of the race in iowa. you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter as well. "washington journal" is next. host: it has been a full week since the mass shootings in el paso and dayton. much of the focus has turned toward congress. at town hall meetings around the country, lawmakers are hearing of action.ome type lawmakers are talking about some type of response. what should that response be? i what action do you think congress should take? if you support congressional action on gun control, (202) 748-8000.

if you oppose it, (202) 748-8001 . you can weigh in on social media. you can also post a comment on facebook. post has aington special section, 12 pages, where they get personal. they talk about the lives lost, many pictures of victims of mass shootings. of deadly mass shootings in the u.s. has accelerated. people represented here died between the sandy hook massacre in which 20 children and six adults were killed in 2012 and last week's attack in dayton. they account for one third of those killed in mass shootings since 1966. thatare making the point this is just between sandy hook and this past week. if you look further into this

section, they break it down year-by-year. they begin in 1966 with the university of texas tower shooting. they also put names to the pictures. they list the names of the people killed since 1966. 54 years, 165 mass shootings, 1,196 victims. this is about 12 pages long. congress iswhat going to be doing, support for gun control is rising, but there is a chance they made still do nothing after all. polls show public support for tighter gun laws is rising. that doesn't mean congress is going to expand gun control anytime soon. public opinion and public policy on guns seem to be at odds for decades. measures like universal attractnd checks often

the support of 90% of the american public, but it has not translated into victories for gun control measures and they have been put to vote. republicans, many in safe rural districts insulated from national political opinion on gun control and other issues that tend to break along urban-rural lines. in the wake of recent mass shootings, president trump as expressed support for gun control measures he has previously rejected. mitch mcconnell has signaled support for a possible background check bill. president trump spoke to reporters wednesday before he headed to dayton. he had been talking to members of congress. here is what the president had to say. [video clip] >> i am looking to do background checks. i think background checks are important. guns't want to put

into the hands of mentally unstable people. i am all in favor of it. i can tell you that there is no political appetite for that at this moment it you can do your own -- moment. you can do your own polling. there is no political appetite in terms of the legislature. i will bring that up. there is a very strong appetite for background checks. i think we can bring up background checks like have never had before. i think both republicans and democrats are getting close to a bill on background checks. host: that was the president on wednesday. the new york times, the most recent attacks pose political risks. anti-immigrant rhetoric has been denounced as a contributor to

the violence. gun control activists argue some of the most recent shootings could have been prevented by so-called red flags, which allow ilyrts to temporar confiscate firearms from people. something about what might happen in september when congress returns according to the new york times. our goal for these first two hours of "washington journal" will be to take your calls and to take a deeper dive into our archives to show you he moments in the gun debate in recent years. the president was asked about assault weapons. we will start in march of 2013 when the senate considered a new assault weapons ban introduced by senator dianne feinstein.

in this clip, she has a clash over this issue with texas republican senator ted cruz. [video clip] >> if i might pose a question to the senior senator from california. in your response to senator cornyn, you mentioned 100 pages of the bill that specify particular firearms that if this bill were passed, congress would deem prohibited. he seems to me that all of us should begin as our foundational document the constitution. the second amendment provides that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. framers used the right ,f the people as a term of art it is found in the fourth amendment, the right of the people to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. the question i would pose is

would she deem it consistent with the bill of rights for congress to engage in the same endeavor that we are contemplating doing with the second amendment in the context of the first or fourth amendment> ? would she consider it constitutional for congress to specify that the first amendment shall apply only to the following books. which you think the fourth amendment's protection against onlyhes and seizures could apply to the following specialized individuals and not to the individuals congress has deemed outside of the bill of rights. >> let me just make a couple of points in response. i am not a sixth grader. i have been on this committee for 20 years. i was a mayor for nine years. i saw people shot.

i have looked at bodies that have been shot with these weapons. i have seen the bullets that implode. in sandy hook, youngsters were dismembered. there are other weapons. after 20a lawyer, but years, i have been up close and personal to the constitution. i have great respect for it. this doesn't mean that weapons of war, and the heller decision clearly points out three exceptions, two of which are pertinent here. it's fine you want to lecture me on the constitution, i appreciate it, just know i have been here a long time. i have studied the constitution myself. well-educated, and i thank you for the lecture. incidentally, this does not prohibit -- you use the word prohibit. 271 weapons.

isn't that enough for the people of the united states? do they need a bazooka? do they need other high-powered weapons that military people use to kill in close combat? i don't think so. i come from a different place than you do. i respect your views. i ask you to respect my views. march of 2000 for -- that was from march of 2013. just a little flavor opal we are going to show you in these two hours. -- of what we are going to show you in these two hours from our archives. let's get to your calls. ed, you oppose congressional action on gun control. tell us why. caller: i want to point out that over in england, they took all their guns away except for a few privileged people.

the people in england, they kill each other with knives. i guess it doesn't really matter if you take the guns away. they are going to kill each other with whatever they need. people that are crazy, you cannot stop people from being crazy. it is just impossible. you never know when somebody is going to attack you. i was on a beach one time in florida. three guys came up. i seen them coming. i don't drink. i seen an empty beer bottle near me. i took the beer bottle and hid it behind me, and they were going to rob me. i took the bottle and broke it on the wall behind me, and i said i am going to rob you guys.

they took off. it is one thing or the other. the point i'm trying to make is take peoples guns away, it isn't going to stop anything. host: is there any room in your view for anything regarding mental health, which has been talked about a lot this week? i think he went away. let's check in with maria in atlanta. hi, maria. caller: good morning. i have been listening to your program the whole week. think we should not have guns in the united states. will stabr said they with knives. 't stab with won

knives. countries without guns have less crimes. until we have a law that does not allow guns, we will be back on this program every two or three months with mass killings. host: are you saying no guns at all? caller: i am saying no guns at all. host: what about the second amendment? caller: the second amendment was only written by their forefathers. that needs to be redone. they say we cannot take their guns. yes, we can take your guns. you will be arrested, just like with drugs. you cannot sell drugs. what do you do when people sell drugs? you arrest them. all that second amendment needs to be done all over. no guns. america is like the wild west. it is ridiculous. host: tell us how you feel,

henrik. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. as a background, i am an immigrant. i have been here since 1963. -- 1959, beg your pardon. a little old by now. was naturalized in 1964, never missed a vote, and i lived under german occupation. experiencedas ever a foreign force barging into your house, taking the people in your house, putting a gun on the temple of a 10 year old boy, threatening to kill him if he doesn't do what they are telling him, then you don't know what you're talking about.

i live in a rural area. if i were threatened by an er, it wouldintrud take probably 25 minutes before here if weould come had an opportunity to call them. my question to all of these people that want to make another law that hase one ever prevented a crime. country, i abhor the idea of these mass killings, of little kids being shot in school. one caller said it very well, you will never, ever control idiots. that is basically all i have to say. some viewers riding in on

twitter. carol writes, i have never had a gun and do not want one, but background checks should be taken very seriously and carefully. writes, if the legislation simply said enforce policies, procedures, and laws already on the books, i would be all for it. that is not what it will say. sad. we create new laws to not enforce. think tell us what you congress should do about gun control. you should not have any weapons in public. you can have all the weapons you want at home. you should not be able to carry these weapons of war in public. only police officers should have weapons in public. some of them should not have it.

these people are not mentally ill. host: thank you for calling. at the publication 538, they wrote about how views on gun control have changed. the big picture trend shows that after bottoming out in the polls the decade ago, gun control has gotten more popular. asked1990, gallup has whether sales should be stricter or less strict than they are now. gallup asks this question regularly. aftermaths ofhe mass shootings do tend to stand out. they have a chart about the support for stricter gun control laws and how it has grown. you can see the top line is the

red line, the line for more strict gun control. you can see how it has ebbed and flowed over the years and has ticked up recently after the park when shooting. close to 75% of people support stricter gun control laws these days. we take you to 1993, november 30, about the brady bill. this is president bill clinton signing the brady handgun violence prevention act. this mandated federal background checks on firearm purchases and impose a waiting period of five days on handguns. [video clip] >> the brady bill has finally become law not because any of us but because grassroots america changed its mind and demanded this congress not leave here without doing something.

us managed tof light that spark and prove once again that democracy can work. america won this battle. americans are finally fed up with violence that cuts down another citizen with gunfire every 20 minutes. bill will makeis a difference. the washington post pointed out that 50,000 people have been denied the right to buy a handgun in four states since 1989. don't let anybody tell you this will not work. i have a friend back home who sold a gun years ago to a guy who had escaped from a mental hospital that he had not seen in 10 years. that old form,

have you ever been convicted of a crime? the guy said no. wereurs later, six people dead, and my friend is not over it to this day. don't tell me this bill will not make a difference. that is not true. host: president bill clinton at the white house, november 30, 1993. the brady handgun violence prevention act. let's go to cliff in maryland. we are asking folks whether they support or oppose congressional action on gun control. what do you say? caller: good morning. to all the people out there listening to our conversations this morning, especially the lawmakers, i would like to tell you all that there is no law that can be made that a criminal or crazy person will respect. effectws only

law-abiding citizens. the dayton shooter was a maniacal leftist who killed those people engage in dayton for the express purpose of trying to give these communists they ammunition they need for their disarmament agenda. that is what it is. it is a disarmament agenda. this country is not new zealand. you try to take guns from people in this country, you will get shot. people will die. there will be revolution and blood in the streets. i hope we can avoid that. host: marie, what would you like to say this morning? caller: good morning. i want to say, i am sorry about the ones that did get killed, but it is not going to get -- when he gets to

their doorsteps. then they will say we should have done something. then it will be too late. host: rex is on the line from ohio. good morning. caller: good morning. host: what would you like to say? caller: i wanted to talk about the fact that these people, people think they are randomly come up and decide they want to kill people. a lot of these children were on ritalin. they see a doctor. they get on the internet. they are monitored. these kids are trained or persuaded to do these acts of violence, specifically for gun control measures or to raise money for one group of people. i would like to go back to some

of the other callers that talk about keeping the guns out of the hands of the american citizens. missouri, in the walmart shooting that did not happen, there was an off-duty firemen carry permit. this from happening at that walmart. my question is this, was he against the law by bringing a concealed weapon into that walmart store? host: keep going. caller: did you hear me? host: anything else you want to add? caller: that is all i want to say for now. int: let's hear from janice new jersey. good morning. caller: good morning. i would like to say i believe

that our country is being looked countries at like, i can't believe this country can't correct their problem. it is all about the automatic weapons. these people that are mentally ill, we have never put enough money into the area of mental illness. we are starting to do that now. that is good. withshould start in systems. they need people to identify these kids when they are younger that many of them have already committed these horrible actions. they could have been helped early on. a lot of the controls are not going to work to stop everything, but we can stop having automatic guns. ban: that assault weapons in 1994, the sunset after 10 years.

