community deeply pained, we ask you to heal the brokenness, to answer our questions, to replace our doubts with certainty, our anger with peace and our hurt with healing. god we thank you for this town. we thank you for its people and we thank you for this opportunity to stand together and not to fall apart. amen. >> now a final blessing of hope through faith in jesus christ from the words of st. john and st. paul. i heard a loud voice from the throne saying behold the dwelling place of god is with man. he will dwell with them and they will be his people and god

himself will be with them as their god. he will wipe away every tear from their eyes. and death shall be no more. neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore. for the former things have passed away. and he who is seated on the throne said, behold, i am making all things new. and now may the grace of our lord jesus christ and the love of god and the communion of the holy spirit be with you all. amen. i ask you to please take your seats until i can receive confirmation that the president has safely exited the school campus. and i don't know what that confirmation will come from.

allow me to say while i wait for that, we then encourage all of you on behalf of the newtown clergy, give to one another all the love and care and support that you can. and clergy will be available for you at this time, at the platform for a time of prayer, according each to their teachings and beliefs. so please do remain seated until i can receive that word of confirmation and then comfort one another. >> okay. ladies and gentlemen, we have received that confirmation.

give one another all the love that you can. and tonight in newtown, connecticut, a community comes together in unspeakable grief. there were words about community, words about love, words about how they will not let this define them. and we learned from the governor, dan malloy, who has been here since word of this shooting that took 26 lives came, that the president told him that friday was the worst day of his presidency. the president, as expect, offering words of comfort, saying among other things, "newtown, you are not alone." but also making a large part of his statement, and by the way the people in that auditorium we are told were absolutely silent,

hanging on the president's every word. an unexpected and forceful call to action and a standing ovation at the end. i'm joined now by nbc's kristen welker here outside newtown high school where many of the people had to stand outside and they actually put the president's words on loud speaker, stood out in the cold and rain to hear this. this is not what we were expecting to hear from the president. >> it wasn't what we were expecting to hear. we did hear him talk about those who had lost their lives but we also heard a call to action to some extent. president obama saying that the nation has to do more to protect its children. >> we are not doing enough he said, to keep our children from harm. this may not be an exact quote. it's what i wrote down. we can't tolerate this anymore. these tragedies must end and to do that, we must change. and he posed a question, are we

prepared to say that such violence, visited on our children year after year is somehow the price of freedom? >> powerful words coming from the president. >> we are told, again, inside that auditorium, a lot of people were nodding as the president was asking that question and making those statements. >> nodding in agreement and as you know, a lot of his supporters, even those who don't necessarily support him have come out and said they would like to see those words now turn into action. as you know, on friday, he talked about the fact that it's time for meaningful action, a lot of lawmakers, other members of the community have come out in agreement with him and tonight as you point out, people were nodding their head in agreement. i think that this mass shooting has been different, has been defining because so many young lives were lost. that is the point president obama was making tonight and he was speaking not just as a commander in chief who was angry but also as a father. and i think that part of his

anger came from the fact, chris, this is the fourth time he has visited a community that has endured a tragedy that is this horrific. so i think that you heard his anger rise to the surface this evening and some words about the fact that something needs to change from his perspective. no details about how specifically he plans to move forward but certainly powerful words about the fact that he thinks more needs to be done. >> setting up for a potentially very difficult fight although again we don't know what exactly that fight will be about. let's play for you, again, part of what president obama had to say tonight here in newtown, just moments ago. >> since i've been president, this is the fourth time we have come together to comfort a grieving community torn apart by mass shootings. fourth time we've hugged survivors. fourth time we've consoled the

families of victims. and in between there have been an endless series of deadly shootings across the country, almost daily reports of victims, many of them children, in small towns and big cities all across america, victims who much of the time their only fault was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. we can't tolerate this anymore. >> this was such an interesting, to me, juxtaposition of thoughts. >> yes. >> he was the comforter in chief as we have seen. he said our world, too, has been torn apart, knowing that the country has related to this story in such a deep and profound and sorrowful way and perhaps feeling, i don't know if you've gotten any indication, from anybody at the white house,

given that we were not expecting this to be a speech that was also a call to action, that he feels somehow the country is ready. >> i think that that's part of it. i think he feels as though this incident has crossed the line somehow. has made the country ready to some extent, made the country open its eyes from his perspective. i can tell you, in terms of the content of the speech, i think they were working on it throughout the day and potentially wrestling with some of the themes, the ideas and the words that wound up in this final version of this speech. and i think that he does feel as though the country is ready. if you look at the polls with be though, they still show this is a very divisive issue. last poll i saw, a pew research poll thought 47% of people thought we should be doing more to crack down on gun laws.

