i'mary mel bur and giving you the live coverage as the march in washington is wrapping up and there is still a lot going on in the country and chris matthews is taking over next and i'll be back as our live coverage continues. chris imagine you'v -- chris matthews is up next. >> voice of america, let's play "hardball." >> good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington it was here today that an estimated 800,000 people, decented on the our nation's capitol for the rally inspired by the families and students of marjory stoneman douglas high school in parkland, florida, this is an emotional high point in the contentious debate over gun safety. i experienced it myself today in the hours i spent amidst that

historic crowd out there. today showed the movement that began on that fateful day last month has spread across the country. we saw young people mobilize and take to the streets and in every state sending a clear signal to lawmakers that enough is enough. most important, we heard from the survivors of the gun violence from around the country and including many students from parkland who made impassioned speeches demanding action. among them was emma gonzalez who stared down the cameras and in a poemt of silence that lasted six minutes. the time it took for the shooter at marjory stoneman douglas high school to carry out the murder of 17 students and staff. all of the survivors of mass shootings were brought together today by the pain they suffered with the loss of a classmate or their parent, sibling or friend. they showed the country they have a voice and they're not afraid to use it. >> help us but screaming as loud as you can, that we're tired of being forced under the rug. we're tired of seeing the faces of victims exposed on screens

who were stolen from us too fast to even understand why what and why it happened. >> i need each and every one of you, no matter your age, to continue to fight alongside us. because hearts can not pump without blood and i don't want your community to join the ghastly inner circle that mine is now a part of. >> and to the politicians that believe that they're right to own a gun comes before our lives, get ready to be voted out. by us. >> when politicians send their thoughts and prayers with no action, we say no more. and to those politicians supported by the nra that allow the continued slaughter of our children and our future, i say get your resumes ready. >> the people demand a law banning the sale of assault weapons. the people demand we not sell high-capacity magazines and universal background checks. stand for us, or beware, the voters are coming. >> when they give us that inch, that bump stock ban, we'll take

a mile. we are not here for bread crumbs, we're here for real change. we're here to lead. >> we will not need metal detectors and clear backpacks and more weapons in our streets if there weren't weapons of war in the hands of civilians. >> we need to arm our teachers. we need to arm them. with pencils, pens and paper and the money they need. they need that money to support their families and to support themselves before they can support the future in those classrooms. >> this needs to change. we've been fighting for this way too long and nothing has changed. and we need change now. [ cheering and applause ] >> when will we as a nation understand that nonviolence is the way of life for courageous people. >> if we march today and vote 227 days from now, we will make this a turning point for our

country. and we, the new diverse inclusive and compassionate face of america will lead this country once again down the path of righteousness. thank you. >> wow. joining me right now are three participatants, olivia mccarran from maryland, and greg pitman a history teacher at marjory stoneman douglas high school and tensel fellp is a sophomore at the same school. we're in the evening and look back at history today and it was made today and olivia you are first and you played a role in history. and chevy chase, an academic in this area. what did you think as a sister school to what happened in parkland. >> well i think it is just really important that students from montgomery county come out and show solidarity with the students in florida, even though we're in different states and different school districts we should recognize we are all students and in this together

for the fight for safety in our schools. >> mr. pitman, you raised these kids well. i have to tell you. and i think that -- i look at little things. i looked at the fact that there was purity today. it was about guns and safety. they didn't get off -- not a bunch of people with little coffee tables and kiosks selling some ideology crap that was all about safety of schools. they stayed on the topic. and i didn't see anybody there manipulating or exploiting it for other purposes. it was powerfully struck by the purity of it. >> i think you could see everything from the students there that came from the heart. they're very focused on keeping it -- i guess right along the lines with it pure on this issue and this very black and white question. you're either for us or against us or for gun safety or you are not and we'll see what you say and whether you meet with us or you don't meet with us and what goes forward. so i think the students did

quite a good job of that today. >> tensel, do you think you have the people that don't want to do anything on the defensive? >> there are a lot of people out there that don't do anything. >> i think specially in merck, we have the opportunity to do something about it. so we should do something about it. i would respect a person more that talks about their beliefs even though they are on the opposite side of us because thaer -- they're using their rights to stand up for what they believe in. >> where does the second amendment stand compared to the first amendment when you expressed today. >> the second amendment kills. it takes away people's lives. the first amendment, i don't think anyone died today at the march and we were using our first amendment right. >> you know what i thought, a couple of observations to throw at you -- and i never heard the word democrat used today. anywhere. on a sign, i didn't see -- and i know progressives hate to hear this, or gee whiz i have a lot