do you think there is enough support in congress to get that done again? caller: i do. the only problem with that is how our system is with money and politics today. the democrats and the republicans. i am more of an independent person although i am registered as a democrat now. i wish people would look into their hearts. i don't want to take guns away from the hunters. hunter, you have ethics about how you want to apply your hunting. you don't need an automatic weapon. that in theed civilian population. it should only be for wartime methods. host: that is from janice. steve is on the line from south carolina. welcome to the program. thanks for joining us. caller: good morning. thank you for c-span.

host: you are welcome. caller: most people who are in favor of can control don't realize that the -- of gun control don't realize that the manhattan media have lied to them on a colossal scale. i want to give you three examples of where they have not told the american people the truth. we hear the current soundbite 15s, we need to ban a.r. but we never hear the fact that less than 1% of the homicides committed in this country are done with any kind of long gun, shotgun, bold action, whatever. the ar-15 happens to be the most popular rifle in the country. we hear that we are the only country that has mass shootings, but the definition of a mass tooting has been dumbed down four people killed.

that is not a mass shooting. that is a slow night in south chicago. we hear the american people are in favor of background checks. pos was invented by a llster after the sandy hook shooting. what they don't tell you is that the nra and other gun groups have done internal polling and show that 95% of american gun owners belong to the nra are opposed to universal background checks, which are totally unenforceable. you going to check on the sale of one person's private property to a neighbor or a friend? it is impossible. there is going to be so much cheating on this law that you might as well not pass it at all because it will be unenforceable.

host: thank you. now we turn to december 4, 2012, sandy hook, the killing at the elementary school that killed 26 people, including 20 children between six and seven years old. this is president barack obama speaking about the shooting in newtown, connecticut. [video clip] >> as a country, we have been through this too many times, whether it is an elementary school in newton or a shopping mall in oregon or a temple in wisconsin or a movie theater in aurora or a street corner in --cago, these new birds neighborhoods are our neighborhoods, and these children are our children. we are going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this regardless of the politics. this evening, michelle and i will do what i know every parent

in america will do, which is hug our children a little tighter and tell them that we love them and remind each other how deeply we love each other. their families in connecticut that cannot do that tonight. they need all of us right now. in our days to come, that community needs us to be at our best as americans, and i will do everything in my power as president to help because while nothing can fill the space of a lost child or loved one, all of us can extend a hand to those in need to remind them that we are there for them, that we are praying for them, that the love they felt for those they lost in ndures not just in their memory but in ours. may god bless the victims. in the words of scripture, heal the brokenhearted and bind up

their wounds. host: president barack obama after sandy hook. es, i believe in background checks, and i should also be allowed to carry my gun across state lines. nothing, the purpose of the second amendment is to protect against heretical government. -- to radical government. tyny colors -- to rannical government. the idea here is to get your thoughts on congressional action for gun control. there is a lot of buzz out there right now about potential action. we are taking a recent historic look at many of the remarks on the floor of congress and the

white house. tenant is on the line from new york. good morning. caller: good morning. i am 87 years old. i have lived my whole life. i have never had a gun. i have never felt i needed a gun. .'m not afraid of my neighbors there is this concept in this country that you have to defend yourself. i think it is a false notion. i also think the second amendment has been incorrectly interpreted. problem, theis the ness of the guns in this country. other countries do not have this problem because they have solved the guns.

if we cannot do that, at least we can ban these military assault weapons, which have no place in america might. we need to do something. this is a disgrace. it is an embarrassment to this country. people in america are always talking about their rights, but they do not talk enough about their responsibilities. to beesponsibility civilized. what is lacking here is civilization. that is all i have to say. howard in florida. caller: this is a very sticky situation. my heart bleeds for anybody that loses their life over a

shooting. i respect what people want as far as making other people safer. i respect that. here is the problem. you can take every gun off the planet. you can take every gun out of the hands of every criminal and mentally ill person that wants to do harm to someone else. ist you are not taking away the problem. the problem is still in the heart to want to kill people. when you take god out of your heart and discipline out of your home, you don't have respect for another human being. choices in life, good or evil. god gave us that choice so we can choose if we want to be good or evil. if you take good out of life, you have nothing but evil. problem,nt to fix the put god back into schools, put discipline back into homes.

are second amendment right is to protect ust is from the people wanting to take that right away from us. in order to protect that, we have to put love back into our hearts instead of hating. all this rhetoric about gun control is not going to solve anything. you can restrict the guns input background checks on it, but the criminals are still going to -- and put background checks on it, but the criminals are still going to get a gun. the mentally ill will still find a way to hurt people. there is nothing changing. that second amendment right is clear. uswas given to us to protect from that terroristic government. host: david on the line from connecticut. you support congressional action on gun control.

what kind of action? caller: good morning. i have to disagree with steve the previous color. i support universal background checks for purchasing. i am a marine corps veteran. my dad's death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. background checks was his line of work. gonow that how it does not is do nothing to prevent the success of evil men. sort of the opposite of that is the axiom. host: if anybody wants to respond, please go right ahead. poll.day has this you can see the red and blue, red for republicans, blue for democrats. how much responsibility to you believe the following holds for mass shootings?

when they asked about the mental health system, it was even. republicansrats and talk about mental health. when they talk about racism and white nationalism, big difference. 84% democrats, 57% republicans. they go on with various different questions. the nra,acturers and 72% of democrats say yes. 37% of republicans agreed. we want to take you now to june after thed the days shooting at the pulse nightclub in orlando. this is chris murphy in 2016 on the senate floor talking about the need for senate action. [video clip] >> i woke up this morning determined to make sure that

this was not going to be a lost week. since thosefurious days following sandy hook. thise been so angry that congress has mustered absolutely no response to mass shooting after mass shooting. plagueder city that is by gun violence, such that the children who grow up in the east bridgeport or the north end of harvard live through stress and trauma that affects their brains in irreparable ways. i'm embarrassed that it took me so long to become a convert to this issue. i'm embarrassed that it took the tragedy in sandy hook for me to

wake up to the fact that people around this country in new work and cities of my state have been living through this for without this hor from this -- ror without attention from this body. there is no supply from what happened in newtown. the focus of attention from all over this country on the inaction of this body and the failure of it to respond. that is what is so perplexing to me is that we have disagreements over what should be done, but what i have not understood is to we don't even attempt find common ground on this floor. why week after week there is not a single vote or debate measures on any of the that have been proposed to try to stop this carnage.

host: senator chris murphy of connecticut. the shooting in orlando in which several dozen were killed. john calling. caller: good morning. thank you. host: i can hear you now. go ahead. caller: the media has been quite disturbing for the past six months with white nationalism and white terrorism rhetoric. that black on white crime is 20 times white on black crime. are true,tatistics which they are from the fbi, why does the media have this narrative of white nationalism and anti-white rhetoric? the second amendment at its

foundation -- this country is not working out post-civil rights. host: nick is on the line from chicago. what do you think about congress and gun control? should they take action? caller: absolutely. it is far too long. i am 30 years old. upm from chicago, and i wake and read the papers every day. you hear about every weekend during the summer how many violent crimes have occurred in chicago. it is almost commonplace. no one is surprised to wake up to four people are shot or 10 over a long weekend, especially for a music festival like they have at lollapalooza every summer. ist is frustrating to me

that it is expected, at least in chicago, that there will be 50 people injured every weekend. it is really sad. i would like to echo what kenneth said. it is an embarrassment. it is an embarrassment for the city, for the united states of america. it is frustrating that it is basically a stalemate in congress and how much the nra does have this identity that one selected come if you have a rating -- who the hell cares? the people that really are impacted don't really have a say in this, and it is frustrating because i think background checks is such a simple thing.

it is such a simple thing, and it goes a long way. done for my kids. i hope i see it. based on what is going on right now, it should be a simple thing that could be done in a second. ecause of the nra tied,s, their hands are and they should not be tied. everyone knows this. i hope my little sister and my brother are not affected by it. theree up and hear that were 20 injuries in chicago last night with gun violence, it is just absurd. it is really embarrassing. my dad works overseas in copenhagen. he doesn't see any of it.

thing to hearn injured people getting over the weekend because of gang-related violence. host: robert is in michigan. bob.r: this is there is not a gun law that they can pass that will do any good. here is what would happen. if you could confiscate every gun out of the u.s., there would not be a gun on the market nowhere, what would happen is people would go underground and start making these guns. to gun you can buy for $500 $5,000uld end up getting per gun, and the only thing that would end up happening is the people they don't want them to have would be the criminals and killers. kaylee in the washington

.xaminer, we need red flag laws one of the options president trump and others are considering is some kind of red flag law, a preventive measure used to catch the early warning signs to disarm likely perps. pragmatic step. if they are not properly drafted, implemented, or enforced could lead to abuses that violate the right to due process and bear arms. in terms of what congress has been doing, this year you may remember in february, the house passed a bill that president trump said evan time he would veto.

the senate has chosen not to take it up. collinscongressman doug , republican from georgia speaking out against this bill from earlier this year. [video clip] >> today i rise in strong opposition, the so-called background check act. it fails to make anyone safer in any regard. i have been listening on the floor to those who came up and were happy about this bill coming for today. they mention many acts of mass violence. the sad part about it is they claim this is the answer and the first that. the actuality is it is a sidestep and may be a step backwards. you will not do what is being claimed. all this will do is burden law-abiding citizens wishing to defend themselves from the gun toting terminals this bill does nothing to combat. thatolishly presumes

criminals will subject themselves to background checks. our members delusional enough to think that criminals will go to the nearest gun store to submit to a background check? most of us agree criminals are not going to do that anyway. my concern is what it does in practice to those who are not criminals. not only is it full as to think they will start following the , but that this will make our country safer. everyends have exploited mass shooting to call for universal background checks. this would not stop a single mass shooting. over and over we see issues of mental health and missed opportunities for authorities to intercede. i share the concern. i will share real things that could make a difference in helping to stem the tide of mass violence in our country.

we have to understand that this bill does not do that, and what may make you feel good may not heal you. host: doug collins, republican from georgia. the house did end up passing the bipartisan background checks act . here are some of the provisions of the bill passed in the house. it prohibits person-to-person firearms transfers unless a background check is conducted, it closes a loophole allowing firearms purchases at gun shows, and it extends the amount of time firearms dealers must wait for a response from background checks systems before the sale can proceed. it still awaits action in the senate.

