owners seventy four percent of n.r.a. gun owners approve requiring criminal background checks on gun owners and gun shops similarly a majority of non an array and n.r.a. gun owners think concealed carry permit shouldn't be given to those who committed misdemeanors or a been arrested for domestic investing violence they also think that concealed carry permits should not be given to anyone under twenty one so if the majority of american gun owners and the majority of n.r.a. members believe you know agree that there should be some rational limits on gun ownership in the united states why won't republican lawmakers go along with this just you know the the thing about republicans is you try to get them to go along with anything it's like herding cats and why they won't go along with some of. you don't like it because they're scared of the n.r.a. no i don't think it's pretty it's particularly that issue because there are some issues the n.r.a. is amenable to and i'm going to say i'm not a member of the n.r.a. i don't speak for the

n.r.a. members those are the gun crusaders. maybe one of the n.r.a. members would fall into this category there's a huge chunk of gun owners in our country who are not n.r.a. members the n.r.a. has a membership of about four million or something like eighty million gun owners in our country but the n.r.a. is driven by these gun crusaders these really hard when they really are and they're able to create these and really. the biggest deliberation of their video years after the n.r.a. is able to recruit intensely committed members because they're framing gun rights or threats to gun rights in a way that makes them feel like all their rights are threatened or you're proud of your country want to stay in school or i don't want you really want to thank you i was. great thank you very much thank you frank rich thank you i there are a good audience is conservative white gun owning men and they feel pinched and they feel sort of displaced in our society i've been fired up. the last election i got enough change already and again only more if you have been losing

to scores of them growing up my father said a federal firearms dealers license he's got guns on loan to the n.r.a. is museum and i'll be the first person to admit that i grew up in a culture around guns and i have a healthy respect for the government has not created through the laws that we have on the books any kind of a system that would show that we have a healthy respect for what guns can do if they did we would have registration of guns we would have licensing of guns you can get behind a car you can't get behind a big wheel truck without a license and you can buy a gun. that gun show without a background to that point s.e. one cars first came out there was no registration there was no license and and within the first decade of the twentieth century all these people were dining car accidents because there weren't stop signs that you know there was rules of the road and serba got together and said you know we got a name we had a nose thing down and over time we develop rules of the road and driver's licenses isn't it rational to do the same thing for weapons i mean guns have been along been a

legislation that would have protected gun manufacturers and sellers of laws suits when someone is killed using their products despite the conspiracy theories coming out of the n.r.a. and other gun interest groups gun rights in america have actually expanded under president obama thanks to president obama people can carry concealed guns in national parks for example and also they can carry guns on amtrak trains not one time as the president tried to restrain the second amendment in fact the brady center to bring gun violence group that gives politicians grades on gun control issues gave president obama and af after his first year in office as in he's completely failed to pass any gun control whatsoever but are we about to see a turning point after yet another high profile shooting massacre in america let's bring in mike papantonio attorney and host a ring of fire radio with robert kennedy jr mike welcome tom how are you just great and it was great to see in seattle last week and by the way i want to play somebody program it was want to play something congress congresswoman carolyn mccarthy said last week and listen this. i always look at it this way no one from th

registration gun owner licensing and two generations worth of a and i gun schemes and i gun schemers the n.r.a. is able to prevent publicly supported gun control legislation from passing because their members are so deeply committed and passionate about the i. that if you pass any form of gun control legislation it's going to eventually lead to the loss of all gun rights from my cold dead hand. that's. i brought a brand new python never been fired. intra tech infamous tec nine. as long as people are fearful that their government may take away their guns they're going to keep buying them as long as they can. over the years as a lobbyist in the pro-gun movement i understood the most effective lobbying america is when you can motivate and energise huge numbers of ordinary american citizens to call and write their congressman and let them know in no one certain terms what their views on a particular issue. and frankly no one does it better than the national rifle association of america. the newspapers have dubbed him the subway vigilante the man was riding the subway saturday when for use apparent

and the very very ugly guns save the life the n.r.a. supported pro-gun rights group organizers summer shooting camps for kids and last month the group exploited loopholes in the chicago gun buyback program and managed to take six thousand dollars in taxpayer money to buy ammunition and guns for children as young as nine years old to use the group traded in a bunch of old weapons to the chicago program in order to buy new ones for their summer camp guns for life also exploited the program in two thousand and seven using another thousand dollars in taxpayer money to buy more guns so guns for life is taking advantage of a program created to make our streets safer and instead promoting gun use among the youngest and most vulnerable of americans and that is very very . i believe it's time we reconsider the role billionaires play in our economy and in our society in fact i say it's time we outlaw billionaires by placing a one hundred percent tax on any wealth over nine hundred ninety nine million nine hundred ninety nine thousand nine hundred