of -- i didn't hear the name of any politician mentioned today except trump. so are there any heros or did anybody notice or talk about, but i did in the the lack of old time partisan talk was missing today. talk about that. >> i actually wasn't surprised by that because the truth is that the shooter, the bullet, they don't know whether a student is democrat or republican or anywhere in between. and this is no longer a partisan issue. it is amoral issue because so many lives have been lost. i think it is important to mention that there was a few politicians mentioned that are bought and owned by the nra and people made sure to expose politicians like marco rubio, everyone had little tags that said a dollar and five cents which is the -- they took the number of students in school districts in florida and the amount of money that marco rubio takes from the nra.

so they divided that and that came out to $1.05 per student in florida. so it is very important that they're putting emphasis on the politicians that take money from the nra, while still managing to keep it nonpartisan and focus on saving lives today. >> and i noticed today, this celebration was a celebration of democracy. i thought this is what washington is supposed to be. when people think of this city, which i've loved all of these years, they should think about what you did today and not guys in three-piece suits up on the hill. stuffed shirts. but when they think of washington and should imagine it -- people in the streets, not politicians behind closed doors. >> if you look at times in history such as the civil rights movement, again march across the bridge in selma, you see many of these were led by children. by students. and we in my history class i teach the student or try to in the junior class, they take the one about the importance of

voting and they'll be voters and they need to exercise that right and be leaders -- future leaders and in our local and state and national communities and we seen them step up with that and think back to the question of the politics. you did not see them go after anyone other than the president. they are quite aware that we need both democrat and republicans and the bullets when they came down the halls when they came down the hall shooting from room to room using the asaul -- assault weapon even as i understand -- digressing but under court cases that have been handed down by the federal court in the last ten years, that they've ruled that assault weapons are not something that are protected by the second amendment. these students were all exercising their first amendment right and i think unfortunately for too long the second amendment right even though i think that is not all for sure -- >> how do we translate as a history, how do we translate what the people -- the framers metropolitan when they say "arms." they meant a musket when is not

a particularly accurate weapon. jam it in for the top and a brilliant apparently reloaders could do two or three a minute. it wasn't meant to be a rapid fire and pull the trigger until it stops and rup out of bullets with magazine on it. how do you get back to that chance lation in the courts. >> want to add one thing. we came down and there were 200 students on thursday, we went to the african-american museum of history and culture and one of the pictures that i took from that exhibit was there was a picture of a sword and a musket and again so when i was thinking when the forefathers created the second amendment in 1791, they were not envisioning this type of technology that we have today that created this assault weapon. they do not look at that as you are saying. the musket, if they were fast or got two or three shots a minute -- >> that is why the ban was more important than the rifle.

because in close contact, you kill more people with the bayonet than the old time me mesk -- musket. and i sense a creation atmosphere and a birth of a nation in a good sense that you are out there and the women are out there doing something. what happens a year from now when you are all a year ahead in school, and maybe in college and you notice nothing has been done? how long can you keep -- the optimism? >> i think right now there is a sense of hope in the air. and i -- it is been about -- it is been a lot of weeks. a couple of weeks, about six weeks. and we've kept it going. and i think we're at a turning point in our country and i don't think we're going to stop a year or two years -- in two years the next presidential election will be taking place and that is when -- when i'll be able to vote. i won't be able to vote in november. in 2018. but i will be able to vote in

2020 and i will not be voting for anyone that doesn't care about our lives. >> how do you -- olivia you answer this because the nra strength comes from -- my brother is one. he's an nra guy. they vote on one issue. they want gun rights. how do you match that single mindedness, that almost tunnel vision. we only think of one thing. one is a hawk and one is a dove on foreign policy an one for the tight money and then loose money and more or less spending and one for single pay or not -- there are so many things to choose from and you think i'm not going to think about that. for my generation, i'm going to focus on one issue. to protect kids in school from guns. how do you get people to vote that w that single mindedness. nra people do. >> yeah. well going back to the fact that it really is a moral issue. children are -- >> it is for them too, by the way. >> it is. >> they think it is a moral