lisa mcbath is a democrat from georgia. she lost a son to gun violence. she spoke out in favor of the background checks bill. [video clip] >> as many of you may know, gun violence is an issue that is deeply personal for me. gun violence prevention and a desire to make meaningful change is the very reason i am here today. in this legislative body speaking to everyone of you. was shot andon killed by a man who opened fire on a car of unarmed teenagers in a gas station in jacksonville, florida. my son was only 17. jordan would have turned 24 this month. after my son's death, i dedicated my life to advocating for common sense gun safety solutions. it was the shooting at marjory stoneman douglas high school in

parkland, florida, last year that finally motivated me to join this legislative body. the overwhelming bipartisan support for universal background checks symbolizes the power of advocacy and the incredible power of the survivors, family members, and students who have shared their stories as they have advocated for common sense gun safety solutions and demand that we act to address gun violence. today, we are truly taking this action. 8 will ensure that mothers and fathers have one less reason to worry. it will give students one less thing to fear when they walk into school. it will make our communities and nation a safer place to live. host: derek from florida. you are on the line. your supporting congressional

action on gun control. what kind of action? caller: i support a background check. i cannot wrap my brain around why so many second amendment proponents are against extensive background checks. it makes a wonder if they feel they have something to hide, or if as a result of more stringent background checks, they may lose their rights. if these me scratching my head. i am a nurse. i have a graduate degree in public health. often times, you cannot directly disease isy artery due to this one thing, but instead there are 15 contributing factors. why peopleerstand who are against gun control for theyround checks, why

cannot recognize that guns play a role in the violence that we are experiencing in this country. on one hand, they can say it is mental health. that is one thing that contributes to the violence. ns, access to guns, guns that can shoot 100 rounds in 30 seconds or less contribute to this violence. why wouldn't you address all of those factors? i am very hopeful that with the 2020 presidential election coming up that something will happen. time in the first modern history where we have a president whose own words are being used by those individuals such as in el paso to justify their actions. i think that is what is going to

keep this on the front burner until the election in 2020. the other thing i want to say, the biggest second amendment theirents don't want rights taken away, but when i think of things like a women's men'sto choose and gay and women's rights to get married, they have no problem taking those away. i find that ironic. host: built in connecticut. go ahead. caller: i have something very interesting to say. number one, we reap what we sow. isn't it strange that in this country they are selling armor plated backpacks to students? $750 billion on the

military actions around the seas. that is number one. number two, gun control, there in thenot be ar-15s hands of regular people. backgroundave checks. we should stop those crazy videos. what about the woman whose husband is going to kill her? in connecticut, it takes you two months if you want to buy bullets to get licenses, and you have to take taken nra permit. that woman is dead. we are responsible for electing those people that are passing these laws that they are making the nra, naacp, cottage industries making a lot of money off of keeping these issues going.

they are walking around in thousand dollars suits. send us $1000. the american people have got to wake up. tvould go on and on, and the does not bring up any of this stuff. i appreciate c-span. at least some of the truth comes out. host: thank you. rob, missouri. you oppose congressional action on gun control. tell us why. i don'ti oppose, i support. host: i had it written down incorrectly. 23 years ago, a man murdered 16 children and their teacher. bannedter that the u.k. all ownership of handguns, and since then there have been no school shootings in the u.k.

that is 23 years of no gun violence in the u.k. what do we have here? we have gun violence every day or twice a day. i think it is a shame that 5 million nra members are holding 305 million americans hostage because they want guns in every corner of this country. there are already 300 million guns. how many more guns do we need before these people feel safe? i think we need to fight back. we need to vote on every congressman and senator who is in the pockets of the nra, does not support sensible gun control. i think they need to be gone. i think the majority wants the situation cleaned up. what kind of hunter meets 17 needs 17 bullets in deer?15 for a

the sensible people need to rise up and fight against these crazy kooks. thank you. host: here is the front cover of the current edition of time magazine. one word, enough. they have the names of the various cities, 235 cities where mass shootings this year, including el paso, dayton. of 1999, this is after columbine, the high school shooting in which 12 students and one teacher were killed. this is president bill clinton addressing a loophole in the assault weapons ban that existed. [video clip] >> we have to strengthen the assault weapons ban to close the loophole that allows dealers to

sell older high-capacity magazines manufactured abroad. feinstein thought who in the world to be against this. i had a conversation with a member of congress who said to me, good person, really good person, when we were doing this in 1994, really good person. who told me, i want you to understand the argument. you have to understand, we have people who use these bigger magazines for certain kinds of sport contests. i said, so what? [laughter] me if i they will beat vote for this. i said, they will beat you if did is makek you

their lives miserable because some washington bureaucrat ask you to. if you can explain that it is saving lives, they will not be you. you have to help these people. this is a no-brainer. you have to understand, there is another culture out there. almost everyone in it is god-fearing, law-abiding, taxpaying. they don't like this because they don't understand that if they do what you are asking, they can save a lot of lives. we have got to fix this. this is mathematics. you're going to have fewer people die if you get rid of these magazines. host: bill clinton from april of 1999 calling for updates to the assault weapons ban. that 1994 bill was signed by president clinton. ofprohibited the manufacture

, itautomatic firearms applied solely to weapons manufactured after that bill. it had a 10 year sunset period. it expired in 2004. host: good morning. caller: good morning. points turned into three to respond to rob in missouri. thank you, c-span, for letting me see prime minister's questions because i see many of the members complain about all of the knife violence happening in the u.k. with all of the guns they removed, they still have people killing with knives. i would ask your producers to bring up those archives and show how much of a knife problem they

have in the u.k. it is not the guns, people still kill with knives. you are showing all of these politicians. why don't you bring up some of the archives of some of the recent riots we have had? just off the top of my head, ferguson, baltimore. go to the archives and show what happened during the l.a. riots, how the police force had to pull back. you had people commenting live on television saying, we don't know what to do, they have pulled back. being a little thought experiment. let's cordon off south chicago temporarily. let's temporarily suspend the fourth amendment. let's do a house to house search and actually confiscate all of the illegal guns.

i guarantee you that is a solution, and gun violence will go down dramatically probably in a week after you exercise that action. at what cost? we would have suspended the fourth amendment. host: thanks for calling. ago, like of compassion, and respect for lives is disappeared for too many. tim is on the line from wisconsin. good morning. guest: good morning, c-span, good morning, america. in order to stop this, to change it, we've got to find things that we find in common. do is the first things we when you purchase a firearm, especially a semiautomatic rifle, there's a liability insurance. if you were to put liability

insurance on this gun when you buy it, before you would sell it to someone, you would either have to keep paying your insurance, or you would have to transfer the insurance to the next buyer. which is, in turn, registering the next buyer. when you sell a gun to your friend for anyone, there is no tax taken on that sale. and so, the black market for guns, you could go by a pickup truck with a gun and not pay any taxes. there is a black market for guns in the needs to be a tax at each registration, i know gun owners don't like their guns to be registered. of that is because they don't want to pay the tax when they want to sell the gun. liability insurance would help the victims. it can be used for a lot of things.

be that big of an expense, but think of the victims. there's hospital bills, there's all kinds of things. i hope i've helped, good morning to you. host: thank you for your participation. john, what do you think about congressional action on gun control? yeah, i think that nothing can be done, because, i tell you what. all, all the politicians are trying to do something for years. because't do anything it's impossible. as far as england goes, i lived in england. they take away your guns, but there's still a lot of murders. people want to do something, they will find a way. and england doesn't have 350 billion people, we have 52 states. every state is like a country. gunsimpossible to control

when, for instance, in the philippines, they make guns on the black market. they sell them all over the world. how are you going to stop that? there's so many things that you can't stop and there's no solution other than take the crazy people that do this, or the terrorists. they are the ones responsible for this. for instance, i'm 80 years old. and i watched my kids even to this day, i know it's going on in their lives. i don't mean to say these parents didn't know their kid was a loony tune and ready to kill a lot of people? they don't keep up with their kids? i mean, they act like there is no responsibility there? i think that, in this country and in any country, there's always going to be people that are sick mentally. stop, becausee to you can't take guns away, it's impossible to take all the guns away. , johnthanks for calling

from miami, florida. just after 8:00 in washington are we are spending the first two hours of washington journal asking your thoughts on congressional action on gun control, so in addition to your calls, we've been showing you some video from recent years of various debates in congress and presidents have followed mass shootings and things they were trying to achieve after the shootings. i want to remind you that later today, we will be back in iowa. the iowa state fair. 12:15 p.m. eastern time. speakers include the former massachusetts governor, senator michael bennet, senator bernie sanders. bill de blasio. starting at 12:15 eastern time today. americans finally turning against the guns is the headline at the washington post. politics could change, they are talking about how the

parties have addressed this issue. the country has addressed this issue in recent years. we will read a little bit from that in just a moment. i wanted to take you to iowa where andrew yang, a presidential candidate, democratic presidential candidate, he's a technology entrepreneur. he took questions from an audience member about violence and it was from someone whose daughter was killed by a stray bullet. here is the exchange between andrew yang and that voter. yang: i have a six and three role boy. -- three-year-old boy. i was imagining it was one of them that got shot on the other side. i'm so sorry. [applause]

>> the biggest downside to running for president for me is i don't see my family very much, so i get pictures, i facetime. scene that you describe, it's very affecting. you are right that when there is a gun in the household, you are more likely to have a child get shot or the owner get shot than to kill an intruder in the house. those are just numbers. those are just the facts. andof the things we can do, it's very hard to get into american houses where all of these guns are, but if we can convince americans that personalized guns are a good idea, again, if a child gets a hold of the gun, it becomes a very heavy, expensive prop. that we is something can push. one of my proposals is to

actually help gun owners upgrade their guns to personalized guns free of charge because if we can do that, if you are a gun owner, gun owners are parents. gun owners understand that they say if youf them upgrade your guns for free when we can do that, that would help make kids safer. -- thatorry you had to story should not be possible. i'm so sorry. andrew yang, the democratic president of candidate in iowa. here's a little bit from that post column about the opinion piece that america is finally turning against guns. america's relationship with guns is changing. people more than ever want something or someone to do something. these new attitudes will the political leader values. republicans increasingly understand that they are on the

wrong side of history and risk political ruin in the suburbs if they do not find a way to distance themselves. it has not always been this way. democrats took stock. states like west virginia, ohio, and missouri and grew concerned about a growing cultural disconnect between the party and the people in the interior of the country. democrats made a tactical decision to walk away from gun control. in 2004, the assault weapons ban was allowed to expire was a process from congressional democrats, the party and pro-gun candidates to run a world -- in the 20 -- 2006 midterms. barack obama did not make gun control a major seed in either as national campaigns. obamasandy hook, introduced executive orders addressing guns. me mampioned mansion-to --anchin -- manchin-toomey but

it was defeated. today they write the democratic presidential candidates have made reducing gun violence a major campaign issue. in the outlook section of the washington post. stephen, thanks for hanging on. you are in hagerstown, maryland. what would you like to say? first point i would like to make, if you want to do a background check, why don't we tie that the parents that would stop illegal immigration and do away with roe v. wade? why don't we tie that to stop legalizing drugs? second thing i would like to expand is if the government can take my guns away to where i cannot protect my family, why should anybody in congress have a police force? why should the president have a

secret service? why should any actors or other politicians have people with guns that protect them? if i can have a gun, they shouldn't have anybody walking down the road to give them peace of mind. and, finally, i want to let it has beenow that said and it is true today as it was when it was first said, a person with a gun is a citizen. a person without a gun is a subject. that is why we fought the civil war, we did not want to be subjects of the king. why would we want to be subjects of a tyrant? thank you. host: next call from ray, where are you calling from? ray, you're on the air. caller: me? yes, hello. host: where are you calling from? caller: i'm calling from hagerstown, maryland. i'll is racist firearms -- i was

raised with firearms. i grew up in a home and i always had them. as created any trouble, i was never arrested. i was never thrown in prison. guns should be allowed in america. thank you. calling from tacoma, washington. welcome to the program. caller: just wanted to make three points. several decades spent in the military, i've been all over the world to places like korea and japan. deaths related40 to guns in eight years. if you look at the las vegas shooter, he killed more people than that in 30 minutes. when i was in korea, i was stationed in seoul, fourth-largest city in the world.

