are we seeing more lobbying from larger groups, focusing on state legislature? one of the things we can see, congress is pretty much deadlocked. you will not get any more controversy or big name issues through congress. we see these groups moving money away from congress and where state legislatures? or they can get changes they want? >> i think in broad terms, we do. certainly, we see an increased focus and an increased recognition of the importance of these issues or these matters. when you look at something like the debate over criminal race theory, 18 states have now passed some form of restriction or prohibition on what might broadly be called critical race theory. defining crt is a whole other battle, as you know. you know, abortion again, we talked about 13 states, with almost total prohibitions, 14 depending on how you characterize it, at the same number, with really tight restrictions. i think those kind of pivotal issues do encourage groups with interests, who are involving themselves to a greater extent. >> i want to get deeper into some of these issu

newspaper, and he's here this morning to talk about how controversial issues are playing out in state legislatures. now, good morning. >> good to see you. >> you recently wrote a column in the hill newspaper talking about how the culture wars in the united states are playing out at the state level. tell us a little bit about why we're seeing this. >> i think it depends on the specific issue. abortion, obviously, has been a culture war issue forever. clearly, that's been moved to the states by the supreme court decision -- about 11 months ago -- roe v. wade. then, you have other additional issues like so-called senior team -- that have come to the floor as a matter of debate, much more recently. and then, in addition to that, you have, frankly, some politicians, and presidential ambitions caught in this as well. governor desantis in florida has quite clearly and quite ostentatiously been inserting himself into some of the debates. six-week abortion ban, so-called anti woke act and things of that nature. >> why are we seeing this being dealt in a slate legislation years rather than in washington, in

this legislature has systematically attacked that community. we have seen bills targeting our art forms, our books, our history our healthcare. and i rose up in defense of my community that day, speaking to harm these bills bring and i have first-hand experience knowing about. i've had friends have taken their lives because these bills. i fielded calls from families in montana including one families whose transit teenager attempted to take her life while watching a hearing on one of the anti- trans bills. in that hearing our caucus pleaded with the chair of the judiciary committee to not allow certain testimony to keep decorum and we were told a lot of for faithful have a lot of opinions on these things. so when i rose up and said there is a blood on your hands, i was not being hyperbolic. i was speaking to the real consequences of the vote that we as legislatures take in this body. and when the speaker asked me too apologize on behalf of decorum what he was really asking me too do is to be silence when my community is facing bills that get us

michael kofman, then niall stanage talks about controversial policy issues playing out in state legislatures. washington journal starts now. ♪ host: good morning and welcome to washington journal. president joe biden this week is expected to lift a pandemic error rule -- era rule that could cause a surge of immigrants athu.s. mexico border it has ordered u.s. troops to be sent down to reinforce border patrol and help deal with the surge as mayors in new york city, washington, d.c. hers say resources have been stretched to their brea point with immigration. all of this as the 2024 presidential election looms in the future. our question for you this morning, what changes are needed in border and immigration policy? democrats, we want to hear from you at (202) 748-8000. republicans, (202) 748-8001. independent you can call at (202) 748-8002. we are opening up a special line for border states, southern border states. we want to know what you think if you live in one of the states bordering mexico. your line is going to be (202) 748-8003. keep in mind, you can always text us at (202) 748-8003 and

host: are we seeing more lobby money from larger groups focusing on state legislature?n both agree, congress is pretty much deadlocked. you are not going to get anymore controversial or big-name issues through congress. do we see these groups moving their money away from congress and towards state legislatures where they can get changes they may want? guest: in broad terms, we do. we are seeing that increased focus and increased recognition of the importance of these issues or matters. you look at something like the debate over critical race theory. 18 states now have passed some form of restriction or prohibition on what might broadly be called crt. defining crt is another battle, as you know. abortion, we talk about 13 states with almost total world missions, 14 dependent on how you characterize it. about the same number with very tight restrictions. i think those typical issues do encourage groups with interests to involve themselves to a greater extent. host: i want to get a little deeper into some of these issues. i want to remind our callers they can take part in

you have a nebraska legislature that is saying no. we have republicans in north carolina who are working now to try to convince at least one republican in our state to do the right thing. in north carolina, brief -- of the body can override a veto. we are now one vote short of that three fifth and both the house and the senate. override has to go through both chambers. all we need is one republican to step up. >> you were on the show with me a couple of weeks ago. we were having a similar discussion. itpeople are on your side on this. let's discuss this again. it's highly specific to north carolina and some other states. you won your last election by about 250,000 votes over your republican opponent. you have democratic statewide elected officials in north carolina. you are more registered democrats than original republicans. the math based on the polling when indicate that means there are far more people who support abortion rights than who don't in your state. and yet, if you take a quick glance at your legislature and your supreme