right. >> they definitely think it is. >> brain washed to a point. >> but the thing about the nra and their one-track mind is they are trying their very hardest to sweep us under the rug and not pay attention to us and like you were just saying, we'll all be eligible to vote in the 2018 election some of us and if the nra owned politicians don't want to listen to us now, we're in their districts knocking on doors and voting in those eee-- elections. >> it is almost maniacal and but you think you can stick to it. >> absolutely. >> absolutely. >> thank you. it is a delight to have you have. i shouldn't say it is anything great than to you have on. gary pitman, you are a great performer and getting points across which is point in this television age. thank you. thank you. tank you, tensel. pronunciation brilliant. coming up, has the shooting in parkland change the gun debate.

i'll ask mark kelly, husband of gab gabby giffords husband. and "hardball" is back after this. it's 6 am. 40 million americans are waking up to a gillette shave. and at our factory in boston, more than a thousand workers are starting their day building on over a hundred years of heritage, craftsmanship and innovation. today we're bringing you america's number one shave at lower prices every day. putting money back in the pockets of millions of americans. as one of those workers, i'm proud to bring you gillette quality for less, because nobody can beat the men and women of gillette. gillette - the best a man can get.

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we lost a president by gun violence that i met on occasion, president kennedy. we lost a leader that i got to know and work with 50 years ago by the name of martin luther king jr. because of gun violence. we lost a young senator by the name of robert kennedy that i worked for because of gun violence. we must end gun violence once and for all. end it. >> welcome back. that is a great and i mean the

great john lewis at a rally in atlanta. among the marches here in washington was gabby giffords from arizona. she tweeted this photo with her husband retired astronaut mark kelly and together they are the founders of the group courage to fight gun violence. she wrote, fighting gup violence takes courage, after i was shot in 2011 i didn't know what the next day would bring but i knew you had to push on. our fight does not end at the march for our lives. we need to keep speaking out and we need to organize, we need to vote. i'm joined now by her husband captain mark kelly. thank you for joining us. and i guess you are in the navy. >> whatever. >> john lewis talked about bobby. i remember when that happened. i wrote a letter to my congressman and never did before or since. nothing happened. but there was some action back in '68 and some in '94 but it all seems to limit -- the sun set and they stop being

important and enforced. i don't think we have gun regulation today. >> we have some regulations and we've been very successful -- >> but no tommy guns. >> and no silencers. they are hard to get. there are other things prohibited. you don't have the right to own just about everything. but when we look at what happened today, this could be a moment that might be a seismic shift. i saw a lot people out there today that want to see some change. now what needs to happen is the kids need to motivate those people and their classmates to get out there and vote. >> how do -- and you're in the battle, how do they go out there and basically in high noon and face down the people who want open carry walking into bars and there are people that i think are deranged about this. they want guns in bars. they want guns in restaurants. walking into any hotel with a gun showing. they're up against the opposite that -- that opposite is militant. >> i think they're on the right side of this issue certainly.

sensible people know that. they are on the moral side of the issue. and they understand that. and that empowers them and they are smart kids. they're motivated to do something about it. they know that as adults we have collectively messed this up for them and put them in a terrible position. and i don't -- and they are not afraid. when you watch them up there today, he don't think they're intimidated by anybody carrying a gun into a bar. they've been through a lot. these kids -- a lot thex have been in a fire fight. and they are tired of it. >> good phrase. we're tired of it. they're tired of it. if you hear this tuesday or next tuesday or next thursday after that, there was a gun shooting at a school, you will not be surprised. >> i would not be surprised. >> i'm not surprised. >> no. >> because that is the way we are. >> between now and next tuesday we'll not have changed any laws. mitch mcconnell is not going to come in next week -- i think they are off for two weeks or paul ryan and say 800,000 people

were on the street. we better go and have some debate and pass some legislation. they will not do that now. however, if they can change the voting pattern of people who are between the age of 18 and 25 or 18 to 30, that could have a significant impact on the election in november and then they start to notice. and i think it will change what happens in this country. >> president trump is down in mar-a-largo this weekend. he has mentioned the march -- hasn't mentioned the march on twitter but the white house released a statement. we applaud the many courageous young plerns exercising their first amendment rights today keeping our children safe is a a top priority of the president, this is the person speaking for the president, which is why he urged the congress to pass fix nics and passed them into law and the rule to ban bump stocks following through on the president. i'm very skeptical about this