so massive that you could take los angeles, new york city, chicago and put it within the city limits. was the seven years i stationed there, i could walk clear across the city on any given friday or saturday night and never once did i worry about my safety. second thing, a lot of people like to refer to the ar-15 as not an assault rifle, that military even when we use them, even though they came out with the and 41 which was fully automatic and before that you have the m-4, we never used semi burst, we never used leon o-matic. it most lethal way to carry is on semi automatic, so to sit there and say that ar-15 isn't an assault rifle because it isn't fully automatic, means absolutely nothing. it's more deadly when it is used semi automatic. the last thing, i support guns 100%. however, i just him feel like if you are going out into the woods

and your spring a 30 round magazine to try to hit some dear , you probably need to go back to the range and practice more. it's just like in the military. magazines to zero. and then we give them three more magazines. the private doesn't qualify, we send them back to training, which is looking out spraying bullets until you've been on the range. you really don't know how scary it is, because you are always having to tell the soldiers, your weapon downrange, don't look down the barrel. get out on the range with a bunch of 18-year-olds and tell me you're not scared. host: in tacoma, rj wright at facebook about gun laws here in chicago and baltimore have strict gun laws and ask them how they are working out for them. news, they do a write up of various actions taken in washington on gun control. they remind us that there has been a bump stock been put in place.

the 2017 gunman in las vegas carrying out the deadliest in mass -- u.s. history. he modified his semiautomatic firearms to spray like semi automatic machine guns. this is one of the few events that resulted in government action. but it wasn't by congress. in the wake of this shooting which killed 58 people, the white house announced a rule that fully been on stock devices . the justice department in december of 2018 amended the law by printing machine guns to include guns modified with bump stocks. they point out that this measure has survived a legal challenge. we take you to april 17, 2013 now. we've been talking about manchin-toomey. the two senators, they introduced a bill, background checks on all commercial sales of guns including those at gun shows and on the internet. this measure failed in the senate.

here is senator toomey prior to that vote. >> the second thing, we ask you have background checks at gun shows. we already have them if you buy from a licensed dealer. who buyslvania, anyone a handgun anywhere at anytime has a background check. , it wouldwould do extend background checks for commercial sales which are conducted at gun shows. and for advertised sales over the internet. now, i've got to tell you, there is absolutely no way that this can be construed as an infringement on the second amendment rights. and you don't have to take my word for this. scaliaould take justice word for this in the heller decision where he quite rightly came to the decision, as did a majority of the supreme court, a conservative majority came to the correct conclusion, in my view, that the second amendment is an individual right, not

contingent on membership in a militia, is not a collective right of multiple people, the founders did not technology collective rights. an individual, personal right. they were correct. but in that decision, justice scalia also observed that there is nothing unconstitutional about legislation that would limit or restrict and try to provide the purchase of firearms by people who don't enjoy this right. host: that bill which needed 60 votes to achieve the procedural failed, it did not get the 60 votes, it did not move, that was from april of 2013 on the senate floor. arkansas, paul is calling. we are asking folks a congressional action on gun control in support or oppose, what do you think? >> here is the situation. if you want a national background check on the transfer of every firearm in this country, you are going to have to have a registration of every

firearm in this country. the next step is going to be the confiscation of those guns are the u.s. government. and that is the reason why people that own guns for protection are so vehemently opposed to the situation, because then you are going to have people becoming criminals because they hold their weapons close to them and you're going to go back to prohibition. to stop gunsoing coming across the border because you can't stop drugs coming across the border. so, that's what you're getting too. you are going to make a lot of honest citizens become criminals. host: thank you. kim from indiana, good morning. so far this morning, i haven't heard anybody say any about being on the receiving end of an assault rifle ambush. i, as a police officer, was on , and the man end

shot of my squad car with me and my canine in it. did not hit us. don't know how. roundspicked up 28 spent after this man fled after he thought he killed me. i couldn't ever return fire because i had to lay down and play dead because i couldn't return the fire because i didn't want them to know i was still alive. when people talk about assault thats, they are so deadly what realtors call stick homes. which are most homes that are not break. well, i have four homicides i can remember where they were shot through the walls, the outside walls, going through the inside walls, and killing the people, shooting them in the head. i have seen them with their eyeballs hanging halfway down

their face from an assault rifle. know don'tman i carry assault rifles unless they are on a swat team. me, there is no common sense for an assault rifle on the streets of a country that is supposed to be civilized. that's pretty much what i have to say. the ban of an assault rifle needs to go. thanks for calling. jacqueline is on the line from philadelphia. caller: good morning, and i agree with what that man just said. 80's,d enough, i made my to remember when i walked into a bank, there was a guard with a gun. there was a cop on the beach. it was kids got in trouble, we knew where to go. we could do that now, and it's a gun, it's not an assault rifle. you could put it at nightclubs. bankss are not the only --

are not the only places. i remember a man that had a sport, he used to sit on his back porch and kill squirrels. wonderful, let's kill squirrels. i mean, it's terrible. that's all i've got to say. host: thanks for calling. back to twitter, with the assault rifle being most popular platform of weapon desired in america for mashers, i would think that if the places were controlling who is to own one, someone writes "we have try the nra cap of more guns, that really has not worked. we should look at the history of each of the mashers, why not how they obtained guns, and prevent them from being obtained the way that they did. politico has this story about the next big vote on gun control, they say it may actually be in the u.s. supreme court. congress get gun makers immunity from lawsuits. that after the recent mass shootings, pressure to

perform gun laws is focused on congress, as usual. congress is stymied about what to do. but the debate has now landed in the supreme court. last week the right "gun maker remington which had able sales of roughly $600 million in 2017 asks the court to overturn a connecticut decision against -- and that if any family the company over the way they marketed the weapon used in the 2012 massacre." the ability to bring suits against gun makers would get american citizens a powerful tool to hold gun makers liable for damage that weapons cause just as cigarette companies are vulnerable for lawsuits about tobacco. it's not clear whether the court will take the case and if it does, whether will side with the families who uphold protections that gun makers have enjoyed since the bush administration. that is the political publication, you can read that at politico.com. more of your calls and a couple of minutes, but we take you to

june 20 8, 2015. the charleston shooting, nine people were killed at the methodist episcopal church in charleston, south carolina. president obama made a statement calling that shooting. obama: until the investigation is complete, i'm constrained in terms of talking about the details of the case. but i don't need to be constrained about the emotions that tragedies like this raise. i've had to make statements like this too many times. communities like this have had to injure tragedies like this too many times. facts, butve all the we do know that, once again, innocent people were killed in part because someone who wanted to inflict harm had no trouble getting their hands on a gun. for healing.me but let's be clear.

some point, we, as a country, will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries. it doesn't happen. it doesn't happen in other places with this kind of frequency. and it is in our power to do something about it. recognizing the politics in this town, and a lot of those avenues right now. but it would be wrong for us not to acknowledge it. at some point, it's going to be important to the american people. for us to be able to shift how we think about the issue of gun violence.

that was june of 2015, obama following the charleston shooting. pam is calling from philadelphia. what would you like to say about congress and gun control? : the only reason they are banning the assault weapons -- i don't know anyone who uses assault weapons. i don't think you can use an assault weapon while you are out on the playground. assault weapons and extended -- assault are the weapons are only meant for one thing and that is for killing people. not for hunting. and it's totally wacky that congress does not want to do does president trump want to do anything about banning assault rifles. assault weapons and extended clips. clip and size of the

no assault rifles should be allowed. i'm sorry. a hunting rifle, fine. limited clips is fine. but these oversized clips that they use, and the assault rifles, who the heck needs an assault rifle? host: thanks for your thoughts from philadelphia. on to detroit, hello darrell. caller: this is darrell from detroit. i want to do an overview because sometimes we lose that respect. on lastgoogle search year's mass killings, turned out to be 74 people. people, duringne other americans went to

work, took their kids to school, paid their bills, and went to sleep safely. 37 million people. what i'm saying is, every time we have one of these mass shootings, the politicians come out and come up with these solutions. the reality is that with such a large country, so many people have mental problems, so many people have hatreds, that this is the new abnormal. and it will never stop. thank you very much. sioux is on the line from washington, d.c. caller: i do support congress coming back. i wish they would come back and do something about this, all the shootings that are going on. host: what do you think they

should do? caller: that's what i'm calling about. the other half is because of the becausef mental illness i don't take that is correct. saying that it's people who have a mental illness, because as a social worker and as somebody who has suffered with depression life,xiety throughout my i don't think it is fair to say illness, ie of this have the potential of me going out and killing somebody because of that illness. it is absurd. now, if you look at what the young men have said and done, it is the on everyday, run-of-the-mill mental illness. he was brainwashed, he was brought into a system that taught him to think that way.

and if you listen back to when president clinton was addressing , he said you are going to have people on the other side who won't believe what i'm saying. group that we the have to look at. inthat saying that everybody that group has a mental illness? if you listen to the people who express, try to say that it's because -- i'm really nervous, so my thoughts are kind of scattered. but i know what i want to say. i want to say that they try to say that if you go to chicago , i'mhe killings over there just having a real hard time. but it's not because of a mental illness. thank you. host: we understand the point, thinks for taking part in the program. back to that washington post

special section today, about mass shootings in america. they show photos, they leave the names of the victims, they break things down year-by-year including the eight page of this report starting in 2010, bringing it up to close the present day. they talk about 2016, and the pulse nightclub shooting. 49 killed. 53 injured. time at theclosing lgbt nightclub, a 29-year-old father who worked for a security company, again, shooting patrons with a semi automatic rifle. the new york board government called 911. some,ers they write, fatally injured, trapped in restrooms for hours. the shooter died in a gunbattle with the swat team in 2016. congressmanan

addressed his concerns over proposals to put people on federally mandated list. here is what he had to say. [video clip] timesple need help at like this. after a tragedy like this, we are almost certain to hear two debates, one is about the second big aent and one is how problem the mental health problem is of this. orlando, this debate san bernardino, and other places around the world. we add radical islamic terrorism as a motivator. faith taken out of any rational context of faith ends up in violence. we will have a debate about the no-fly list, the terror watch list, and by the way, mr. president, those are two very different lists.