about 46% say the rights of gun owners should come first. it's still a very divisive issue. you had the waking of the shooting mayor bloomberg come out with very strong words, saying he wants more action. we're hearing today that senator dianne feinstein is preparing to bring legislation that would enact stiffer gun laws. the president himself has talked about the fact that he supports reinstatement of the ban of assault weapons. he's talked about some of the changes he would like to see happen. we'll have to see what comes out of it. >> joe lieberman who we saw talking about a commission on violence. >> yes, joe lieberman. >> stay with us if you will, kristen. >> absolutely. >> i want to bring in michael beschloss. it's good to talk to you and get your perspective. i've been at three of these speeches after these mass shootings. the president has delivered four. this is unlike anything he's

delivered before. give us your thoughts. >> i think you're right. people were so surprised, that line, whatever power this office holds, i'm now going to use. i was thinking of ways to locate this in history, ronald reagan gave a wonderful speech after the "challenger" tragedy, bill clinton in oklahoma city. what this echoed for me was two things. ly lyndon johnson after the violence against african-american protesters in 1965 went to congress saying there was a terrible thing that happened, now we have to give every citizen voting rights. spring of 1968, lyndon johnson said martin luther king has been killed. robert kennedy has been killed. he commissioned a commission against violence and he also went for gun control. >> there was a call to action, some suggestion there would be

poli policies, there would be changes that would be proposed. but also what so many presidents have had to do in the past, although none as many times as he has had in this circumstance to play that role where he tries to reach out and tries to comfort, not just the people in that room obviously or this community but the entire nation. >> right. you know, this is the quandary our founding fathers really built into the office of the presidency, which is that the president has to be a unifying, healing chief of state. we sure saw that tonight. but also he's got to be the proposer of controversial legislation, that a lot of people may not like. i think you saw him playing both of those roles tonight. >> and what did you think of the speech overall? i mean, we could not see the audience but we are told by people who were in there that you could hear a pin drop, people were absolutely silent, they were nodding when the president gave this call to action and you saw the standing

ovation at the end. we were told by a local newspaper reporter that people as they were going in were telling her, i'm not here to see the president. i'm here to support my community but they clearly responded to the words he had to say. >> that was clearly so. some speeches, chris, a president gives and it sounds like the speech writer you're imagining the thing having been written. this was very much barack obama speaking from the heart tonight. and maybe one other thing to mention, you know we were talking about president's job as comforter in chief, that's only pretty recent. for instance, go back to 1963. the united states lost a nuclear sub in the atlantic. the tlesh hresher, 128 americane dead. john kennedy was president. he responded by issuing a statement. people did not expect a president to frame the problem and express their emotion the way that barack obama did so well tonight.

>> we have another piece of sound from the president that i'd like to play for you, michael. let's listen. >> this is our first task, caring for our children. it's our first job. if we don't get that right, we don't get anything right. that's how as a society, we will be judged. and by that measure, can we truly say as a nation that we're meeting our obligations? can we honestly say that we're doing enough to keep our children, all of them, safe from harm? >> michael when you're talking about such a divisive issue as kristen was saying, looking at the polls, as gun control, we

don't know what proposals will come out of this or how -- >> or if at all. >> or how sbeepi isweeping or n if they will happen at all. this great tragedy and fact that it affected 20 young people 6 and 7 young people, we don't know that will change any minds. but is there anything in history that events like this do give at least a window of opportunity for a president to effect change? >> that's what a great president does. lbj did that better than anyone else. when he went to congress after the beatings in sell ma, he sai there are things that affect basic america principle. it happened in concord. when he said it happened again in selma, i thought i was hearing an echo of that tonight.