sort of -- this executive order thing through the justice department. people like dianne feinstein say you need legislation. so even on this limited step, i'm not sure he's for real. >> well, i mean, legislation is always preferred over an executive action or a doj ruling, as with bump stocks, it is a small step. fix nics is a positive thing. but at the same time it is a pretty small minor tweak to our nation's gun laws. what we need is universal background checks for all gun sales. >> they don't want to do gun shows. >> ore -- or over the noipinter and that will impede the sale of firearms. >> is this about money? >> it is about money. it is billions of dollars a year spent in this country and money on the margin. they want to sell that one more gun -- >> how about the teachers. is that part of the game? get teachers to buy guns. escalate it with guns. >> it is a big market. >> and we heard the story from those who had lost loved ones --

to gun violence. among them was edna chavez of south central los angeles who told us about her brother. let's watch. >> it was a day like any other day. sunset going down on south central. you hear pops thinking they are fireworks. they weren't pops. you see your brother's skin turn gray. ricardo was his name. can you all say it with me. >> ricardo, ricardo, ricardo. [ chanting ] >> this is the stuff that got to me. and we heard from mia middletop of chicago with a high school freshman was held up at a convenience store and here is her story. >> he comes towards me and i couldn't move. i couldn't breathe.

i couldn't talk. i couldn't think. all i remember is seeing dark jeans coming toward me. he pulled out this silver pistol and points it in my face and said these words that to this day haunt me and give me nightmares. he said, if you say anything i will find you. and yet i'm still saying something today. [ cheering and applause ] >> mark, i heard some numbers toe. a young kid from chicago, i heard in the car coming in, the kid -- he's a kid. he gave us the numbers. 5,000 dead kids in chicago alone since 2006. 16,000 wounded, probably serious wounds. life-changing. but 5,000 dead kids from shootings in the neighborhoods in chicago. >> yep. >> and it gets very little national publicity. >> probably be more this weekend

and every weekend after that until we decide to make gun trafficking a priority and stop the gun trafficking that happens from indiana and from -- >> you're an expert. why only in america. japan and the brits don't have this problem or the germans and it is nowhere in asia or africa. >> the crazy number of firearms in this country. i'm a gun owner. a responsible gun ownerm there are responsible gun oer-- owner out there. but the fact that we have 350 million guns across this country we should be taking extra steps to make sure that they do not fall in the wrong hands and what we do is we do the opposite. we make it as easy as possible for anybody even a felon to walk out of a prison and go to a gun show or buy one on the internet. >> and another one you are running against, the head fake from the gun lobby, they say we have to solve mental and emotional illness. to solve it because they're going to have access to guns so make sure they are not crazy.

i shouldn't use the word crazy. they think they are being legitimate. let's get rid of mental health. it is part of human live. but they say that is the solution. get rid of those problems. >> we don't have a higher rate of mental illness in this country than any other country. >> than norway. >> and people like that -- we've seen the mass shootings lately and it is a problem and there are things -- we could give people better health care but instead we do the opposite. we take it away. so if they are saying that, they should be supportive. >> and in the second this guy -- who is the defendant goes to trial, execute him. they talk about insanity and until it comes to trial and then the language they were using to get away from any kind of gun safety, they say burn the guy. isn't it funny how they change.

he's insane until he goes to trial and then they want to execute him. it is so easy how their brain works. >> the arguments do not pass the logic test. and we saw some very articulate and logical kids who are motivated to do something. >> they make you cry. they were so real. the kid had a vomited. -- it is a strange thing to say. but from butterflies in sports and the locker room and everybody knows what it is like to go on stage and you get sick from fear. that kid was for real. you could tell that. >> and he recovered. >> and she said i feel great. >> and in a strong way and came back. >> what a statement. an interesting statement but we'll not forget. it thank you, captain. thank you. up next, today's protest extended far beyond the nation's capitol from parkland, florida, to l.a. and in california. we'll have a live report from the ground and including from the city of san francisco. this is special edition of "hardball" where the action is. we took legendary...

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those same kids who were hiding in closets and fearing for their lives at msd just over a month ago have started this national movement. atlanta, the future is now. >> we need each and every one of you to keep screaming at your own congressmen, don't be scared just because they have senator in front of their name.