the no-fly list is relatively small list. the terror watch has about one million people on it. as a member of the intelligence committee, i'm still waiting for a better explanation to take this individual off than the interview was inconclusive, which is the quote just given by thatenator from florida the fbi director made. inconclusive, not good enough. i would think if there's a reason you are on the list, there should be a conclusive reason you are taken off, not an inconclusive reason you are taking off. i would suggest we need to be thoughtful here. when the government can put people on the list outside the normal justice system, and because the government has put your name on a list that somehow you lose rights you might the kind ofve is

thing we would not assume our government would ever be able to do. somebody in the list that needs to be watched is a different thing. and how they get on and off that list is a different debate. but just the idea we could have a government put your name, my name, or the name of anybody listening to this on a list, and because you are on that list certain things happen that would not happen otherwise is concerning to me. missouri senator from after the colts shooting of 2016. -- also shooting of 2016. good morning, don. the amendment was win only white property owners could vote it we need to be more

proactive as a community and get out. allow our guns and well speak for us. we need to drive a certain kind of car, live in a certain kind of house. as civilized people, the civilization issue comes up. we are not reading as much. our intellect is low. we are not reading books. we tend to look at visual to materialpposed on opposing views. we have a lot to do in our educational system. we spend more money on prisons and we invest less and less on education. if we are talking about a civilized country in america leaving in mass shootings, there .s an issue

we don't talk about the illiteracy rate in america. we talk about mental health, but we don't develop the brain as it should be. we don't nurture it with proper food and minerals. we are poisoned by toxins in the food and air. there are many issues, not just gun control. we have to organize and vote on many issues that encapsulate the usageof violence and gun on public people in public squares and everything else. there are many things to do. we have to go through the whole mantra of issues in a so-called civilized society. host: we are talking about congressional action on gun control.

what do you think? caller: good morning, america. i have several thoughts i would like to communicate to the public. i come from a third world country. my first point is this. american democracy has survived 240 years, partly because of the second amendment. you take away or undermine or delegitimize the second amendment in any way, it is a catastrophe that awaits american democracy as we experience it today. there is an emotional reaction to gun violence and mass perpetrated by people who are mentally ill or otherwise. for the debate to have any legitimacy or credibility, we would have to vote side-by-side on the daily killings that have

been in the inner cities by people with guns. if we want to talk about that, then we will have that conversation. right now, there is an emotional reaction. c-span has become part of the mainstream fake news media. i don't understand why they talked about this all week. i listen to c-span every day. that is all they have talked about all week. i want people to understand you resolvefind a way to the issues with guns in america. if you want to do that, go all s for the police, army, completely. nobody owns a gun.

that would be a more even playing field. thank you very much, america. good morning. host: thank you for calling. bronson is in colorado. you are on the air. caller: good morning, america. i am a disabled veteran, served during the vietnam war. . learned to fire many weapons bazooka -- >> you are on the air. host: i'm sorry to interrupt, but could you turn the sound down? we can hear you much better. go ahead, certain. -- sort. caller: ok. i am a vietnam veteran, served during the vietnam war. fired many weapons. grenade launchers. desire to ownny

weapons. the second amendment is obsolete. it should be amended to deny weapons of war. the reason being, when the constitution was written, the second amendment was included to allow the citizenry to defend from foreign invaders. now in the 21st century, we are one of the most well-funded war machines in the world. we are now turning the guns on each other, mostly by racists, mental health basket cases, drug cartels in mexico, and camera terrorists. thank you. have a nice day. host: thank you for calling, bronson, from pueblo.

this is along the lines of what bronson was saying. regulated militia and well armed militia shall not be infringed. he is writing on facebook. the reporter writes instead of making lesson plans, i am making active shooter plans, that is says.he teacher push senator backgroundback the check bill. i'm going to take you back to january of 2011. this was the shooting of been representative gabby giffords at

a supermarket where she was , fromg with constituents 2011 early in the year. this was from steve scully's spoke on the house floor after the shooting -- this was from steve scalise who spoke on the house floor after the shooting. here he is talking about the shooting of representative giffords. madam speaker, it is with a heavy heart i join my colleagues in paying respects to the senseless tragedy last weekend in arizona. i extend my prayers to the families of those who lost their lives, the wounded, and recovering, and to our dear colleague, gabby giffords. she is an energetic member of congress who works and enjoys and treats all of those she meets with decency and kindness. i was here with her last week while we read the constitution on the floor of this house.

she so eloquently read from the bedrock of our democracy the first amendment. in a direct affliction of her passion for interacting with , she readrepresents about the rights of those two peacefully assemble. it is fundamental to our form of government. spending time with the gentlelady who so probably advocates on their behalf in the house of representatives. among the fallen were a great-grandmother, a devoted ane, the public servant, honorable judge, a nine-year-old girl who wanted to learn more about government, and a man who gave his life protecting and saving his wife. they are all in our thoughts and prayers. our founding fathers made the mistake with included the right to peaceably assemble among the first rights.

the tragic events are a stark reminder we must never waiver in our steadfast support of the first amendment and the precious freedoms it affords us every day. all of those affected by the tragedy continue to heal, let us remember the victims and their loved ones in our thoughts and prayers and actions. have known us here and people throughout the nation are witnessing, gabby giffords is a fighter. let's keep in our prayers the hope that she again joins us back here on the floor of this people's house. we will hear from steve scalise in a moment or two. maxine from michigan, good morning. good morning, america. i hope you give me a few minutes to get my thoughts together. host: go ahead.

caller: here we go again. we have another mass shooting. what do we do? politicians start preaching we need gun control. i'm going to quote dr. edwards deming with his eight steps of problem solving. you cannot solve the problem unless you first identify the root cause. all you are doing is identifying symptoms. murder does not begin in the mind. it begins in the heart. if you look at the first murder ew history, cain sl brother with a rock. with, they cannot control anything. they pass laws that no one pays attention to. they do not even pay attention to them. are educated beyond their

level of intelligence because not a single one of them has the ability to stand up and say what the cause is. downsizedis we have our society to the point that life means nothing. babies in thee womb, out of the womb, whatever. when hitler started confiscating guns in germany, that allowed him to kill 6 million people unopposed. and you want to do it here in america. i am totally against any kind of gun control because if you do not pay attention to history, you will repeat it. is our schoolst do not teach children to respect one another in social studies and stuff as that. we teach them values clarification.

if it is good for you, fine, you don't have to pay attention to anyone else. we have a sick society. that is why other countries do not have the problems we have, because they do not preach what we preach. we preach a liberal arts schedule. i have gotten my point across. thank you very much and goodbye. host: thank you for taking part in the program. this is steve scalise after he was wounded in 2017. this is a shot we found of the congressional baseball practice in virginia. this was 2017 in june. he returned to the house floor after being seriously wounded. he returned in september and made a speech. here is a portion of that speech. [video clip] >> we come here and fight for the things we believe in. i have passed and beliefs.

for some reason, some of you do not agree with all of those. [laughter] >> but it is so important we come here. this is the people's house. this is where the issues are to be debated. we fight through the issues. ultimately, we come together. if you can put the majority together, that is what rules the day. it is so important as we are having those political battles we do not make them personal. this is the thing that kept coming back to me as i tried to make sense of all of this and comprehending the outpouring of love that i saw. i kept coming back to those world leaders. why would leaders from around the world that i have never met before reach out and say we hope you can get back to work and come through this? they cared about my well-being, but they saw this as an attack on all of us. they saw this as an attack on

the institution of congress and our government. they count on us to be successful. we all know the united states is the leader of the free world read it is something we had the honor of the country to hold is a distinction for generations. title,n you look at that what it really means is there are people around the world that or have freedom but they know the united states being strong is critical to the rest of the world having the opportunity for freedom. [applause] scalise in the fall of 2017. we are going to do this for 10 or 12 more minutes. your calls on congressional action on gun control. what are you looking for? we have filed from texas. -- we have ronald from texas. go ahead. what would you like to say? caller: i thought the lady from

michigan was specific and had some pertinent points. against exactly for or -- i am for a solution. i think this is an emotional situation. we are not looking at all the possibilities and background that creates the problem. nobody talks about one of the basic problems. that is population, people, too many people. graph the problems with the density of the population, you will see a correlation with the problem. in his speech talked about that havecountries the control we don't have, that they did not have problems. what about the countries that

have no guns but they have mass murders and stuff, killings with machetes, hundreds of innocent people being killed with machetes? control or no guns is not necessarily a solution. law is not going to be a solution. you have to change the attitude. host: thank you, ronald. joel calling from virginia. caller: good morning. toould like to say thanks all the folks who call in and participate. a lot of people with different views can be heard. i don't come down opposed to gun control, and i do not support it either.

i am a school teacher and an n.r.a. member. this problem in america is not necessarily completely about the guns. commentshe president's .eferencing video games in a conversation recently with a student who is a fifth grader, this young man who has no access to real firearms could talk about lethality. he knew what primary weapons were. he knew where to shoot people legally. he learned that from video games. this movie that was supposed to come out, "the hunt," do we really need to see that in our country right now? i think we are manufacturing mass shootings and don't realize it. the good thing about humans is ultimately win our backs are against the wall, we figure a way out. for comprehensive --

we need waiting periods, we need background checks, we need education. i grew up shooting guns before i could ride a bike. i was taught that they take life. i was taught how to handle them safely. i was taught not to be reckless and to value the life you could take with that, the power of it, to respect them and use them properly. we don't do that. they are the big, bad monster hiding in the closet waiting to reach out and get us. it has been politicized. it is sickening to see how it is. i had a chance to speak with a legislator locally that lost his wife to gun violence. to me, that is a textbook case of mental health gone awry. i also think we need to be able to carry weapons and have them in our homes.

i live in a community where it is a deterrent. we don't have a lot of home invasions here. folks know that may be on the other side of that door is a person ready to protect their family. we all need to get together comprehensively, take the politicizing out of it, and get some common sense stuff on the board to work with this. we need to start with our youth. until then, it will keep happening. host: thank you for calling. joel mentioning video games. write-up, thegh right thing 2013 the president referencing mass shootings. there was a federal grant to look at the effects pilot video games have on young minds.