>> michael beschloss, thanks for being with us. >> my pleasure. >> senator blumenthal is with us tonight. tell us your thoughts after this evening. >> well, i've been in this community for the last three days. and a lot of ups and downs, very emotional moments, beginning with the cries of pain when parents first learned about their loved ones perishing at that firehouse. and now after the church services and the vigils and the firehouse visits to this moment when the president of the united states has seeked to summon and evoke the courage and strength of this community in the larger cause. and i think newtown is proud, still grieving, still in pain, but now summoning its strength for the nation. >> how do you in the midst of --

i know it sounds like a cliche but unspeakable tragedy, 20 young lives, 6 teachers, 6 staff members who dedicated their lives to those children's well being, tell us about the conversations you have had with these families. >> well, not only with the families, chris, but also with children tonight who attend the school and whose friends have perished. one of them has made a necklace with blue beads for each of the 20 children who died. and yellow stars for the adults. it is really the entire community that is so engage the. i went to a church service this morning. the bonds that are so strong between the people of this small town, the quintessential new england town, are really extraordinary. but unbroken. and community is unbroken. and i think there are so many as you put it, emotions still

there, still real and very much on the surface. but i think that newtown is going to recover. it has that strength and faith and fabric that those new england towns do have. >> how can that happen? how can you as an elected official, how can people out in the country who feel this, who have never been to connecticut, certainly never been to newtown who are watching and weeping along with the community of this people, how do we move forward? >> well, i think the president began the conversation, to use the word, began the dialogue and debate that we're going to have. i think that what happened here will spur and transform the national discussion about gun violence protection. and i think that we're going to see that debate unfold. but for now, this grief is still

very raw and real here and i think the community is coming together, hugging each other, hugging each other at every turn and the rest of the nation can hug newtown in its thoughts and prayers and in what it writes and says and respect the privacy, i think, people here still very much want to have as they begin the school day tomorrow. that will be a challenge. town officials here deserve a lot of credit for seeking to plan and prepare this very, very challenging moment. >> this was not expected, such a forceful call for action from the president. the indications we were getting would be this would be the more traditional role of the president as comforter in chief. what do you think happens now? and what is -- is there a way to say what is appropriate to make some good, some larger good come out of this tragedy? >> the president has begun that conversation with a call to action.

for our children. and he's very much framed that call as one to protect our children. as a parent, nothing evokes more emotion for me and i suspect for most americans. and i think to begin with that kind of call will evoke a lot of feeling and a lot of thought. i hope it will be constructive, positive thought that will move us forward. >> do you think there will be change? >> i think there will be change. and i think it will take different forms. it may not come right away. you know, the reference to selma may be appropriate because change there did not come right away. and change in terms of our racial relations in this country are still a work in progress. so will be gun violence prevention. we need to do more to protect our children and ourselves from the spread of violence, whether

it's specific measures or a greater sense of security in our schools. and greater enforcement of the laws that we have. we shouldn't forget the first responders and our law enforcers. i know from my own experience as a prosecutor for many years, that resources are necessary, mental health is an issue. there are a whole series of issues we need to confront. there's no one law, no one action that will solve the problem of gun violence. >> governor malloy said tonight the president told him that friday was the worst day of his life. as someone who in many ways represents not just in the halls of congress in washington, but for the people of this state, represents their state, can you even put into words what friday was for you? >> friday began as a normal day. as it did for the parents of those children who perished.

kids were on their way to make gingerbreads and learn their abcs in school. it became a day of unspeakable horror, unbearable pain. i cannot erase from my mind the voices and faces of parents i saw on that day and the way that it hit me as a parent but also the strength of the community coming together in the days that followed, the vigils and services and everyone coming together. and the troopers who were assigned to confirm for the parents that their children had perished. and what they had to go through. and what they saw at the school when they arrived. and those first responders who came, who arrived, saved lives, because the killer had enough rounds to kill many, many more people. so there were acts of great heroism and those also struck me

that day. and, again, we need to go forward, move forward as we always have as a nation after these kinds of horrible tragedies. >> so that point, let me ask you finally, because there was a lot of talk about love and talk about support and community coming together. and as i was coming off the highway today, someone was putting up a huge american flag. and there is something so american about the way we respond to tragedy. i've seen it on streets here, people driving in from other places to lay flowers at one of the memorials. we heard it from the pastors, the leaders of all the churches here who have been getting calls from all around the world. can you tell us what you have heard and kind of support you're feeling for the state of connecticut and for newtown in particular? >> what i'm hearing is people saying, we need to do something, including my colleagues, former colleagues in law enforcement, we need to do something to make our streets, our communities,