>> if our current legislative officials will not work toward gun safety measures that we, their people, support, then we'll elect new representatives who will. >> welcome back. it is a very special edition of "hardball." students demanded action from lawmakers speaking at rally from coast to coast with marchs in more than 800 cities worldwide. do you believe that? 800 cities around the world. people are still demonstrating on the streets of san francisco. we're going to editor beth fooey who is there with the people. beth, tell us about it. >> reporter: i'm in san francisco, i know it is a city that you love, chris. it is very nice and sup-- and sy here. this is the end of the march over my right shoulder. this is market street. the big main street in san francisco where some -- tens of thousands of people marched down from city hall and then came down here to the beautiful ferry building where they sort of finished up the march and everybody is going back to their

homes. but we had an incredible day and there were energy and power here and students. and to talk about the march, i have bridget culver, shalea fisher and amiya barken. some representatives of california, oregon and they are all here to tell us why they showed up. bridget, go first. >> i showed up because i'm a strong believer in gun control and i think it is unreasonable to ask teachers to be armed in a classroom. it is a situation that no student should be in in a situation with an active shooter and we should be showing up to marches, showing up to the polls and showing congress who works for us that this is what we demand. >> so shalea, to that point, folks your anyone aren't known for being voters. you are the folks who stay home in your dorm rooms an politics doesn't matter that much to you. is something different now. >> i think that is very untrue. historically that is untrue. i think young people are the

people that make change in this world and that is very clear right now. we've grown up in an age of extreme gun violence and i think that needs to end today. >> and i don't think that we can have any more children's lives lost before the congress decides to make any more decisions. i think that we need to make action now and that is through voting and that is through getting out and protesting like today and through telling everyone that we're not going to stand up for this any more. >> and amiya, what brought you down from portland, oregon, to come to san francisco to march. >> i grew up in morin and this is my home and i want to support the people that are here and around the whole country and show up and say this isn't cool. i can't imagine being in a situation like this and it hurts that people younger than me, children have been in situations threatened by guns. >> so are the people you know, they are planning to vote, they are going to get out and -- >> as i did last election, and as i will this next election and every election after that. >> and do you feel like all of your friends are feeling similarly motivated. >> oh, yeah. >> there is strength in

politics. >> you could just see the majority of people out here are young. look at this crowd right here. i mean -- >> look at this -- the march continues. that is what people -- people continue. they are not satisfied that the march is technically over. they are continuing to march on their own. >> and we have to keep the energy going up until the next election and every future election after that. >> it is not ending today. >> this is just the beginning. >> because at first you'll hear from your parents and adults like me that marching is one thing but getting out and voting is something entirely different. and that is going to be the thing that makes change. >> we have to get out there and tell them this isn't okay for us and our votes matter. >> thank you. bridget and shalea and amiya. great to have you. >> thank you so much. great reporting from san francisco. beth fooey. with me now is congressman ted deutsche from district parkland, high school. you are the expert. you know what you face. how are you going to get --

let's talk turkey, how are you going to get the speaker of the house and massly over rated than paul ryan, he won't let a gun control or safety bill on the floor, is he? that is what he does. he protects his members from the vote. >> you know what the message was today. the message to paul ryan was you can move forward on the common sense gun safety legislation that has broad bipartisan support throughout the country, or you won't be speaker any more. that was the message today. these kids who -- >> but he cares more about the freedom caucus than he does you guys. >> he cares about being speaker and i'll tell you what, if he's not prepared to allow the bipartisan universal background check bill come to the floor for a vote, the bipartisan 21 to buy a gun bill to come to the floor, common sense measures, these then students who are soen eshlgized will show up id sh they will show up and vote out.

and they will show up and vote out the people who stand in the way of -- >> these people, young people, should they be optimistic that you are right and there will be a vote this summer perhaps on the 21-year-old minimum age for by -- buying a firearm. >> i'm telling them to be optimistic about the power that was on full display today. the power that said we need action now, but if we don't see it, then we're going to come out in droves in the election. chris, they're creating single issue voters for themselves for the generation -- >> are you confident of that. >> you bet i am. look, these kids -- the kids from stoneman douglas who understand how important it is to work with students from all across country who face gun violence on a regular basis, these kids who have seen carnage that no one should ever have to experience, they understand what is at stake here.