>> i think what our legislature has to do is say certain circumstances, you've just got to say no. and legislation is to work with our local legislators if something were to happen, and they would say if you are avoiding criminal prosecution by getting mental health diversion, you shouldn't be allowed to have a gun, at all, just like we do when we convict somebody of a felony. i testified before the legislature and that bill got watered down, the assembly man did a great job but the committee , the public safety committee whittled it down to where it only covers during the 2 years that they are on mental health diversion. for that, whether they have succeeded or not, they can still possess a gun. that is a place ul . i would start where you have a combination of mental health and a gun, those people should not be allowed to have guns in any circumstance in my book. easy fix, but a legislature decided that is not the route they wanted to go. >> final question, the victims families who you are in touch with, what do they want? >> they want to see justice for the murder of their loved

kim is doing it right in your legislature here. the same way -- same way the government in economic matter. the same applies to education. the parents have the role to direct the upbringing in education of their kids. schools are important, school systems are important but if , they did not supersede the rights and responsibilities of parents. in florida we believe in parents bill of rights. iowa believes in that. [applause] that means the schools need to be focus on the things that are important. working on math and sciences and reading. we should not have pornographic material in the school library. we have empowered parents to get that out. some of the media says it is equivalent to banning books, which is not. you can buy it as an adult. i did an event in florida where we talk -- the book ban hoax -- we said we are exposing the book ban hoax. we started the press conference i did a video that you showed damages the tax of what -- images or the texts about the parents had objected to. the local news stations cut their feeds beca

it's got a democratic governor, elected statewide twice, super majorities in the state legislature oft they've been given the greenlight to gerrymander even more aggressively? >> well, i think it means that democracy is at risk in north carolina, as it is really around this country in the ways that you just described. i mean, what happened in north carolina is that there was a judicial election, and the composition of the court changed. we now have more republicans than democrats on the supreme court. this new supreme court overturned supreme court decision from just a few months ago that will now allow partisan gerrymandering to occur in north carolina, a place where the super majority of republicans. you know it's gonna happen. this super majority of republican legislature is gonna come up with districts that will favor, in an inappropriate way -- they will gerrymander on a partisan and racial basis to guarantee that they can continue to control the north carolina legislature. but the north carolina supreme court did was not based on principle. it was not based on precedent, as cour

and that's exactly what this bill does. >> north carolina governor criticizing his state legislaturecooper has vetoed it. but the veto won't last long because north carolina state legislature is controlled by republican super majority. and they are said to override him next week. in neighboring south carolina, republicans are working to pass a six-week abortion ban. which would exacerbate the growing reproductive care crisis all across the american south. take a look at the map, in -- the sister senators are holding the line to ensure abortion care remains legal. in just the past eight months, the republican controlled legislature try to pass a total abortion ban three times. sister senators blocked each attempt. one of them is with us right, now south carolina state senator mia mcleod, senator, thank you for being with us. talk to us about the six-week abortion ban, currently being considered in your state. you've helped block three abortion bans prior to this one. do you think this one has a chance of becoming law? >> you know, sadly all of them have a chance of becoming law becaus

in just the past eight months, the republican neutral legislature tried to pass a total abortion ban,ors block each attempt. one of them is with us now, south cross tape center mia mcleod. senator, thank you for being with us. talk to us about the six-week abortion ban currently being considered in your state. you have helped block three abortion bans prior to this one. do you think this one has a chance of becoming law? >> you know, sadly, all of them have a chance of becoming law. because here in south carolina, we have a super majority -- a super republican majority in the south carolina house, and they are not far away from it in the senate either. so you know, we just band together where we can, and come together and fight the senseless bans. i think this one, the total ban was, that was a significant step in the right direction. but of course, i believe that the house judiciary has already passed as 474 out, and it was fast-tracked in the senate, it is a senate bill. we are expecting it to come back over to the house, so there is always a chance, we will continue to fight. >> i

