>> the issue of gun control heats up again on capitol hill in the wake of the orlando smooting rampage. joining us this morning, pennsylvania senator bob casey, who has his own gun control proposal. we'll ask him about that and much more. plus, eight days of free family fun, food, music and fireworks. we'll show you how this year's u wawa welcome america festival celebrates america's birthday. speaking of america's birthday, see how organizers in philadelphia are already planning the country's 250th birthday bash of decades from them. good sunday morning, i'm coat jones. gun control was once again a

topic of debate on capitol hill. senators rejected another round of gun control measures despite a renewed push for legislation that takes weapons out of the mands of terrorists. on wednesday morning, representative john lewis led democrats taking the floor of the house. republicans say their colleagues did nothing but interrupt the business of the house. the house shut off the cameras inside the chambers so representatives resorting to using cell phones and social media to show what was happening inside. joining us to discuss the gun control debate and more is one of our local senators, senator bob casey, a democrat and pennsylvania's senior senator. thank you so much for joining us. >> keith, good to be with you, thank you. >> you proposed your own gun control measure dealing with people who have been convicted of hate crimes. if you don't mind explaining that legislation for us, it's a good place to start. >> first and foremost, what we're trying to do is deal with

one aspect of the gun violence problem and that's the problem that we where we run into basic hate problem where an individual because they are engaging in actions over a long period of time, sometimes it rises to the level of a felony and, of course, if you're convicted of a felony, you can be denied a firearm. but often what we see is an individual engaging in hateful acts, hate crimes or bias with the use of force but it only rises to the level of a misdemeanor and they can't be denied a gun. i believe that if we want to take action earlier in the process or earlier in the progress that someone would take towards violent activity, we've got to make sure that at a much earlier stage we can build a case in a sense against them by making sure that if you're convicted of a misdemeanor hate crime you'll be denied access to a firearm.

so many domestic violence circumstances and other instances where someone has a propensity for violence engages in that violence, engages in hateful acts and can't be stopped because they have a firearm. we know that what happened in orlando was both an act of terrorism for sure and that raises lots of questions but it was also an act of hate against the lgbt community. so i believe we've got to take action on hate crimes but that's just one of nine or ten or 11 you could make a long list of bills that we should pass to finally, finally begin to address the gun violence problem in the united states of america which takes more than 33,000 lives. >> i want to get your thoughts on other stories in the news this week. one of your fellow pennsylvania lawmakers, representative shaka fatah was convicted on 22 corruption counts. simply put, what's your reaction to the verdict. >> well, wherever that happens in the context of a federal or state official or any public official it's a very sad day for

that community and in this case the city of philadelphia and the commonwealth. but when someone is -- when someone has those kinds of charges levels against them and they're convicted of the charges, they have to be held accountable. it damages our system when one elected official is engaged in any kind of corruption or other activities which are illegal. so we know we're waiting the sentencing in the fall but it's a very sad day when that happens. >> moving now to the presidential race. pennsylvania hasn't gone republican since 1988. president obama won the keystone state by almost five points last time. in your opinion, will pennsylvania be in play this time around? >> keith, i expect it to be close, that's the nature of our state. we're what i might call a barely blue state, 51-49 or 52-48 kind of a state and i expect it to be close. i think in the end secretary

clinton will win and she'll win because of -- certainly because of her record and her experience but also her plans to tackle the basic challenges people are facing. the lack of wage growth going back decades not just years and the challenges people face in their own lives and in the economy and obviously the issue of national security will be paramount. i don't think we've ever had a candidate better prepared to work on economic security as well as national security than secretary clinton. >> let's talk about the process of elections. you're a super delegate. it's been a controversial position this cycle. do you think the party should do away with super delegates? >> i'd favor a lot of changes. we've got to make sure that the nomination process reflects the will of the people and also a nomination process which is closely connected to making sure that people's voices are heard and their vote is counted. so i'm open to a lot of changes.

on super delegates or otherwise. because the last thing we want to do is drive people away from a nomination process which is critical to nominating a president for the democratic party, i'm not going to give advice to what republicans do, but our party should be very open to changes. >> senator bob casey, always a pleasure to talk to you. thank you for joining us. we want to get back on the topic of gun control, this time another point of view, joshua prince is the chief counsel with firearms industry consulting, he's an advocate for the second amendment rights. thank you so much for joining me. >> thanks for having me, keith, appreciate it. >> you were able to listen to senator casey right there. what is your view on his proposal to ban people on the terror watch list from buying firearms here in this country? >> with due respect to senator casey, the issue is not a gun control issue, the issue is a gun-free zone issue. we consistently see individuals brutalized in gun-free zones because they're denied their

inalienable right to defend themselves and their loved ones. whether we look to orlando or paris we see a theme that gun-free zones only prevent individuals from being able to defend their own lives and those that they love. in point of fact, when we look at paris, they have some of the most stringent gun laws across the world and yet the terrorists were able to carry out their attack. this proves the point that no matter what laws we have on the books, someone who is intent to violate the law and kill people will do so. >> i think there's a lot of talk, too, about these assault wednesday. as you're looking on the screen there's some of them. the ar-15 has been used in several mass shootings we've been heard about. the family of the man who invented it has come out and said he never intended for that weapon to be carried out and used in the fashion it has been. what do you say to those people who argue that the average citizen shouldn't own an assault rifle like an ar-15? >> first of all, there's a problem with terming it an

