further. host: alison lundergan grimes is kentucky's secretary of state. we want to thank her and the city of frankfurt as well as the frankfurt plant board, which is our cable partner in frankfurt for their time and for their efforts in getting us in there. next up, nashville, tennessee. another washington journal continues. minute beforeew the house is scheduled to come in at 9:00 a.m. we will go there for gavel to gavel coverage, but until we do, open phones until the house comes in. republicans 202-748-8001. democrats 202-748-8000. independents 202-748-8002. we will get to as many of your phone calls as we can.

the house is complete consideration of the house republican 2018 budget resolution. that $1.1 billion budget plan. other issues facing the house and the senate include relief for the recent hurricanes. here is a story. the trump administration asking congress for $29 billion for hurricane relief efforts. the white house asking for that $29 billion package an additional hurricane relief. they sent it to congress yesterday. the latest request seeks -- for the emergency management agency to stay current with the response effort. for lawmakers to wipe out $6 billion in debt that the national flood insurance -- owes to the treasury.

it also seeks out funding for wildfires. the new york times says it was not clear when the disaster relief request would be handled by lawmakers. there is a planned recess next week in the house has one for the following week. open phones until the house comes in. phone lines for democrats, republicans, and independents. griffin, is on the line for democrats. were you listening to the c-span bus tour? caller: yes, i want to thank secretary grimes to continue to vote -- to continue to protecting our voting information. in. marley is good morning. caller: good morning.

north carolina. host: go ahead. caller: ok. i'm a female gun owner. 22 for mymi automatic first wedding anniversary in 1964. article that i cut out of the paper one of lived in new jersey about 10 years ago, it is very short, and i would like to read it because it says dear editor, while traveling in vermont, i noticed the following quote posted on a store. this year, this is a quote -- this will go down in history they share the first, civilized nation has full gun registration. our streets will be safer, our police more efficient, and the world will follow our lead into the future. that was written and said by adolf hitler in 1935. a give you something to think

about, doesn't it? host: earlier in our program, we asked gunowners to call-in, and talk about what potential new restrictions they would support if any? some of the tweets left over from that segment, someone wrote in, as a gun owner, i support expanded background check, banning bump stocks and proficiency testing. another tweet, the discussion of gun restrictions is absurd. only we are restricted, not them. some of the headlines this morning from nevada, a headline there, still in shock in the wake of that shooting. there is a picture there of the memorials outside the venue for that country music concert with attack occurred. one more paper from nevada this morning, the las vegas review journal, going with the headline

valor in vegas, focusing on some of the stories during the shooting. police officers saluting the casket the metropolitan police officer charles hartfield on tuesday as it arrived in a downtown mortuary and cemetery. just a couple of minutes left. mark in new york. line for independents. go ahead. caller: good morning. just wanted to mention that the tax reform bill proposed by the administration is clearly there to benefit trump and his supporters in the establishment in general. if you look at the state tax repeal, that does not help the middle class at all. it only helps the top 1%. and it does very little for middle-class taxpayers if anything. secondly on healthcare realty trust if we had universal health care, which every other modern nation and the world has, people

wouldn't have to worry about changing jobs and having different health care plans, or having to find something different. if it was one provider, people could change jobs easily and realize a maximum potential. thanks. host: tomorrow morning, we are going to talk about the republican tax reform effort. mcginnis will be joining us. tune in at 7:30 tomorrow morning. susanna is in massachusetts for the life for democrats. caller: good morning. i would like to call your awareness to the ongoing efforts to be authorized as waters. fish and onat fresh the altar related fish. in that whole discussion, what seems to be missing and i wish c-span will look at this, the nation fishing fleet out of every port, none of the fisherman can get into the 21st

advanced, modern fishing boat something ecologically correct, in order to match the sun will -- in order to match sustainable resources. fleet that is 40 years out of sync. i wish c-span will take a close look at this. it does directly affect the nation. host: always appreciate suggestions. we have to leave it there. we take you there for gavel to gavel coverage. chaplain, reverend time, jesuit conference, washington, d.c. the chaplain: let us pray. god of all consolation from whom