our schools, our movie houses, our malls, all the places where violence has occurred all around the country and every day in the streets of our cities. and most important, and most movingly, i've heard people say how much they are with the families and loved ones of children and spouses and the teachers and principals and all who have given their lives heroically. i think we can really trust in newtown to continue and carry on. at this moment, the grief and the pain are still very real. >> they are indeed. senator, it's so gracious of you to come over and take the time to talk to us. i know how difficult this has been for you and for people who love this state and love this community. so thank you so much. >> thank you. >> we do appreciate, senator

blumenthal. so the president tonight, in so many words, talking about the country coming together, about the people of this community coming together. and we have seen it for so many days in the actions of the first responders, of the leaders of the religious communities and they were first responders as well, ministering to their faithful. and now planning funerals for 26 parishioners. they, too, feeling the grief so deeply. the president quoting scripture tonight saying, we do not lose heart, we fix our eyes, not on what we have seen but what is unseen. if an earthly ten the is destroyed, we have a building from god. and i think the reason that so many people have related to this

so deeply is what the president said tonight, that this could have been any school, that this could be our community. but tonight this community came together with the support of each other and the knowledge so many of them have assured me of so many people around this state, around this country and around the world who have reached out to them and tonight, as they grieve, we also talk about what will change and will this call to action be heard? this has been msnbc's coverage of the prayer vigil for the newtown elementary school victims. i'm chris jansing, thank you for watching. good night. mississippi, alabama, louisiana or florida, they're gonna love it. shaul, your alabama hospitality is incredible. thanks, karen. love your mississippi outdoors. i vote for your florida beaches, dawn.

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coming up here, a heated standoff was brewing as you know on capitol hill over the fiscal cliff. that debate now seemingly on hold for the moment at least as washington remembers the victims. lowering the flags at the capital and the white house to half-staff. the question now for our nation's leaders, mental health experts, law enforcement, gun rights supporters and opponents alike is what now? how do we move forward? a special discussion on how to stop these massacres when we return. that was me... the day i learned i had to start insulin for my type 2 diabetes. me...

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we are back with a special edition of "meet the press." joining us for the rest of the hour, a special panel. a leading voice in the senate

for gun control for the past two decades, senator dianne feinstein of california. author and former secretary of education bill bennett. georgetown university professor and sociologist michael eric dyson. former governor of pennsylvania and homeland security secretary under president bush and also a member of the virginia tech shooting review panel tom ridge. the president of the american federation of teachers randi weingarten. and columnist for "the new york times" david brooks. welcome to all of you. as my wife and i are trying to shield our young kids from news of this event, we realize that it's futile. this is not an exception. we cannot wish these events away. and i mention this robust social networking conversation that unites the country. and if there is one feeling, it is enough. so in that spirit, i want to have this conversation. here is the recent history of school shootings in this country, public rampages. not all at schools. and the number of victims going back to columbine in 1999 all the way to portland, oregon, at

a mall. three people killed there. so the context is just so alarming. senator feinstien, we talk about guns. it often overshadows the debate about mental illness. but in the vein of gun control in this country and presidential leadership, you heard from mayor bloomberg. this is how "the washington post" described the president's leadership back in july. i'm not going to take away your guns, obama promised in september of 2008. however, he advocated closing a loophole that allows for gun purchases without background checks at gun shows and for reinstating the assault weapons ban. obama kept his promises to gun owners but not to gun control advocates. the president signed bills allowing guns in national parks and on amtrak. he has not pushed for the restatement of the assault weapons nor has he moved toward closing the gun show loophole. has the president failed to lead? >> i'm not going to comment on that. he will have a bill to lead on because i'm going to introduce the bill in the senate and the same bill will be introduced in

the house. a bill to ban assault weapons. it will ban the sale, the transfer, the importation, and the possession. not retroactively, but perspectively. and it will ban the same for big clips, drums or strips of more than ten bullets. so there will be a bill. we've been working on it now for a year. we've tried to take my bill from 1994 to 2004 and perfect it. we believe we have. we exempt over 900 specific weapons that will not be -- fall under the bill. but the purpose of this bill is to get just what mayor bloomberg said, weapons of war, off the streets of our city. >> what makes you think it can pass? we've had tragedies before, and nothing happens. >> well, i'll tell you what happened back in '93 when i told joe biden who was chairman of the judiciary committee that i was going to move this as an amendment on the crime bill. he laughed at me.