gun control politicians terrified. the power the supreme court gave the n.r.a. are saying just everyone had a gun in the movie theater then this never would have happened. and of course if everyone had a tear gas mask a flak jacket and night goggles pretty soon the n.r.a. as a lobbyist would be representing those industries too are we really that stupid i don't believe so it's not that we or our elected representatives are idiots it's that our political discourse has been corrupted by money and corporate power in this case the power of the gun industry's trade and lobbying association the n.r.a. and they were able to do that because the supreme court says that the n.r.a. like you and me is a person and they have free speech rights and that their money is the same thing as your voice and vote. well mayors have free speech rights too and they're speaking out mare's michael bloomberg of new york city and thomas menino of boston co-founded a group that now numbers more than six hundred mayors from communities large and small all across the united states for the mayor

n.r.a. is going to say you voted against gun rights and this this just blows my mind the n.r.a. had been opposed to the original disclose act they wanted a loophole that congress gave them a loophole and then they said they were in favor of it this one doesn't have a loophole for the n.r.a. so they're opposed to it. what do we get this this doesn't seem like legislation to me mark where where do we start so well you know on the disclose act we've talked a lot we've disagreed on the five for part of the station we create one part of the station this closure part doesn't come out as much i think there's nothing wrong with this when it my argument i argue that it's speech it gets out there persuades people to do something any critical thinker needs to know especially in the political realm what the source of that speech is any critical thinker if you get some information you need to know the motives of the people saying that that being said just because you belong to an organization that does that you should necessarily have your membership rolls turned over you should have a separ

perhaps the gun owners themselves, the majority of whom disagree with the n.r.a., extreme positions, will join with politicians, business, the health community to come together to deal with a epidemic of gun violence in a way we would treat any other threat to the safety of our families and our communities. we would study, we would work on solutions together, and we would act. sadly, we are mr. reid: mr. president, this afternoon the senate pauses to remember those killed in last week's horrifishooting in colorado. among dead was 26-year-old jonathan blunc, a graduate of hud high school in reno, nevada. a navy veteran, father of two. my heart goes out to his loved ones, to all the victims and their families as they struggle to make sense of the senselessness. how can you make sense of something that's so senseless, mr. president? we may never know the motivations behind this terrie crime or understand why anyone would target so many innocent people. friday's events were a reminder that nothing in this world is certain and that life is precious and short. today we pause to mourn the de

the group, "guns save life" is based in downstate illinois. they run an n.r.a. kid's camp in bloomington. last month, they turned in more than 60 guns to the buy-back program, and collected more than $6,000 in gift cards. organizers say they'll use the money to pay for ammunition and rifles for group's gun safety and marksmanship program. a chicago police spokeswoman says the group "is abusing a program intended to increase the safety of our communities." a community alert has been issued for the bridgeport neighborhood; after several robberies in the area. the incidents took place between june 26th and 30th. on wentworth avenue between 22nd and 27th streets. anyone with information is asked to call police. ... mayor emanuel is about to spend $300,000 to fight aids invoice from a chicago private parking co. who claims it is owed millions by the city ... he plans to develop software that will get an accurate count of what is truly a code ... there is a ban on sharks fans here in illinois the government signed off on this is considered a delicacy and asian cuisine

n.r.a. against the national rights to life association and the new york times contribute to this, referred to the gunwners of america as a smaller group as quote, more strident than the n.r.a. it means that the n.r.a. in their minds is strident, the kind of words they wouldn't use on groups like planned parenthood. >> jon: and there's al sharpton, liberal activist who keeps singing a familiar tune. >> this reckless and morally reprehensible tactful act that is being proposed on thursday is certainly engineered and motivated by politics and the not law. >> jon: well, judy, is he alone in that feeling? >> well, he is predictable for sure, and whether it's trayvon martin or eric holder and even though he says he didn't think this was happening because eric holder is black, he says it has a racial effect. exactly what the racial effect is, i don't know, but now, i think the timing was unfortunate for the republicans because it looked political, whether or not it was political. >> jon: what about the theater of all the democrat-- well, i guess more than a hundred democrats walked out of the house and walk

n.r.a. members say, for example, the federal laws on guns should be enforced and that we should stop all this closing our eyes and letting people go and buy guns -- you know, there are guns that are advertised on the internet, 50-caliber rifle, and it says, "able to bring down a commercial jetliner at a mile and a half." or "armor-piercing bullets." the last time i saw a deer wearing a bulletproof vest was a long time ago. and the bottom line is, weapons that are sold, advertised as high-capacity and very powerful aren't weapons that are to be used in hunting. and they certainly aren't weapons to be used to defend yourself. the supreme court said-- excuse me-- yes, we have a second amendment. you have a right to bear guns but reasonable restrictions are constitutional. and i think congress passed reasonable restrictions. but to not enforce them is just ridiculous. and you've got to ask the candidates why they are unwilling to do so. leadership is leading from the front, not doing a survey, finding out what the people want and then doing it. what do they stand for and why aren't they standing

of guns in america is is certainly not productive to our country and the incredible power that lobbying groups the n.r.a. in this case have i don't think frankly is all that good for our democracy that we need to have a conversation about commonsense limitations on gun ownership it was just a rational come with the first amendment guarantees freedom of speech but you can't yell fire in a you know in a crowded theater there are even limits on freedom of speech there should be our right or our right to own a gun as well the next coming of the night comes from nancy who had this question about the supreme court i've heard you speak about the changing of the role of the supreme court i.e. its increase in power could you summarize that for me things yeah here here it is when the when the constitution was first laid out there were three branches the first among equals was the legislative that's the directly elected by us and so is the first one equals the second was the executive the president that's article two of the constitution which is indirectly elected by us through the electoral college and the third