if the court rules in favor of north carolina's republican legislature it would mean all state legislaturestion laws. so good by two fighting partisan gerrymandering instate in federal court or gubernatorial veto. naacp defense fund won't win any more federal election cases because they won't be allowed to sue. sign are at to mail-in ballots if the state legislature thinks they are unnecessary. does your state constitution has link have language about election? will the state legislature won't give a you know what because they will be in charge. the justices will also decide whether or not business owners who don't want to make wedding for same sex couples will be protected by the same first amendment. no one even asked to make a website, by the way. companies could use the ruling to legally deny service to anyone not just representing the lgbtq community. they could use their first amendment rights to not take jewish families or black children, a local restaurant could put restrictions on who they want inside. given the track record of this court this is not hyperbole. my angela said when

. ♪ ♪ >> maria hinojosa: every two years, the texas legislature comes to session.or buzzes) >> let's go, raiders! (clapping in rhythm) let's go, raiders! let's go, ttu! >> hinojosa: it's early 2023, and the capitol is a busy place. >> let's go, raiders! >> the senate of the 88th legislative session will come to order. >> hinojosa: lawmakers are voting on bills about everything from the cost of fuel to property taxes. many without controversy. >> is there an objection to the adoption of the resolution? the chair hears none, the resolution's adopted. >> hinojosa: but in this session, the legislature is also facing the divisive of issue of guns. >> it's none of your business how many guns i own. >> hinojosa: after one of the deadliest school shootings in history. >> we defend the constitution. >> we do everything to protect these guns. let's just try something to protect our children. (crying) ♪ ♪ >> an unimaginable tragedy in texas. >> a gunman opened fire at robb elementary... >> hinojosa: on may 24, 2022, accounts of yet another mass shooting in our country began t

and, you know, i do think -- and, again, i'm speaking about new jersey legislature. i do think that they welcome the education because, yes, hay do get the calls, they do get e-mails. and at the time we all weren't experts in the field, so they don't understand what, if anything, is going on. so you just have to continue to make sure that everyone who is interested and genuinely interested is understanding the process. and another good thing that i know that my team and i focus upon are our youth, because if there are naysayers -- and i'm not, i'm coming from a good place of this, but naysayers, you know, we all gonna be gone, i'm going to be the gone one of these days. but we want to ingrain now those students in high school, those students in college and pierce all of this mis and disinformation. make them understand civically and just be education -- the education of what is, indeed, going on with your election process. because when i speak to students, they genuinely want to hear the truth, and they don't want any of the politics in this. they just want to know i

i came from my state legislature, you have to keep the legislation open.er, what concerns me, and i think what concerns a lot of people in my home state of vermont is that, we should not give into a ransom note. i was listening to your interview with michael steele. and david jolly. they are absolutely right. we need to raise the debt ceiling like we did under trump three times. we must pay our bills. because right now, we are calling into question the full faith and credit of the united states. already, without defaulting, which is where they would like us to go, clearly, without defaulting, we have already sent a signal to the world that we cannot be counted on to pay bills. that's incredibly alarming. >> right, in fact, the washington post, there was a story about how last weekend, when janet yellen was meeting with the finance minister colleagues from around the world, they were pulling her aside separately and privately asking, hey, what's up with the negotiation? what's going on. we picked up something else that david jolly is it in the last segment,

but the republican controlled legislature wouldn't even do that.tate where schools are now turning to winnie the pooh to teach 4-year-olds how to survive mass shootings with just hours left to pass anything for the next year and a half and hours until the anniversary of the deadliest school shooting in the past decade, what are republicans in the state of texas focused on? well, yesterday the texas house passed a bill banning diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts on college campuses and another bill regulating drag shows. today they passed one bill that gets rid of the county elections administrator in just one single county, harris county, which is the largest most diverse county in all of texas. and they passed another bill that gives the texas secretary of state the ability to take over elections administration in any county where a complaint is file. so that's basically any county republicans want. earlier this month they passed a bill that would allow schools to employ chaplains who are religious figures to essentially serve as school couns