they want to be safe. they're tired of politicians telling them that there is some extremist view of the constitution that prevents them from taking action. >> what about the people in the gun rights -- right wing. they say there is socialist grown ups behind the kids. >> they are doing it again today. this is all extremists. let me tell you something -- >> the kids are not accused of being extremist. the figures in the background, they keep alluding to. >> they have to do that, because if they -- because they can't -- they try to attack the kids first, remember and then that was just so outrageous they had to stop and now looking forfully way to discredit what happened. they can't do. >> i'm answering my own question but extrapolate, i'm overwhelmed by these young women and the girls. i'm overwhelmed by their honest -- and some the guys were a little more perhaps talking more politically. but the ones who were talking from their gut, the one who threw up, this is for real. this isn't somebody who wrote

something and wants to show off. this is somebody who feels in their gut literally the importance of this issue. >> whosy gun violence survivor. that is why she was able -- sam an that y she was so caught up by the moment she lost it. and then pulled herself together because she knew that her peers and her school and her country needed to hear what she was saying. >> that is what i will remember. her name is samantha. i will remember her. and all your life you are hearing about jocks before a game and they get butterflies an bob hope would get up set and throw up before big performances and it means you are out to do your best and this is so important to you. and this is it. in your life to do that -- when she did that, i go, my god, this is a person whose total being is here. >> it means they are not reading lines, they are not using talking points, they are just being themselves.

>> and when is he said i just threw up and i feel great. i'm sorry, i've never heard that said before so eloquently. congressman ted deutsche of florida, representing florida -- well parkland. you don't have to explain that to people. they will know what that meaps. it was a memorable day on washington but what is going forward. i want this to be important. what can congress do? what will it do? and what is president trump do goi going to do. apparently very little. except the bump stock promise because the executive order -- excuse me, pass a law, mr. president. you are watching a special edition of "hardball." [fbi agent] you're a brave man, mr. stevens. your testimony will save lives. mr. stevens? this is your new name. this is your new house. and a perfectly inconspicuous suv. you must become invisible.

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old. they want change and it may, in fact, be the factor that smokes out the gun lobby because my colleagues are going to see that playbook no longer works. >> welcome back to "hardball." that that was connecticut senator richard blumenthal and the message of the march for our lives to his colleagues in the u.s. senate as hundreds of thousands of students, about 800,000 descended on washington calling on congress and the president to do something about gun violence. president trump is in florida. of his own volition down at his resort. he chose to leave town. white house -- there is no such place as the white house. who is this person that put out a statement on the march through a spokesperson referencing some recent measures writing keeping our children safe is a top priority of the president, speaking in third person which is why he urged congress to pass the fix nics and they -- and the

fix nics passed and trump signed it into law to improve the nation's background system but several democrats calling their colleagues to do more. >> fix nics, i supported. but let me tell you, 17 lives in parkland and the lives that we lose every work are worth much more than fix nics. >> people should know we have introduced an assault weapons ban, we are asking for a hearing. there may be amendments made to it. but there is an opportunity to do it. the problem is we need 60 and we don't have a single republican. >> for more, i'm joined by john pierre from move on.org and john bray man and geoff bennett, white house correspondent. i'm going to start off with jeff. the president skipped town today. >> he did. >> he skipped out when 800,000 people came to speak -- they're thoughts to him. and he said i'm not interested. i'm leaving town.

>> remember when there was that march for life, the anti-abortion rally on the mall. he did that simulcast speech from the rose garden. and mike pence went in person to that event. the president was prescheduled to be out of town this weekend -- >> he set the schedule. >> that is truech but wh but ri he left for the golf course, they sent out the statement where he touts the two pezures that he signed into law in the omnibus spending bill. but those two measures were so modest all they do is reinforce existing law. it is nowhere near what the kids from park land called for and what the president stated support for just a few weeks ago, expanded background checks, raising the purchase age for some semi automatic weapons. >> what did you make of what she said, not a single republican supports the bill. >> i want to go back to the president because i think you're being unfair to him. >> go head. >> in the president's statement he did make this clear these are

great americans out there marching and that is important -- >> the white house did. >> but that is the president. that doesn't go out with the president not knowing. so when that happened during the iraq war george bush put out a statement saying maybe they could find something more important to do like pick up trash. to me this was the president saying, look this was democracy in action. and commended him. second of all, the bill that you are talking about does do more. one is this is the justice department that now is doing something about bump stocks. the obama administration didn't. so let's start giving him credit. he is talking about stringent -- stronger background checks. there are some things in motion. let's keep in mind that the last four years there have been 70 shootings in schools. which shouldn't be acceptable to any of us. but that happened three of the years were the obama administration and one was during trump. so isn't it a good thing that finally we're all coming together on important issue and at least having a dialogue.