assault rifle. it's not an assault rifle. an assault rifle has selective fire capability, meaning it can fire full auto. this is your regular semiautomatic rifle that's available to individuals here in the commonwealth and throughout the united states. the other issue is no gun manufacturer manufactures a firearm with a desire or intent that it ever be utilized in some type of horrific incident like this. there is no doubt that colt firearms or the other manufacturers of the ar-15 rifle platform wanted it to be used in this capacity. however i could guarantee you that they would want to see it used to stop a terrorist. >> we all want to stem the problem of these mass shootings, we want them stop immediately, we want zero to happen. in your opinion, what can we do then to reduce these types of events while also protecting second amendment rights? >> we need to do away with gun-free zones. it's the main culprit for why these incidents take place. we see shootings occurring in

gun-free zones because law abiding citizens are denied the ability to carry a firearm and stop the bad guy with the gun. the other thing i wanted to comment on was senator casey's comment that misdemeanor crime cans not prohibit someone from owning a firearm. that's not true. under federal law, anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of a state law nature that could have been punished by more than two years in jail is prohibiting. it does not matter if they don't even spend a single night in jail. here in the commonwealth if you get nailed for your second dwi highest rate, nobody is harmed, no property damage, it will be a misdemeanor of the first degree that can be punished by five years in jail and that person will be denied in perpetuity for the rest of their life the ability to own a firearm. so we will have have laws on the books that do exactly what senator casey was talking about. we also have the lautenberg amendment that addresses any type of domestic violence. if you are convicted of any misdemeanor crime of domestic

violence, you are prohibited. >> joshua prince, thank you so much for your time. >> my pleasure, thanks. >> appreciate you coming by. coming up, we're going to take a bit of a right turn. eight days of free family fun are about to get under way in philadelphia but the wawa welcome america festival is a lot more than just fireworks. we'll show you what else is in store.

the nation's biggest birthday party will be under way in philadelphia starting tomorrow. thousands of people will pack the ben franklin parkway for the festival. it will span eight straight days, feature 35 free events and 100 hours of free entertainment and programming. do you hear that? free. can't stress that enough. there will be five hours of family friendly concerts beginning at 5:00 on july 4

featuring artists like the ones on your gene, the o'jay's, yazz the greatest, leslie odom, jr., and brotherly love. telemundo will be broadcasting them live from 5:00 to 8:00 so you can watch them from home, yo you are picnic, smart phone or tablet. nbc 10 and our sister station telemundo 62 are proud partners of the celebration. joining us for more is the president and ceo of the event. jeff, always great to see you. >> happy july 4. >> thank you very much. so funny to sit down with you because you bring so much passion and energy and that's in essence what this event is about. >> it's about as fiphiladelphia we showed the world what democracy and freedom can mean. it happened right here in our hometown and the world looks to philadelphia even today as a global beacon of what being an american can be, what freedom

can be and we get to celebrate it for eight days. >> you were saying 1777 was the first time fireworks went off here in philadelphia to celebrate our independence. it's grown so much from just fireworks, though,er think people think july 4, they think, oh, i'll be out back with my family, my loved ones, cooking up burgers and hot dogs, maybe i'll see fireworks. but here in philly it's a whole bigger ball game, right? >> it's a bigger ball game because if you think about what makes democracy work is through education and making sure that kids have 10,000 free books over the course of the summer we'll do that. we'll bring families together to meet your neighbors down the street through free movie nights, we'll do it through a free museum everyday. every single day during the course of our festival there will be a free museum open where you can say let's take the kids to see the barnes foundation, let's go to check out the national constitution center. then, of course, great funened

and shows and every artist, 350 artists from from philadelphia, every kind of diverse background, any kind of music you might like, dance, fun. let's have a good time as philadelphians because the dnc will be bringing the eyes to philly. >> it's the sounds of philadelphia. that brings me to a bit of a point. it's a different tone. we keep saying family friendly and, i want to mention again, free. free, family, friendly, but for the whole family. >> for families, millennials, boomers, gen-xers. if you have a 19-year-old niece you can go see fireworks at penn's landing, but there's also kids bop. but we've curated it that way specifically. mayor kenny came in and said "we want to show people a good time but also remind people that what happened in philadelphia we

should be proud of, make sure the world knows about it. so we'll start with the declaration of independence, leslie odom, jr., from "hamilton" from philly is going to read the declaration of independence. we're honoring people through the wawa foundation awards who are doing good in our communities so we're trying to make this festival about entertainment but uplifting each other and connecting each other as the fabric of philadelphians. >> i was going to say i talked to comcast, david cohen with then mayor ed rendell, he was the chief of staff, and he mentioned the point of this event was to reach a wide audience. to make it family friendly. now more than ever what we can say here on nbc 10 and telemundo 62, we're committed to bringing you all the events on air, online through the internet so you can see it in a way you've never seen it before. and that's a big point, to make it accessible to everyone? >> we want people to see themselves in the festival.