he said, you're new here. wait until you learn. and we got it through the senate. we got it through the house. the white house came alive in the house of representatives. and the clinton administration helped. the bill was passed, and the president signed it. it can be done. >> senator, we're having a little problem with your microphone which we'll remedy as we continue our conversation. david brooks, we immediately go after a tragedy like this to the gun control debate. more than a mental illness debate. as we look at the faces of these killers, in these recent incidents, what is the common thread that you find throughout them? they all appear to be young males, mentally -- at the very least, mentally unbalanced. why do we so quickly move to the gun debate? >> first on the profile, we have had enough of this cases, we don't on this specific guy, but we've had enough cases to get a profile what they tend to be like. they are typically intelligent.

something happens to them that damages that high estimation of themselves. they feel they are not being recognized by the world at large and decide they are going to do something to make the world recognize them. and so they go out and do these terrible things. and at the moment they're doing them, this is the happiest moment of their lives. they feel the world is uncontrolled, and suddenly they are in control. and they are the hero in their own life story. and so we should acknowledge, a, they are extremely determined to do these things. and that they are essentially -- they spend the months before lost in a black hole of their own festering. and i think it's those black holes that we as parents and as mental health community have to try to fill before they turn into these monsters. >> bill bennett, if the president is convening a task force and had everybody on this panel there to talk about solutions, as you heard senator feinstien say, does an assault weapons ban, does that have to be on top of the list? >> i think everything should be on the table. i mean, if you're going to talk about these things, you don't

limit the range of inquiry. all of these topics seem to need to be brought up. the senator noted 940 exceptions. if you can get one of those 940 rifles, you can still do a lot of damage. i don't know how effective the assault weapons ban was from '94 to 2004. some people suggest it wasn't greatly effective. i had my own argument back in '91 when i was drug czar on this but it seems we have to put everything on the table. and as david said, very well, a lot of us are tired of hearing after the fact about the psychological problems that people had. and the studies, in 134 cases it's much better documented as tom ridge can tell you, the case at virginia tech. we saw this in tucson, we saw this in aurora. well, there are issues of privacy, civil liberties. if you have very troubled people, and now there's a kind of new confessional in the land called the internet, there's probably a record. this guy probably was saying

some of the things that he was thinking to somebody. and we need to get ahold of that ahead of time. >> governor ridge, what is your experience particularly with the virginia tech shooting aftermath? what does it tell you about where we need to start reacting particularly to senator feinste feinstein's comment? >> i think everyone has really focused on a word you used. i think the country needs to have it. let's have the conversation. let's start with the act and pull back to the actors. there's a profile here. and in the cho case, it was really rather dramatic. the privacy laws intersected with the inferior mental health delivery systems. what we know about many of these troubled young men, they often reveal their suicidal intentions. they often reveal their desire to kill. and so there's a -- we talk about mental health generically. but that's not a conversation parents have with counselors, and we run to it after the fact. and so i think the fact that we need a national conversation -- it has to include -- it will include and it must include some

arms regulation. it has to include mental health. it has to include a privacy law. this is a conversation that has to be reasonable, rational. it's time for us to have that conversation. but we cannot exclude the mental health component. >> randi weingarten, the folks you represent, the teachers you represent, were in this town and at this school. it has to be very difficult this morning. >> well, i'm going up there this afternoon. but, you know, this is the instinct of educators and public servants that in situations like this, they just serve and they protect. and that's what people have seen here. but let me just say three things really quickly. number one, in terms of parents, we have a whole bunch of resources now on our website, aft.org and share my lesson, another platform we have, because you can't hide or shield kids from this. we have suggested don't have your kids watch tv all the time right now. but kids will have questions and fears, and we have to actually

figure out how to reassure them in a reasonable way. number two, i want to go back to what everyone else has said. i think that this is a turning point here. i could hear it and feel it around in the last 48 hours. not just in the northeast. i see it from our colleagues all across the country. but it has to be a conversation and action about both mental health as well as gun laws. >> let me pick up on the gun laws. michael eric dyson, just the politics of this, which matter, you heard mayor bloomberg's criticism of the president. he campaigned one way but he didn't push it. he didn't lead. as a second-term president, prepared to make what bloomberg called for, gun control, more stringent laws, his number one agenda item? >> well, david, you don't lead in a vacuum. i'm a baptist preacher. you can preach the same sermon to one church at another church. and if the people are with you so to speak in the amen chorus, you'll have a much better