the measure now goes to nevada's legislature for approval. kron 4 dan kerman reports it's looking more likely that oakland a's fans will have to cheer on their team from a distance. >> in a statement, nevada governor joe lombardo says a tentative agreement between his office. the a's, the state treasurer and clark county officials has been reached to bring major league baseball to the vegas strip. the proposal now goes to the nevada legislature for a vote a's. president dave campbell says we're very appreciative of the support from the state of nevada and clark counties. leadership. we look forward to advancing this legislation in a responsible way. i was very upset because look at plan. chris dobbins was save oakland sports says this latest announcement suggest las vegas has something. oakland is not more political will and more public financing. look how quickly that the game. >> they was able to put some together. it's been within this couple open to trying to stay for days, at least since 2001. and nothing's happening. the proposed deal c

if i'm sitting in the state legislature. >> making a decision based upon the voters voted me in. i want to say john fisher come in front of the legislature and tell me strategically definitively and without question that he is going to pay for the rest of the cross, especially focusing on the ballpark a's owner john fisher. another top executives were not at monday's hearing to answer those questions. >> another windowless would pose is how they plan to fill seats in the new stadium when their current business plan focuses on losing. >> it's beyond me. how they have taken this team to the level that it's at and this isn't basketball where literally one player can change fortunes, not in baseball. that takes time and effort. team president dave kaval is said that in 27 they will sell out every single game. you know, i hope gave doesn't spend a lot of time at the tables because how can he predict that with the team that currently, even though it's now has the worst record in baseball and may end up with the worst record in baseball history. the current legislative session ends june

and expelled them from the legislature. we have to stand out against the anti- democratic forces at work in our country. we have to give people what they expect. and if we refuse to act while our children are dying and at a moment when no one then shame on us. shame on a us if we allow this o happen and we do absolutely nothing. the african bishop of the early church said that hope is two beautiful daughters. he said they are both beautiful. anger, and courage. with the way things are with courage to see they dore not remain as they are. i am pleading i am begging. all of my colleagues on both side of the aisle. and people. to everything to protect all of us and certainly all of our children. oh it to the people who have sentoo us here. i know there are those who would look at this moment and say politically do you really think we could get anything done here? i'm given the state of politics right now. her response of words of doctor king time is always right to do

but again what that looks like has yet to be determined because it's really up to the legislature.ch as the task force. the task force was just a established to do. the study examined the harms and come up with recommendations . there's over 90. i think 95 recommendations such a task forces come up with now it's up to the legislature to put that and shape that into a piece of legislation that hopefully reflect the work and research and recommendations of the task force. can we talk a little bit about the process and how you arrived here with with this final report would have put up some of the figures here and some of the categories of harm that you and your colleagues on the task force focused. on here and how you arrived at some of these figures in terms of what the potential compensation could be here. for health disparities . your economists calculated that eligible recipients would get about $13,000 per year that they have lived in the state. you can also see the payments there for imprisonment and over policing of african american communities and then housing discrimination a

if you do not like some law, resign your office, run for legislature and try to change the law. are not a law unto yourself. we have someone in the state of florida in tampa say he would only enforce laws he agreed with and he was not going to enforce laws legislature enacted, i removed him from his position. he is gone and that is the type of accountability we need. [applause] we need to restore the idea that criminals are responsible for their conduct. it is not society's fault. it's not anyone else's fault. if you you do the crime, you do the time. that is why our crime rate is lower. we need to restore a sense of normalcy about -- we are a nation that has borders. our sovereignty as a people matters. did not tell me foreigners can just decide to come across the border when they want to. we decide who comes into this country as americans. we have every right to have that border secure and not have this disaster unfolding. i will tell you this, someone is like, what would you do? i would shut down the border immediately. [applause] why are we seeing happen to our country? it i