they want people to come down to center city or also go out into the neighborhoods, experience the festival themselves then we want them to watch it on demand. on their ipad. but we're working towards the future. how do we position philadelphia for the 250th anniversary coming up in just ten years. it seems like a long time away but it's not. how do we connect with a millennial generation that is very different from a boomer generation, i'm a gen-xer, we're just as important but nobody talks about us. >> what david cohen and then mayor rendell and then became governor. they set the stage. >> the stage is red white and blue, patriot rom i cic. through wawa, our partners, that i've opened up museums. this is about people coming together. it doesn't matter what your economic means are. everything's free for a reason so whether you're rich or not so

rich or whether you're african-american or asian american you're going to have a great time, that's what philly is about. and have a hogie, have a beer, have some fun. >> cheese steak, lest we forget. jeff, thank you so much for your time, appreciate it. >> see you at the festival. >> and we won't forget about you, the gen-xer. because you provided by me with such a wonderful segue here. from one national birthday to another, see how organizers at philadelphia are planning the country's 250th birthday bash ten years if now. ♪ ♪

america's birthday is a little over a week away, but some people in our area are already planning for another celebration ten years from now

when america turns 250. joining us now with more about this project is the board chair and founding board member of usa 250, andrew hones. thank you so much for joining us. >> pleasure to be here. >> we just talked to jeff. they have been planning for a year to celebrate eight days. you're planning ten years in advance for an event that will be celebrated all year long. what's your vision? >> well, look, i grew up here in philadelphia and as a native philadelphian it's our privilege but in another sense our responsibility to convene the nation every so often to reflect on our accomplishments but also how can we be a better version of america? and what can we do to form a more perfect union? in 1876 in philadelphia when we celebrated the hundredth anniversary of the united states, over 25% of the united states came. all of west fairmount park was built, we had the world's largest building, we had the statue of liberty torch was the

observatory and americans paid 50 cents to go up to the top and that was the money that was used to fund raise for the statue, the telephone was debuted. flora and fauna from all over the world. there was tremendous success. >> and i think the carousel is still left over, the building, right? >> well, we still have the ohio house at the intersection of belmont and montgomery which was the pavilion of the state of ohio. we also had memorial hall which is the basis on which we now today enjoy the art museum on the parkway. in 1926 we reconvened the nation on the occasion of our says kwa centennial. >> say that five times fast, says kwa centennial. >> that will be up to you. at that time, all of philadelphia was built, as a result of that, that's why we have the sports complex today and fdr park was the fairgrounds where the phillies play, where the eagles play, write where the

flyers play, where the sixers play. the 1976ers after all. that comes from that. and in the bicentennial in 1976, philadelphia was sports city, usa. we were on the cover of "sports illustrated" three times that year, we hosted the able all-star game, the basketball all-star game. the ncaa final four, the hockey all-star game. we hosted the world ping-pong championship, the darts championship. the karate championship. >> a lot of growth. >> 12 heads of state. and in that year we founded the mann music center, the african-american museum of philadelphia, the national museum of american jewish history, the mummers museum. all of those things, the legacy of the bisentencentenniabicente. now in 10 short years what's amazing is we're coming up on the first round number anniversary since 1876. 25-year anniversary which, if you're keeping notes is referred

to as the semiquinn centennial. the cool kids call it the semiquinn. we call it usa 250. >> i like that better. >> and the vision here is that it's not just a party in philadelphia. this is an opportunity for our entire nation to celebrate our success and come together in a project of national unity. it's also for families, companies, special interest groups, the museum art, for the philadelphia orchestra. how will we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the united states? it's not a celebration that puts the right ahead of left or a celebration that puts one heritage over another, it's a celebration of everything that makes america great. >> andrew hones, thank you so much for your time, appreciate it. we'll be right back. >> thank you.

nbc 10 needs your help to reward people who are making a difference in the community. nbc 10 and nbc 10 universal are giving away grants to local nonprofits. we call it 21st century solutions. the goal is to support organizations that are implementing new and innovative programs. the application is on our web site, nbc10.com. the deadline to apply is august 26. that's it for this edition of nbc 10 " @issue." i'm keith jones, catch me weekdays on nbc 10 at 5:00. until then, thank you for joining us. have a great sunday.

- my name is marte. this is my brother, amir, and our family are growing vegetables up there, but the birds keep eating them. what can we do? - hmm? aha-- i have an idea! everyone, buckled up? - ready, sean. [barks] - all aboard the noodle and doodle bus. - we're traveling around in your neighborhood we're doing lots of things as we go making lots of arts and crafts and food that's good we're hoping we can say hello all aboard the noodle and doodle bus - hop on! - there's lots for us to do we can bake a cake there are games to make it wouldn't be the same without you [children cheering] - yeah!