why are we blaming this president and blame the previous president. commend the people today that they are great americans for what they did. let's hope that -- >> i'm talking about failure to act -- the expert on assault weapons and diane can't get 60 votes to clear a debate. >> that is not also forget that the democrats under barack obama had the senate and had the house. >> i'm talking about -- >> every opportunity -- >> what happened -- >> and everybody blames the nra like the nra -- >> what is going to happen. >> in a batman movie. the nra has about 5 million -- >> i'm not doing it that way. i'm asking what is going to get done in response to this today. >> i think there will be serious dialogue on background checks. i think there will be changes made much more stringent. >> no. >> and they will look at things because this isn't about school shoot gz. this is about school violence and more than just guns, about how to protect kids in school

and they'll look at this more globally and just say how do we get rid of the guns and that will create a solution. >> and that is the chief criticism. people on the left say the president trump and republicans have tried to reorient this whole narrative. away from guns and more about issues about school security and mental health when the chief issue is about guns and you mings the fact that the nra has 5 million members and they have a disproportionate say is because people on the right, guns is not -- it is not about safety, it is about a culture. >> so what would you do? get rid of all of the guns. >> that is not for me to decide. >> and you are criticizing the republicans. >> what should be done. you're a progressive, what should be done about -- about asaul weapons. what should be done? >> i think we do feed to get rid of assault weapons. >> what do you mean by -- outlaw or get rid of them, how do you do it. >> i think congress needs to do something. but here is the thing -- >> tell me what you want done on

assault weapons. take that one issue killing these kids. >> i think we should not have ar-15s on the streets of the country. weapons of war -- country. we don't need. >> we stop sales of all ar-15s. >> universal background checks. we need to do that. >> out right ban. jeff. can we get a vote on that? >> doubtful. >> it's not going to happen in congress. these kids were absolutely right. what they said today which was, vote them out and they registered people to vote. we need a new congress in order to have it. >> it's going to happen? >> i think we need to make sure we get people. it's not going to happen with republicans. >> who's going to vote for the ban you want? >> well you have to elect folks that are going to be able to do that. it's not republicans. >> why didn't it happen -- why didn't it happen then? >> only voting for democrats who support a ban on ar-15s.

>> i support on common sense gun laws. that's what i support. >> you're fading here. >> i'm not fading. here's the thing to donald trump. his first executive order was to make sure that mentally ill people were able to get guns. >> i got do close this down. we'll be right back. you're watching a special edition of hardball.

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for each of you. each of you in your own way explain the importance of today to prosperity. >> these kids are amazing. they're inspiring. this is what we knneeded in thi movement. young people to step in and take the lead. we saw this in the '50s and '60s. there's nothing new here but i'm gloods th glad this happened. we need to change this issue and turn it into an electoral force. i'm looking forward to november. >> i think it's empowered these students to know they are of more value than just in a presidential year. republicans we look and say at some point they will pay taxes and care about this. we'll get them. they are now politically active not at 18 but 14, 15 and 16. we better start talking to them at that age.

>> the gun bedadebate has been asymmetrical. guns tend to be a cultural issue for people on the right. these kids spoke with such energy and eloquence that the needle could be moving here. the other thing is the rally we saw today, i think, was the physical representation of all the behind the scenes machinery. the thing we didn't focus a lot of time on is fact they are using the apparatus from every town from gun rights. >> thank you. p our specialist of hardball will continue. i'll talk to some -- we'll talk to monotell williams. we'll be right back. whoooo.

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good evening. i'm chris matthews again in washington. summoned by anger and frustration by gun violence in america, hundreds of thousands of teenager rally through the streets of atlanta, dallas, los angeles, new york and washington, d.c. there's more than 800 scheduled around the globe. here in washington it was an