state legislatures matter. and i believe you're going to see a lot of people get engaged not only in north carolina but across the country, and making sure that they speak loutly because most of the people in this country do support women's reproductive freedoms. and these bills that are going across the country are wrong for their states and people. south carolina, democratic and republican women are standing up to stop bad legislation, and nebraska, they are starting and stopping this. that's because many of them understand that what the maga republicans want to do when it comes to reproductive freedom does not in any way he feel the people of states. you have had the opportunity to go to the ballot box and vote on this issue have come through loud and clear on it. >> we had one of those south carolina lawmakers, republican lawmakers, one of those women who stood you have against that sok law and votes it down. let me ask you one more question. i know you're coming to terms with the second seattle. if one of

bills like constitutional carry get rammed through republican-controlled legislatures. universal background checks get rammed through democratic-controlled legislatures but at the end of the day we don't have any uniformity in the country. that's going to be a huge problem. we're a con tiguous piece of land. you may have strict laws in one area but if you drive ten miles over the border you can easily buy ar-15s. >> that's part of -- that's part of federalism, but you can't legally drive that back. you see that in the marijuana context. >> sure. >> we don't want something that's legal over there to come in here, that's where police come in. >> there's a giant uphill battle when it comes to any cohesive or fully national reform, yet there is action going on. we wanted to shine a light on that. we benefitted from two experts. thank mike spies and michael steele. >>> coming up, we have an update on tucker carlson's fall and next big day in the civil trial against donald trump. that's next. ♪ limu emu & doug ♪ hey, man. nice pace! clearly, you're a safe driver. you could sa

it will now go to it and nevada's legislature for approval. kron 4 sarah stinson joins us with what we know about the proposal. sarah. >> yeah, it's looking more and more like the a's. when if you want to see them, you're going to have to travel to las vegas. now that we're learning more about how this ballpark will be paid for. but remember, so far the deals between the governor of nevada and the a's and will be up to the legislature to approve the plan with or without changes. a proposed deal between the a's in the nevada governor's office comes less than 2 weeks after the team reach an agreement to build a stadium. >> on 9 acres of a larger site that houses the tropicana hotel and casino. we're now getting our first look at how this 30,000 seat stadium will be financed. nevada state senator scott hammond tells our las vegas affiliate the proposal includes 180 million dollars in funding from the state 90 million dollars to be repaid over the next 30 years. and 120 million dollars in bonds from clark county. no location is specified in the de

inflation isn't helping their reference to this being an emergency is because the legislature does have to pass a budget by june. 15th. >> in my district community has already indicated that it will be eliminating 20 entire bus lines if something does not happen to throw a lifeline. bart has indicated that it may and weekend service entirely may stop running during the week at 09:00pm may eliminate an entire bart line have hourly service. nobody was asleep at the wheel. >> the problem is that ridership hasn't come back the way it was expected and nobody could have predicted that it's time for california. the state of california to intervene and ensure that we don't step off a transit fiscal cliff that puts us into a do look that we cannot recover from. >> the governor's proposed cuts, as you know, include 2 billion in transit infrastructure, money. his office is now hinting at a compromise on this. but nothing definite the governor's office still loudly reminding everybody they are scrambling to deal with a projected budget deficit of more than 31 billion dollars. vicki and grant. >> th

state legislatures matter. and i believe you're going to see a lot of people getting engaged. only in north carolina but across the country. >> roy cooper is a democrat, but when you think about a state like north carolina, when you think about the deep south, you wonder which direction are things going in. that governor vetoed a 12-week abortion ban that was passed by the gop state legislature, but the thing is those republican lawmakers could override his veto. so it doesn't really matter the position he's taking. what should we be watching for? >> well his case is a fascinating circumstance because he only has to convince one republican who voted for this ban to change sides in order to uphold this veto. so it's possible he could do that, that's obviously a lot to ask for someone to switch sides. but the wind is very close there, when it comes down to one vote. but he's speaking to a large racial, with the democrats have found consistently since the dobbs decision is that if you put divorce on the ballot -- take a look at the constitutional amendment in the referendum kind