the cdc found spending up to five hours a day on video games found to have an effect. that is at cbs.com. you may remember the so-called sit-in on the house floor in june of 2016. house democrats took to the regular house session which had been shut down for speaker ryan to allow a vote. here is the maryland representative. [video clip] >> when americans are killed on a regular basis, when young children are gunned down, and we do nothing about it, shame on all of us are not doing what we have to do. we will get criticized for being here and wasting time. we could not use our time any better than to deal with one of

the biggest problems in the united states of america. that is dealing with innocent people being killed over and over again. we will not solve this problem overnight. finding a wayrt to make sure we don't continue to have these mass killings. we have not done that yet. people are saying right now that we are using orlando as political theater. that is such hogwash. the reason is because there is no more important issue right now than trying to do with the issue of these guns. we have the best military in the world. are across the seas fighting for our freedom and liberty and to protect our country. yet in the united states, we have domestic terrorists that are just as dangerous. those of us who have been in law enforcement know that every police department, every

federal, state, and local law enforcement department wants background checks. it is common sense. number two, they do not want the automatic weapon. they are on the frontlines and will get it before anyone else in that situation. these are things we have to deal with. i have a suggestion to the speaker. i think the speaker wants to do the right thing. we disagree a lot on issues, but he is a family man. my suggestion is you sit down with your leadership and our leadership. let's find a way to resolve and start working through these issues. we have committees all over the place. asneed to come together americans to find a way to fix this. we want to vote. we want to debate. end to results in the stop the carnage and things going on. host: remy his calling from

maryland. good morning. caller: good morning. your time he could not be any better. the congressman is from baltimore. right now, we are in the crosshairs of what america is going through with regards to the need to understand what the guns can be used for. sides talking about baltimore. america needs to be we educated when it comes to gun control. it can start with the politicians, the talking heads and empty suits. these are the people who create the paper trail. that is all they are doing at this point in time. that is all that has ever been done, adding to the paper trail. c-span can possibly help in this to see theng america ceo's and owners of the

manufacturers of these weapons of mass destruction starting from a small caliber handgun right up to weapons of mass destruction, but get these people and their lobbyists on the airwaves were people like myself can call in and say what you have done to this country that has put you in an opulent lifestyle that nobody can understand. the politicians in that lifestyle are there for your bidding. i think that is where the problem lies. it is not so much as ownership of guns and what they do with them, but where the guns are coming from and what will be used for. you can start with vietnam and go all the way to afghanistan. and start to understand why the focus is not on the politicians and the paper trails but more on the corporate leaders and owners and manufacturers. i'm talking about raytheon, general dynamics, boeing, northrop grumman.

these are all contributors to what we are seeing today. that is basically what i have to say. c-span could help by getting these people on the airwaves and letting us openly dialogue with them so we have a better understanding of what is actually going on. thank you for letting me have this time. host: thank you. let's hear from tom in hollywood, florida. caller: good morning. thank you for having me. i'm very tired appearing the same rhetoric every time something happens and we bring up gun control. all we have is a lot of talk by politicians and no action. everybody complains they will take away all of our guns. they have been complaining about that since the 1960 when they started having to register handguns. just because we have gun control does not mean they will take away all the guns. i am a gun owner but i have no reason to have a weapon of war.

he is to be illegal to purchase weapons of war. we need a complete ban on automatic and semiautomatic weapons of war that we don't need. -- we needtake away kids. restrictions on away all ofake those things. nobody needs the ability to kill 30 people in 30 seconds. some of these ridiculous claims about people killing hundreds of people with machetes are not going to happen here. you will not kill 30 people in 30 seconds with a machete. the ease of guns is a big part of it, but it is not the only thing. we have more weapons in this country than any other country in the world. it is too easy to get them. we need to ban assault weapons.

and we need stricter gun controls, universal background checks. we need to think about who is getting them. we need to have a universal gun registration so you can track where the weapons are going. nobody is going to take away everybody's weapons in this country. they always bring up germany. it is not going to happen here. i am not worried about them coming to take my handguns, rifles, or shotguns. we do need to look at mental health. but that is not the answer. all of the people that commit most of the atrocities are not under the care of a mental health professional, so that would not have helped. thesed to look at all of different problems. ease of weapons is a big part of it. we need to close that loophole. host: ok, tom. delano from conway, missouri.

caller: thank you very much. i would save drugs are probably the main cause. every one of the shooters have been under the influence of drugs. the sandy hook killer that killed all of the school kids, even kill his mother that bought the gun for him -- he even killed his mother that brought the gun for him. they don't mention the pharmaceuticals. politicians are taking money from the drug companies. had wast killer we have the las vegas shooter. the fbi said he was not under drugs. the autopsy showed he was under three medications when he killed those people. the pharmaceutical companies

that you willwer not even let the news media. this is the only place i have ever heard anybody talk about pharmaceuticals being the prime motivator of these killings. thisringfield, missouri, guy walked in with automatic citizenand a private apprehended him because he was packing. nobody wants to talk about it. the news media in springfield did talk about it. he was on your program about 30 minutes ago. all he talked about was the lists. i don't what that was all about. but he did not mention pharmaceuticals. peak, his wifeis and kids, are all lobbyists for

the pharmaceutical industry. -- tobacco industry. tobacco kills 400,000 people year. thank you. host: thanks to everybody who called over these two hours on congressional action on gun control. we will keep an eye on congress. they will be back into session on the floor in early september. september 9 is the date. we will see what happens then and continue to talk to you about that. we are going to take a short break. it is just after 9:00 in the east. when we come back, clay masters iowa public radio will talk about the appearance of the 2020 democratic candidates at the fair.state plus, more of your calls and comments. , we spoke with mary kay henry about to 20 issues --

2020 issues. she talked about issues that matter to unions. here is a look. >> we think three of the 24 have itered plans that would make possible for millions more working people to join together in unions. we are anxious to see the entire thing -- same thing from the entire democratic field. spoke about her life protecting billion dollar buildings owned by major corporations in this country, but she does not earn enough to be able to support herself and her granddaughter. she lives in subsidized public housing. she may have to qualify for food stamps once a month. that condition has got to be spoken to by every presidential candidate. talked with her about how he wants to make it peoplee to bring working

at masimo corporation's together to raise living standards -- working people and major corporations together to raise living standards. she would be part of a national bargaining table with 2 million security officers employed in this economy. we want to see that kind of imagination and concrete plan from every presidential candidate. >> june elaborate on which of couldthree candidates -- you elaborate on which of those three candidates? >> mayor inslee, p judi dench -- pete buttigieg, and bill de blasio. concretete three actions.

both inslee and buttigieg want to tie federal dollars used to contract across the delivery for centers, and food service, tie those public dollars to the ability for workers to be able to join together in unions and have a decent wage so they can support themselves and their families. there would be no tax subsidy for corporations paying poverty wages. entireou can see the interview today at 10:00 eastern right after this program and at 6:00 p.m. right here on c-span. you can also hear it on c-span radio and watch it online at c-span.org. pictures from the iowa state 2020where most of the democratic candidates have been meeting with iowa voters. they have been making speeches and doing a lot of meet and

greet with iowa votes about what is on their minds. we will have more live coverage today at 12:15. plenty more coverage from the iowa state fair today live on c-span. busing us aboard the c-span in des moines is clay masters, morning host for iowa public radio. good morning. give us an update so far on the iowa state fair. what has the reception been like for the democratic candidates by iowa voters? what is on the minds of iowa state voters? reception was yesterday, saturday, one of the busiest days the state fair has

already without the candidates coming year. the reception has been pretty big. there were large crowds yesterday for a lot of the candidates. there were large crowds on thursday, the first day of the iowa state fair. went,day, kamala harris the california senator. we also heard from jay inslee, the governor of washington. elizabeth warren, center of massachusetts. we can run down the list. the crowds have been really big. theyis largely because have the busiest days of the state fair and people want to see them. one of the rights of passage -- passage of campaigning in iowa is making an appearance at the state fair. the soapbox is an opportunity for candidates to give 20-minute stump speeches in front of the crowd. this is not a massive stage. it is a pretty small stage.

it is kind of uncomfortable because you are packed in. it is hot out. it could rain. there are no umbrellas. it is a chance for islands -- iowans to get an idea who the candidates are. people are starting to think caucus forhey might in february of next year. host: what are the top two or three issues? the big thing i have been hearing over the last six months is health care. we are hearing a lot about climate change from iowa voters on the democratic side. and also, in the last few days, gun control has been a concern given the recent mass shootings in texas and ohio. aside from the state fair

they had separate forms outside the state fair where six candidates agreed they would be part of it and it wound up being 16 or 17 candidates that took part. there are a lot of candidates in the state. these organizations saw an opportunity to bring them together to talk about gun control. many of the candidates have been rolling out plans. health care, climate change. there has been talk about electability. people on the democratic side want someone who can take on donald trump in 2020 and beat him at the polls. calls.et's take phone the numbers are on your screen for democrats, republicans,

independents, and a separate number for iowa voters. one of the big storylines yesterday, as clay masters pointed out, with some of the dialogue on guns. senator elizabeth warren laid out her platform in iowa. here is what she had to say. [video clip] >> and i will do it. i will take executive action in every corner, with the department of justice, with a.t.f., to move as much as i can. go there is much that must through congress, so here is what i propose with congress. start with the question. if 90% of americans want to see basic, sensible changes, why do they not happen? you are out and talking about it. i am out there talking about it. i will tell you why does my happen. corruption, plain and simple.

[applause] the gun industry controls washington. and we have to fight back against that corruption. hit that corruption head on, until we disrupt the way they give money to folks in keepess, we are going to fighting and losing this fight. change startsul with breaking up the corruption theashington, breaking stranglehold of the gun industry and the n.r.a. host: clay masters in des moines, where our voters on the issue of gun control? what do they want and how does the congressional delegation from iowa look at the issue? guest: the issue of guns has

been on voters' minds on the democratic side. bulkis where i spend the of my time talking with potential caucus-goers in 2020. they want to see something done. 2018, we have teamed up congressional seats held by toublicans flip and went democrats. those congresswomen now represent the districts that represent the two largest cities in the state. viewsare more progressive from those districts on gun control that there has been in the past. , gun control is something they are asking about. alteredidates have their stump speeches a little bit to bring it up on the soapbox. at the outset of the conversation, he talked about interacting with voters at

the iowa state fair. they can be challenging to do. while there is a question and session, it really goes to the people who can wedge their way into the front. some candidates do not even take questions. and the candidate leaves they go get the corn dog and the port talk -- pork chop on a stick, there is a swarm of press surrounding them. i was following similar kamala harris around yesterday. it is difficult to break through the swarm of media and tv cameras following these candidates. at one point, i had somebody come up to me as i was on the edge of this group of reporters. they could not even see senator harris. the woman asked who was in there.

it can be a challenge for voters who might have gun control on their mind to even make their way into the mob of press that follows these candidates everywhere. before we get to calls, beyond the state fair, which candidates are spending the most time in iowa? who has the biggest operation? who is spending the most money? give us an idea of the biggest players. warrensenator elizabeth staffed up early and started coming to iowa in january of this year. politicians are in the state playing out the long game. senator warren had been here before january. her exploratory campaign started coming here in january. joe biden is here. senator cory booker has a pretty

substantial staff. senator harris as well. bernie sanders comes to mind. he will be speaking at 3:45 central time on the soapbox. bernie sanders still has a lot of support left over from the last time he ran. the iowalinton won caucuses in 2016. but it was almost a dead heat tie. sanders came out of nowhere and did very well with the of thesive base democratic party that does show up on caucus night. host: we know elizabeth warren's presence in iowa is led to an increase in the polls. is there serious talk she can win this thing? guest: you don't want to talk too much about the polls right now. they are just a snapshot in time. you saw it yesterday when she was on the the one public register soapbox giving her speech.