result. the president needs an amen chorus in his congregation. i think that these public incidents, acute, dramatic, instigate and inspire people to say, look, enough with the hand wringing. let's get to public policy that can reflect our moral consciousness about what we need to do. there's no one at this table that would defend the ability of anybody to repeatedly shoot a child. we've got to talk about sensible gun laws that the mayor spoke about. what about banning these assault weapons? the ban expired in '04. what about way in which we had to have these background checks? we still have a stigma on acknowledging the fact that i might be depressed, i might need to talk to somebody, a priest or a rabbi. can i that you can to my psychiatrist or psychologist? we don't need cuts in medicare or medicaid that might prevent people from seeking those kinds of psychological reliefs. and we have to have the ability then to say to the president, the nation is now galvanized around this particular point. you must now use your bully

pulpit to tell the story, the narrative that unifies us as a nation. >> bill? >> just a couple of things. there is something called a black hole of a deranged mind. i don't know how much we have studied cho. >> cho at virginia tech? >> yes, cho at virginia tech. but we know he had very serious problems. and i do want to say one other thing. there's something to be said for what we're doing as a nation. if the president wants me to be on the task force, i'd be glad to serve. which is -- which is, we are mourning. the whole nation is mourning. it's an important moment. let the tears dry before we head off into all of these directions at once and not head off at once. the other thing is, let's remember the good things here. the heroism of those teachers and that principal. and i'm not so sure, and i'm sure i'll get mail for this, i'm not so sure i wouldn't want one person in a school armed, ready for this kind of thing. the principal lunged at this guy. the school psychologist lunged at the guy. it has to be someone who's trained, responsible. but, my god, if you can prevent this kind of thing, i think you ought to -- >> go ahead, david.

and the senator on that point before we take a break. >> can i just say one thing about the debate we need to have? this has become -- one of the problems with the debate is it's a values war. it's perceived as urban versus rural and frankly perceived as an attack on the lifestyle of rural people by urban people. and i admire mayor bloomberg enormously. there's probably no politician i agree with more. but it's counterproductive to have him as the spokesperson for the gun law movement. there has to be more respect and more people frankly from rural and red america who are participants in this. >> can i say something about the urban? isn't it interesting, not as dramatic incident as this but not as, you know, dramatic in the sense of what happened but it's not as massive but it's far more devastating, the constant urban drama that we deal with with our children as well, who are losing their lives, victims of racial profiling and police profiling? so that profiling doesn't seem to work. it seems to hype up our vigilance to say we're going to find out what -- where these

problems are and focus on them. but the result is not what we see with these kids. look at what happened with other people who don't get profiled and they murder our children. >> i want to get a break in here but, senator, quickly, i want you to respond to that. it will be a natural response to say part of school security needs to be armed guards on campus. >> is this the way we want america to go? in other words, the rights of the few overcome the safety of the majority. i don't think so. i think america is ready. they're going to have an opportunity with this bill. i'm going to ask and spend my time and create a committee across this nation to support it. >> will the president speak out in favor of it, do you believe? >> i believe he will. look, we crafted the last bill. it was right out of my office. and we're crafting this one. and it's being done with care. it will be ready on the first day. i'll be announcing house authors. and we'll be prepared to go. and i hope the nation will really help. >> certainly a news development this morning. randi, we'll start with you when

we come back. i want to continue this. but also introduce the other aspect. but it's not just access to guns. it is a culture in which violence is routine and is considered routine. we'll discuss that with our group right after this. [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus presents the cold truth. i have a cold, and i took nyquil, but i'm still "stubbed" up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose.