the battles a state capitals and legislatures.he democratic governors association last year, and we were able to end up with post two democratic governors in crucial states like wisconsin and michigan and arizona and pennsylvania. we were able to elect democratic governors, and that is going to be important, as we approach 2024, particularly, in protecting democracy and protecting people from these terrible laws that maga republicans now clearly have trouble with their party. we know where they're going bad legislation. it's more important than ever for people to vote and to make sure that they vote all up and on the ballot because every single election is important. >> governor, why do you think do this on abortion, in particular? >> i think, really, gerrymandered districts are something to do with it because i think you see republicans in these red districts only worry about primary opposition, and they took it politically, so they get as far to the right as they possibly can. this is what we need independent redistricting commi

but they did pass the legislature.where you are, the state legislature was following up on a 2022 band of transit students in youth sports with a ban on transition related medical care. adam: oklahoma governor kevin stitt earlier this month signed this bill into law that effectively bans gender affirming care here in the state for transgender youth. not only does it do that it also goes after providers here in the state, making it a felony conviction if they are caught providing that care and they are referred to their licensing board if they are caught giving that care. here's governor kevin stitt earlier this month after signing that bill. >> minors should not be permanently harmed or mutilated or have gender transition surgeries done. i think oklahomans agree with me on that. these are minors, they cannot get tattoos or by alcohol. they can't buy tobacco. we need to protect our minors. this is nothing against an adult, if you want to get an elective surgery, that is something you do as an adult. but we do have an ob

what happened in the florida legislature, not that he was working in the role of the legislature, and what that means should he make it to the white house. the issues that he covered, education, crime, what's happening on our border, those very much appeal to independents or they appeal across the spectrum to americans. that's where you paint the parallel of what we've had many our country before joe bide season and what we have with joe biden. what he has been able to do as a leader in florida or what donald trump can make the same argument, what he did as president versus the reality of what's happening in the white house right now. and since we're sitting next to each other, i think ron desantis has taken a lot of tough questions, arguably, he's been pressed more than the president of the united states. i ache your point about trump going after him, which he's already putting ads up, so clearly he's concerned about ron desans disgettinging -- ron desantis in the race. mike: how would you go after him as a democrat? >> i think you go after him as an extremist. the abortion ban isn't

that is what led me to run for state legislature, where i served one term and then i ran for congress. i didn't think lawmakers understood how these laws were affected everyday people and i wanted to go in and basically let them know this is what happens when you do this. i thought it would be valued in the texas house. not necessarily. and are there was a former ambassador who talked to me when there came an opportunity to run for congress and he said, listen, you stay in texas and you really want get very much done, not what you want to get done for your con still owenscy. you'll be in a deeply red situation. a red house, red senate and a red governor's mansion. you have opportunities on the federal level. even if you go into the minority, we know that things actually change on the federal level and that's where you could be a champion for your community. and i thought about that and he was right so i decided that this really was a good opportunity. >> was there something or someone in your early years, maybe as a child that triggered that interest in civil right? >> honestly, no. m

ago when we had two brave young legislators stand up in tennessee, three, in fact, and the same legislaturet refused to do anything on gun violence came down on them with all of their might and expelled them from the legislature. we have to stand up against these anti-democratic forces at work in our country. we have to give the people their voices back. and if we refuse to act while our children are dying, and in a moment when no one is safe, then shame on us. shame on us, if we allow this to happen and we do absolutely nothing. st. augusta, the african bishop of the early church said that hope has two beautiful daughters. he said they're both beautiful. anger and courage. anger with the way things are. and courage to see that they do not remain as they are. i'm pleading, i'm begging, all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to remember the covenant that they have with one another as an american people. stand up in this defining moment and do everything we can to protect all of us and certainly all of our children. we owe it to the people who have sent us here. i know that there's t

the state legislature had almost $30 billion. the rainy day fund was over and how they spend the money is up to the state legislature. i can tell you that the electric grid send this and a need to be overhauled. it is on the the state legislature needs to address. instead of building a wall that will come $36 a mile, you can use two to $6 million -- you can invest the money and transportation, electric grid, health care and education. host: this is sharon, a republican. you are with congressman. c-span.org -- caller: as a volunteer in the military in the 80's, i would like a military mulliken is you cannot defend a country that doesn't have a border. just get the rains act. with got an autocrat democrat president. figure. host: we were talking about the rains act with congressman carter. do you have thoughts on the act that would have congress approve and executive action that cost more than $100 million? guest: if you look at the history of the debt, who has added debt, it is interesting that first you look at bush and then pres