it was late in the afternoon on a saturday on the opening weekend of the state fair. she was surrounded by fans following her. there was something going on in the crowd that wanted to see her. we will have to keep watching. we talked about other candidates. south bend mayor pete buttigieg, in january at house party in suburban des moines, there were seven or eight people sitting around a roundtable. when he of this year, had a strong media appearance on cnn, there were about 1600 people at a junior high in des moines. the rally had to move outdoors because so many people rsvp'f d to see him. the candidates are looking for a

breakout moment to connect with iowa voters. senator barack obama kind of came out of nowhere and did really well in the 2008 iowa caucuses. it was 2012, the general election, the night before the election, obama was back in deploying with a massive relic -- in des moines with a massive rally saying this is where it starts. many of the candidates would did to putwhat obama them on the map. monday, february 3, for the iowa caucus? guest: yes. host: let's get some calls for clay masters from iowa public radio. jim is calling from texas. caller: good morning. i wanted to ask him what he thinks will be the winner of all of this. who do you think will surge and become trump's real opponent?

ok? host: thank you. clay masters? guest: it is hard to make any kind of guests at this point -- especiallyis point, to polls are just a snapshot in time. joe biden had a pretty big crowd at the soapbox. he has been sitting atop the polls for months. a lot of that is name i.d. at this point, the top five or six candidates in the polls are who you need to be watching out for. the folks at real clear politics have sort of a rolling average of holes from late june to early august. here is what they have cumulatively. those are the current rolling polling numbers according to

real clear. we have richard on the line from california. caller: i think biden is the candidate for the democratic party. i cannot wait for most of these candidates to get out of the race, especially those that don't have a chance. warren and sanders are too far left for the majority of moderate america. vast experience in the senate and congress but as vice president. you have to remember, who was the main advisor to obama? he was not that experienced as a senator when he took over as president and had no executive experience. i think the democrats and independents that may be voted for trump, maybe some democrats that were dissatisfied with hillary, they are going to want

stability and somebody that can bring stability and integrity back to the white house. he already knows all of the world leaders. if you look at the candidates, not many of them have executive experience beyond governors and they don't seem to be doing well in the race. i am just waiting for them to get out of the way so we can go head-to-head. left of the democratic party forget most people are moderate in this country with views down the middle. go, joe. host: thanks, richard. before you answer his question, what is the political makeup in the state of iowa these days? how is it broken down? guest: as far as voter registration? host: exactly. guest: the way we look at it is 1/3, 1/3, 1/3. we are talking about

republicans, democrats, and independents. the caller brings up a good point. this is a state that voted barack obama in the general election in 2008 and 2012 and in 2016 voted for donald trump. that is a case i am hearing from a lot of potential caucus-goers as to why they like the former vice president as their candidate. they think in a state like iowa, he could win in the general election. they are saying we need someone on the left or very progressive because it did not work last time when hillary clinton was the nominee. they want a more moderate candidate compared to bernie sanders. host: how has the makeup changed in iowa? guest: it is still an overwhelmingly white state. there are pockets of growth. there is a large latino

population that increases. but it is a very white state. host: let's hear from danny from jamestown, south carolina. hello. caller: good morning. how are you doing? host: i'm fine. caller: i want to ask the guess the question. of all the candidates that went to the fair, we went straight from [indiscernible] did any of the candidates address the border security situation or have we just forgotten about that? i will take my answer off the year. host: border security and immigration, how much are people talking about that now? guest: that is another one of the big issues. i did not bring it up early on when you are asking about what is on the minds of voters, but certainly immigration is something. i talked about the increase in latino voters in the state or workinginos in general in small, meatpacking towns.

immigration is something talked about. candidates are addressing it. caucuseso be the iowa were a place where people would come and candidates would talk directly to voters. there was not the 24-hour news cycle. but now, presidential candidates are coming here and talking about the issues making national headlines. they are talking about immigration, border security. they are laying out their platforms. they are rolling out plans. you can come to iowa. it is the stage, but the cameras are always rolling. national headlines dominate a lot of the stump speeches. southern border and immigration is not something left off the platform discussions when they are here talking to voters. host: one of the other big issues, health care of course. here is joe biden making the case to keep employer-based insurance. [video clip]

to go out and make sure everybody is protected by building on obamacare, restoring the historic deal we did. in addition to that, adding a medicare-like option to it so you can buy into that if you wish to do it. like your employer-based policy, you can keep that policy as long as they keep the policy. the fact of the matter is it costs a lot of money. it costs about $740 billion over 10 years. but guess what? it does not cost $30 trillion. that is what the other plans cost which will raise taxes. there is going to have to be attacks -- a tax. there will have to be withholding from your paycheck. we can cover everybody that allows people the choices they want. host: clay masters, health care and iowa voters, what are they saying and thinking these days?

are they making a lot of pleas to the candidates? guest: health care out of the gate has been what i have been hearing, health care and climate change i would put at the top of the list as far as the activists that started turning out early to see the candidates. s speak, theydidate might have five or six they like. but when i talk about issues, it is similar. health care, there is a large contingency of people who go to these rallies who are very interested in a medicare for all plan. to the caller who called in earlier talking about wanting a more moderate candidate, there andfolks saying obamacare building on the affordable care act is the right way to go. are in a state where rural hospitals have seen a decline. there was one in marshalltown recently that got rid of their

ob/gyn clinic because people are going to larger towns. hospitals are big part of those communities. rural issues regarding health care is getting talked about a lot on the stump speech as well. for how to and plans get more people on health care, very important to a lot of iowa caucus goers. john in capital heights, maryland, democratic caller for clay masters in des moines. hello, john. caller: yes. why don't you people in iowa go to [indiscernible] i don't like caucuses. that bringsasters, up one of the questions i was going to ask. we know the iowa democratic party is proposing changes to the caucus process. can you set those out for us? guest: think before we get into

what the changes are, we need to set up what the iowa caucuses are. we are talking largely about the democrats. republicans caucus as well. they caucus very differently. on the republican side, they basically cast a secret ballot. they write the name of the candidate they like and put it in a hat. at the end, they are counted up. on the democratic side, the caucuses are held in gymnasiums. they used to be held in people's living rooms in smaller precincts. at the outset of the night, the different surrogates for candidates get up and say this is why i am supporting john hickenlooper and why i think you should join me. then people kind of form alliances. they get into little groups. if they don't meet the 15% threshold, 15% of the room, that candidate is no longer viable

and they have to find somebody else. and thereet in a room are still 20 or 17 candidates, that could be a lot of people losing viability and people having to go with second choices. the caucuses, it is a cold night. a lot of times snowy in february in iowa. they have been seen as a not very inclusive way for people to make their voices heard. servicemembers overseas, busy parents that cannot make it, working families. the iowa democratic party has introduced virtual caucuses which is a way people will be able to use their phones to caucus. i cannot find a really good way to describe how it will be because i have not gone to one yet. basically, people will be able to call. it will work into about 10% of

the tally at the end of the day on the iowa caucuses. the virtual caucuses are something many political reporters and pundits will be keeping a close eye on because the iowa caucuses are already pretty confusing when you get into the high school gymnasiums. it is going to be something to watch. we will put it that way. host: catherine, new hampshire. good morning. caller: good morning. i think the democratic platforms are the same old same old. the following could be a possible solution to stop climate change. sign -- science fiction way. you have the industrial age, nuclear solar. will the next stage be the genetic crisper energy age? will human genes be manipulated to be altered so they will be

born with wings and would not need gas and people of the able to fly wherever, trains, cars, and plants. dick tracy have his ritual -- wristwatch. thank you. >> any thoughts? >> certainly the presidential candidates were not talking about crisper on the stages. but, i will keep your out for it. >> you're on with clay. good morning. caller: i would like to know if it could be publicly announced or advertised about which contribute to which politicians and which money they it is a gun control issue from the nra or anyone related to it, if it could be broken down and people could see

the truth behind what the politicians preach. i was just watching elizabeth warren talking about corruption. we need to be made aware of where the money is going that supports the campaign. another issue about gun control whymental health problem, hasn't it been addressed that the internet is like a porno -- -- , people may not be mentally ill, but they can find your angry and take it out using a gun. concern today.my >> thank you. anything there you want to respond to? guest: certainly the democratic presidential candidates, a lot of them, part of their message to voters, is that outside money

should not be involved in politics. citizens united. desire, to take money out of politics. -- to focus on different issues, a lot of outside packed money will really ramp up on tv screens. masters. guest is clay he is a reporter and host of the .orning edition program with nprrace he wrote -- he rode with npr, correct? yes, i was with reporters covering the presidential race. we are at the iowa state fair.

i will remember for years ago, donald trump skipped the morning register political soapbox. this is the stage where mitt romney said corporations are people, and there were shoes that did not quite fit the bill. this is a staple of summertime politics in iowa. bit.tried it a little certainly republicans were on the stage then compared that summer was when donald trump really started. he was already drawing big crowds then. that cycle, he held big rallies where is ted cruz from iowa who only won the caucus, was doing it the more classic way. traveling around in an rv, meeting with voters in gas stations and pizza restaurants.

donald trump came in second. went on to win the voters in iowa in 2018. candidates sweating out at the state fair, there continued to be memorable moments. a founding reporter of some the public media, a regional group. it just remind me to ask you about agriculture issues and the trade were going on. how does it impact livelihood? agriculturalvery specific event. a lot of hard shows in these kinds of things.

candidates having men's -- we talking about the state fair but they are storming the state right now. trade is a big issue we're hearing a lot about as well. farmers are concerned. they are providing bailout money to farmers. there is a concern about what they will be doing long-term. as many democratic candidates are pointing out, time is ticking. the longer this thing goes on, the harder this will be for farmers down the road here that downnot just impact farms the state. it impacts smalltime hospitals,

educators, teachers. it is definitely something on the mind. somethingal policy is that will continue to be raised as a red flag to many candidates who want to appeal to be able to think about the economy. >> a few more calls for our guest and i were. here is one of them. you are on with clay masters, good morning. good morning. , these windg why towers making people sick out in iowa, i have heard a lot about that but i have not heard about it on the news. i understand more about what is going on. about the constant turning of the turbines, the blades causing all these people to be sick.

host: ok. i think you might be referencing, at one point, the president said something about wind turbines, basically wind industry in the state. large amount of energy in the state comes from wind energy. i think about 30% is coming from wind. it is a big economic driver here. the president made a statement that wind turbines cause cancer. one of the large wind energy companies in town in the state to say that is unfounded. there are people that have issues in the state with eminent domain and having these towers built on their property. but a lot of times, they're

getting the race to that. if we're hearing about wind energy from democratic candidates, they are talking about the economic engine it provides. companies like google and facebook wanting to put in data centers in iowa to say they're using renewable energy to power these massive service. i have not heard too much about that. once the fair is over, what you look forward to covering for the rest of the race in iowa? guest: it will continue to heat up. the state fair is the opening nextfor the lead up in the six months. we will see a lot of these candidates coming back again and again, wanting to shine and have that moment to rake out of the at theulling at 1% or top part of that group of candidates. there will be individual campaigns making appearances, and more of these multicandidate cattle calls where they get up

one after the other and give a limited amount of time speeches the coast with so many of these candidates, there is only so much time to pack into this event. really watching who is appearing here a lot and who is trying to break out. six months from now, it will be colder and people will have likely made up their minds. bus inboard the c-span des moines, clay masters. thank you for the time and updated information on the fair and the rest of the race in iowa. thanks a lot. guest: thanks. a reminder continuing coverage happens at 12:15 p.m. eastern time today. we will hear from bill, who will take your calls later in the day. tom will also take your calls later in the day. also senator michael bennet, bernie sanders, bill de blasio.

all coverage from the ohio state fair today. we have 20 minutes left in the sunday edition washington journal. we will continue to take your calls. you can talk about anything you would like on the campaign. republicans -- democrats -- --ependents looking forward to more of your calls. we will be right back. communicators the -- >> people come up to me and say serve, i cannot you. they make it impossible. these people are good at what they do and they say they make it absolutely impossible. >> we will talk about the latest social media summit where president trump talks about social media censorship by dig -- by big tech firms.