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we're back with our round table. as i said, we've been monitoring social networking and on twitter. rupert murdoch tweeted this. terrible news today. when will politicians find courage to ban automatic weapons. senator, maybe there will be more allies than you would imagine. and from tom brokow, our colleague who tweeted on friday something that has been shared thousands of times. it's not enough to talk about access to guns. we also have to address a popular culture that treats graphic violence as routine. >> let me just go back to secretary bennett's point. there are so many ways access points into schools, schools have to be safe sank chew wares. and so we need to actually stop this routine view that just having more guns will make people safer. we are opposed to having in a

safe san chew ware. >> this notion of we can actually do things in schools. we can have more guns, we can have more social workers. all of them have been cut because of the cuts. we can do wrap around services, we can do more things to destigmatize mental illness and to have more access as well as a whole package of sensible gun laws. >> homeland security secretary, what was the point of counter terror? it was to hearten the targets. >> you always try to reduce the risk, and i think that's what bill is referring to and i think that some form of gun regulation is to reduce the risk. but i think the conversation should start with the premise that our children, no child is born violent. and so one of the experiences, pressures, whatever, during the

course of that child's life that lead them to the path that they've taken in columbine, aurora, sandy hook. we have peeled away the different layers. they say there was respect, i voted for your assault weapon ban. that's a start. but there's still so much more that needs to be done. mental health is a part of it. we haven't talked about the corrosive influence of the violent-oriented world, tv, video games, shoot-to-kill video games. when you're in the military, you learn that your target may shoot back. but you get in this digital world, this fantasy world. you take a look at the folks in columbine, suddenly, it's a different personality type. >> you don't think this as corrosive an effect? >> i have thought video games have played a role, too. there have been hundreds of these shooters and very few of them have had any content of video games.

it tends to be part of who they were. i don't think this is a sociololg problem, primarily. i think this is a psychological problem. there are millions of moms and dads who are dealing with issues in their own families. they don't know -- say you're the mom of this kid. you don't know immediately where to go. there are places that you can go which are the police or a institution. but that's like stepping off a very steep chasm. where do you easily go for help? >> look at this report. states have cut more than $1.6 billion in general funds from their state mental health agency budget for mental health services for fiscal year, '09. these cuts translathed to laws of vital services. assertive community treatment, access to psychiatric medication and crisis services. >> it's studying. here's the thing. what do people do? they self medicate.

people's addiction to violence that we speak about is exacerbated. but here's the interesting point. we would rather talk about somebody rapping about, singing about, portraying in a film about violence than the actual source itself. so while we demonize those who replicate violence that are horrible in pop culture, it's the ready access to guns that led to this devastation. and until we get the guns removed, all of the imagination, the erotic intensity that is n connected to violence will not be dissuaded from negative impact. >> you're not going to get the guns. you may have careful legislation proposed by the senator which may pass. you're not going to get the guns removed. you do have this problem called the constitution. there is a second amendment. let me finish my thought. yeah, i know, it doesn't say anything about assault weapons. that wasn't the founders' intent, and i agree with that. but it's not just right wing senator who is want to appear on television. it's circuit court judges, it's supreme court judges saying this isn't right.

you have more freedom in america. you just have more freedom and there's more abuse of freedom. >> i don't deny that. but you have to have the ability to say the wide gap between the appeal of the second amendment. they can have a fight but they didn't have an assault weapon to do it. >> they did these things. >> i have think it's interesting. the national rifle association never brought the 94 assault weapons legislation to court. they knew it would be sustained from the beginning. and i believe this will be sustained, as well. you know, all of the things that society regulates, but we can't touch guns bill? >> you can. >> we get rid of assault weapons, senator? >> let me get in another break here. we'll get another break here. we'll come back in just a moment.

this conversation and debate will go on. i wish we had more time. thank you all very much for beginning it. i want to close with this. we were preparing our discussion this morning and monitoring what

has been a robust conversation across social media, including so many words of sim pathy and comfort. and we came across the widely shared advice of mr. rogers on pbs. he said when he was a boy and he saw scary news on tv, she said, look for the helpers. you will always find people who are helping. so this morning, we offer our prayers to the families hit by this unspeakable pain. my god give you strength. and you know there is a country full of helpers here to ca

edition of "meet the press." the tragedy at sandy hook elementary. even as we grieve, we'll be facing the troubling questions about the place of guns in our modern life. sandy hook is the latest and most deadly of a series of mass murders that mark our time. >> the majority of those who died today were children. beautiful little kids between the ages of five and 10 years

old. >> they had their entire lives ahead of them. >> how will the country respond to the most obvious but most difficult question. how do we prevent these massacres from happening? everybody has a role. law enforcement, gun owners, schools and parents. >> we're going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics. >> this morning, the latest on the investigation. an exclusive interview with new york city mayor michael bloomberg who is calling for new gun restrictions. plus, a special congregation. senator diane feinstein of california, former secretary of education, bill bennett, new york times