released 50 plus endorsements from state legislatures.50 some odd republicans that were backing him. it turns out there were crossovers, there were four people who endorsed trump in late april that then endorsed desanti. the desantis folks portrayed them as momentum. i talked to one of the state legislators who said, no, i didn't flip. i'm endorsing both of them, which is unusual in politics, and then another one came out with a statement and said she wanted to have nothing to do with ron desantis and actually was sticking with trump. so those four flips in desantis's direction came back to two. now, what's really important here, i think, is this just tells you how ugly things are going to get, right? you're talking about new hampshire legislatures, there are like 400 of them. they represent about 3,500 people apiece, for these two campaigns to be going so heavily at each other at this point in the process portends an ugly fight between desantis and trump for the nomination. >> congressman curbelo, what about former vice president mike pe

once the bit of funding of the bill gets out of committee, the rest of the legislature will then get a look at it. it's all happening quickly because the legislative session in carson city, the capital ends a week from today on june 5th. lawmakers have a lot of other business to take care of before. then if they don't, they might call a special session to take care of it. >> california senator dianne feinstein is once again making headlines for reported memory issues. according to the new york times, the 89 year-old senator was reportedly confused during a tie breaking vote asking why kamala harris, the vice president, was there this incident allegedly happened last year before the senator was hospitalized with shingles and brain swelling recently, according to the new york times, $0.5 expressed confusion to her colleagues when she saw harris presiding over the senate chamber asking someone near her, quote, what is she doing here? the vice president was, in fact, fulfilling her constitutional obligations to preside over senate deliberations and to break the votes, the tie votes as ne

we shouldn't be fiddling with the rules every time the state legislature meets. i think it creates confusion, i think it creates mistrust, i think it involves people suggesting the people are trying to manipulate the rules. we need to have a broad window aperture and options for people to be able to vote. no one should have to stand in line for 45 minutes or an hour. no one should have to go half a day away in a car or catch a ride to vote. we have to create a system, for us to continue to lead the world in democracy, we have to work to make it easier for people to vote within a system that protects the integrity of the system and is consistent, there's a fundamental baseline of consistency. >> marc morial, former two-term mayor of new orleans. let me take you home to new orleans. this is frank, line for democrats. >> good morning. i am a combat wounded vietnam veteran, 78 years old. i remember the morial legacy in new orleans and i appreciate you being a mayor of our city. if i had my way you would be right back here as senator or governor or something in louisi

to go through metal detecters because guns are not allowed in the legislature.o think it's safe in houses of worship and bars restaurants, but not where the legislatures work. and so here i am now in the united states senate. and there is a tragic disconnect between the conversation that's happening out in america and our failure to act here in the congress. this is an issue that i raised actually several days ago. and i have a commitment for the work -- or at least to continue the conversations that we need to have over the next few days within our caucus about what we have to do. here is the thing, 87% of americans, according to a fox news poll, believe that there ought to be universal background checks. americans are closer on this issue left and right what's reflected and what we have been able to get done in our government. there's an increasing chasm between what the people want and what they can get from their own government. so this is at root of democracy problem. it's a spiritual problem. i won't rest until we get something done. i don't have to listen

the legislature has expanded access to guns, rather restricted it.n't go as far to say the bill to purchase automatic rifles from 18 to 21 years old was even considered this session. it took a while to get to a hearing, and advanced one day out of committee, but there's no indication that either chamber was going to seriously consider passing that bill. >> which brings us back to the people who live with this every day. you spoke to two parents who lost their children. quote, one year later, both moms have come to a stark realization. the world has continued to spin madly on with the days of grief, mourning and anger. all blending together. and no matter whether they sit in pain or try to run from it, their little girls aren't coming home. can you put into words what this year has been like for these families? >> i can try, and that's what that piece was is my desperate try to put into words what it has been like for them, and it has been an honor to continue to talk to these families for 365 days of the worst imaginable pain. and they let me know, l