>> i think as consumers, we could certainly demand that is facebook ands of twitter, if you will be on that platform, you expect they will ask -- they will respect our ability to communicate. to me, it seems hard to levy an accusation that big tech is a negative in any way, shape, or form when some of my dennis is getting a billion views on the videos he is putting out. >> watch tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span two. ♪ >> camp in 2020 pier 1 to our live coverage on the campaign trail and make up your mind. c-span's campaign 2020. your unfiltered view of politics.

>> washington journal continues. host: we will continue to take your calls on campaign 2020 as soon as they start coming in. a quick story we read earlier today as it relates to how the parties are viewing things on the outlook section of the washington post, it relates to that one story to america is finally turning against guns. piece comes from a poster on how our politics could change. he writes that the relationship with guns is changing in more than ever they want someone to do something. provide a litmus test of political leaders values. republicans increasingly understand they are on the wrong side of history and risk political ruin in the suburbs if they do not find a way to distance themselves from perceived complacency. they write that it has not always been this way. democrats took stock and list of states like west virginia, ohio,

and grew concern about a growing disconnect between the party and the people in the country. democrats made a decision to walk away from gun control here 2004, it was allowed to expire without protest from congressional democrats. make themma did not control a major theme in either of his national campaigns and obama championed a bipartisan bill that would have expanded background checks. it was defeated by senate republicans, a handful of democrats representing red states. candidates have made reducing gun violence a major campaign issue. we will continue to hear more about that from iowa. i am sure in the weeks and months ahead, congress comes back in september. possibly to debate gun legislation. we will see out there.

you can talk about any aspect of the campaign that you would like . brian from california, you are up first. good morning. >> good morning. thank you for taking my call. on the 2020 democratic race and in particular, elizabeth warren. i feeling there is a false choice being portrayed to voters in which joe biden seemingly in the center is the electable moderate mainstream candidate. elizabeth m bernier to friend and too far left and could trump win. i think that is totally fool's gold. byhink this will be decided the 200 plus pivot counties. the areas in the country where you have barack obama winning in 2012, trump in 2016. seems very likely elizabeth warren with her message could cut through the industrial midwest, and still appeal to the base.

that is really the formula. .et the obama coalition back so elizabeth warren i think will get the nomination. i think she will be your president pair that is my comment for the day. host: good morning. virginia. caller: i think the guy is all wrong and is pulling for the wrong person. the two things i had to say about president trump, i will vote for him but one thing he said i did not like his comparing warned to pocahontas. no one should talk about pocahontas like that. she was probably a good woman. that warren is not worth a nickel. what he didn't say that i wish he had was talking about china and russia and iraq and iran and all of that stuff, about who was

the bigger enemy of america, i believe it is the democratic communist party is the biggest problem america will have in the next few years. ok, frank from virginia. good morning wade. caller: i was just going to say i have them watching and it looks to me like democrats really aren't going to stand much of a chance. stage,put them on the one third of the size of a trump is bringing in on his rallies, i think they are fighting a losing battle. that is my comment.

host: all right. nina, florida. caller: i have been a democrat all my life, voted for obama twice and then president trump. i like tim ryan. i do not understand why the media does not promote him more. the either want to go all the way on the left to crazy stuff and i don't want to stay in the middle. i liked what he had to say yesterday. say and whatd he appealed to you about congressman ryan? caller: he said he wants to bring back the jobs like in andgstown and other places he did not want medicare for all. he wants people to keep private insurance if they want it. of us didn't call all racist. just because i voted for president trump, doesn't mean i

am a racist, which is what those on the left are kind of implying about trump supporters. but i'm tired of trump tweeting to their level. he needs to ignore the tweets and tweet out information. i'm getting tired of him trying to lower himself to their standards. i think tim ryan is the one i will vote for if he gets even to the final round. thanks for calling from florida. if you go to c-span.org, you will see the speeches from candidates that we have been covering in the past few days in the iowa state fair. type the names of the person you're looking for. at the top, you can type it in and it will all be there. we will be there 12:15 p.m. today for a full day of activity.

massachusetts governor bill will take your call from the c-span bus. tom steyer as well will also take your calls. senator michael bennet will senator bernie sanders will do the same. bill de blasio will be in iowa as well today. mediare meeting with the and they are doing meet and greets with the crowds and in some cases, taking calls from you. christopher is calling now. caller: your show is an advertisement that campaigns are way too long. i realize it takes a constitutional amendment. it really does. i have talked to lawyers about this. i would think 190 days ought to be plenty for campaigns for federal office to get regional tied into things

like memorial day, fourth of july, labor day, and be done with it. starting april and belonged that in the first tuesday of november. what is the benefit of a --rter day i think he is gone. what theng to ask benefit would prepare a rod is calling from new mexico now. good morning. what would you like to say about campaign 2020? i watched the caucuses and hurt all the speeches. one of my concerns that i'm having now, a lot of the left-leaning people are too far left. throughout this, there was a lot of, let's get rid of trump,

let's do this, trump, trump, trump. a supporter of trump but one of my concerns is i haven't heard a candidate yet that is saying, we need to be able to work bipartisan with both parties. i think biden is the closest i have seen so far in my concern way, it continues that they will get mr. trump reelected. that is a big concern for me. to get in the middle ground and we have to work as a government and a country to resolve issues. i'm concerned about that. i want to voice that. >> will you like to say? >> i'm a republican that is looking for someone to report -- to support other than donald

trump. vote for hime to because i could not vote for hillary. a lot of people are just like me. a lot of people voted for other republicans in the primaries and we held our nose he cares we did not like hillary either. she was a flawed candidate. a lot of republicans are out there, especially moderates like elsef, looking for someone to vote for. i am paying attention to democratic debates closer than ever before. delaney is a moderate and very pragmatic. but they are just not taking off. i see the next padre of people who will be allowed to debate, a lot of moderates have been weaned out of the group. it becomes very frustrating. i think a lot of people are just like me in the republican party looking for someone else to support other than donald trump.

i agree with your last caller in so farf you get people to the left that people like me are going to hold our nose again, because i always vote, i do not think you can complain if you don't vote. arei think a lot of people really looking for someone else. if you get elizabeth warren, or bernie sanders, if they are going to be the democrats, and trump will be your next president. that is just how it will be. a lot of the same swing broder -- voters that brought trump in our a lot of the same swing voters that brought obama in. they are fixing to get into the same situation. a lot of good candidates split the vote and then you end up with his guy am a friend who has a group of voters who will vote for him the matter what.

anyway, i'm curious about your take on that. host: we will have a former massachusetts governor, a republican, on the air. who are you hoping would step in and challenge the president? caller: i was hoping john kasich would step in. a moderate, pragmatic, and a smart guy. i think the trump machine is so big and his voters are so powerful right now, i do not think anyone will take nomination from him. host: a couple new stories. protesters have filled the streets in moscow. the banning of opposition candidates in the city election through about 60,000 people. the crowd is far larger than the few thousand recently demonstrated at the russian capital, protesters obtained a

force and turned out in for what was the largest demonstration in moscone years. here is a story in the hill about death in jail of jeffrey epstein sparking questions for the federal government. his apparent suicide while locked up in a federal jail is sparking questions for officials passed with his -- seizing custody's. death leftepstein's many officials and lawmakers voice and demanding answers. the news that he kill himself coming weeks after officials investigating a possible suicide attempt here. talk about the attorney general calling for an investigation. he was appalled by the death. some are already calling for him to be fired. republican from nebraska ben all the way to the night

shift jailer, they knew that this man was a suicide risk and his dark secrets could not be allowed to die with him. he wrote this saturday. thank you for waiting. good morning. >> wonderful yes. i am supporting andrew yang for president 2020. i just chimed in the conversation but did anyone support andrew yang before i called in? host: i am sure we have had a couple of her time. we have seen him more frequently especially this week. what do you like about him? caller: everything. andrew yang is humanity first, the universal basic income, not looking left, right, but going forward. this guy will be the future. t-shirt. yang 2020

he is getting really big in georgia here. humanity first. that is what we are basing it on. humanity first. this guy is going to be a superstar. i am telling you. everyone has got to get on the bandwagon. like i said, not left, not right we're going forward. oh god, we are really excited about this guy in georgia. host: thank you for calling. if you go to our website, in the search bar, type in andrew yang and you will be able to see his latest. he was doing a meet and greet and spoke friday afternoon. michael, in bristow, virginia. good morning.

caller: thank you for taking my call. that gun control make things worse if democrats wish gun control on day one. it is actually enlarge democratic-controlled cities where you have gang violence. clearly, it is people who are not allowed to have guns under current law, they are getting guns anyway. all mass shootings from 1952 may of 2019, has happened in gun free zones, where it is prohibited to bring guns in. that is clearly not working either. if you take comes out of the hands of law-abiding citizens, you're leaving them defenseless and criminals know that. you are giving criminals power over innocent people. i do agree we need to do something about gun violence in those countries. gunthings we can do is end

free zones that are allowing these strange lunatics to go shoot up a bunch of people and not face any resistance, and then we can also pass national concealed carry and treat our concealed carry like a driver's. i'm in maryland almost daily. my second amendment rights are denied as soon as i cross into the border from virginia. host: thank you for calling. thank you for for everyone who called to talk about guns and politics. we will continue to do this on the washington journal and we will come back at 7:00 eastern time tomorrow. david will talk -- will talk about health care. pacific leave the lowering of prescription drug prices. with the patience of affordable drugs group. will talk more about guns in response to the recent shootings.