perhaps the gun owners themselves, the majority of whom disagree with the n.r.a., extreme positions, will join with politicians, business, the health community to come together to deal with a epidemic of gun violence in a way we would treat any other threat to the safety of our families and our communities. we would study, we would work on solutions together, and we would act. sadly, we are still waiting. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until 2:00 p.m. join us tomorrow went " washington journal" will speak with ron paul, live on c-span. ♪ >> the weekend of august 4, c- span2's local content vehicle investigates louisville, k entucky. >> a lot of the stores i have seen fail are stores that were opened by people who were interested in having a business, not that they were having an attachment to books or the love of books. they were business people. you have to have a gut attachment to books to care enough about them, because your customers are like that. they come because they really care about books. >> august 4 and au

n.r.a. that looks at any sort of limits on guns or in this case any nation will just generate too much controversy what do you think they did i mean why did they put i mean i know certainly we had this in the well i mean it soon it's a really it's a it's a ridiculous meaningless amendment i mean it's essentially saying we're going to rely on maniacs and terrorists not to bother to reload not to bother to carry a spare magazine it's a it's a moronic amendment and it's being attached to a bill that is an important bill i mean it's not a wonderful bill the way it stands it needs to be modified and debated but tacking on a weapons ban to something completely disconnected from weapons is just a i mean it's typical congress i was going to say it seems a little crazy for the firm and the majority of americans right it is the way washington works let's talk about the bill itself and then i want to talk a little bit more about your role as a private investigator just in terms of this legislation you just said it's an important bill what do you think are in that important aspects and what are your biggest c

n.r.a. right law in the united states when it comes to guns how powerful is the lobby. well you know i don't know that i'm that i'm the person that's the expert just speak on that i'm mark maybe a better person to speak on that but i do think that when we look at the politics let's just take cars and guns and we look at the the politics of of regulation well in california for example and fairly recently we we increased the regulation of driving for fifteen and a half you can get a permit sixteen seventeen years old below eighteen years old it's a regulated system and it's a gradual system and you don't get handed the keys on your sixteenth birthday and those regulations were adopted in a reasoned and reasonable environment where the issue of safety was debated and statistics were looked at and we have a very different system of driving for sixteen eighteen year olds now than we did when i was sixteen years old but the question is about the gun situation why can't we have the same reasoned debate and moving forward on on on changes in the law and policy and regulation ba

n.r.a. and the groups even further over, the gun owners of america, their basic complaint is that the chuck schumers of the world want to take away your gun, even if it's the hunting rifle your uncle willie gave you when you were 14. and i think it would be very important for us who are for gun control, some rational laws on guns, to make it clear once and for all that is not our goal. to make it clear that the belief is that the second amendment does matter, that there is a right to bear arms just like there's a right to free speech and others, and if you're an average, normal american citizen, you have the right to bear arms. if i think if the people who are pro-gun and from the more rural areas and different than brooklyn, the city i'm from, were convinced that there was a broad consensus even in the pro-gun control movement that there was a right to bear arms, they might get off their haunches a little bit. and i think that's important for this part of the compromise. so that the heller decision which basically said that and now is the law of the land but wasn't until a few years ago sh

10,000 people a year maybe murdered by guns in our country, that it's more trouble than it's worth mriblgtly? it's because of the influence of the lobby. 10 to 1, the n.r.aoutspends others on the other side of the aisle. it's about learning from these searing experiences and recognizing that we've done this before. bill clinton took on the n.r.a. in 1994. we passed an assault weapons ban that lapsed ten years later. there is an example of profiles in courage. it is about courage. it's about taking on powerful interests. but sometimes that's necessary to have a rational debate that actually deals with the problem. >> john avlon, thank you. >> thank you, don. >>> ahead tonight, more of our coverage from aurora, colorado, here. the suspect's family put out a new statement today. plus we're learning more about james holmes' past and his time in the neuroscience program at the university of colorado. >>> plus, erin will be back tomorrow, live from mali, from the mali border. here's a sneak peek for you. >> this is the terrain along the mali border. hot, barren, unforgiving. 250,000 people are fleeing al qaeda-linked extremists in mali. entire villages were ab

gun violence in america. and to those who are fearful about the power of the n.r.a., understand, we vested them befor-- webested them before ano it again. in 19 96 there was an effort to ban the sale of guns to domestic abusers. it passed and we stopped over 200,000 of those people from getting gun permits -- 200,000 since that time. a lot of lives could have been saved in there. and we stood up to them again in 1999 when the senate came together after columbine and passed legislation to close the gun show loophole. unfortunately, after passing in the senate, the house refused to do anything about it. so, if we show resolve and if we stand up with courage, i know we can do the right thing once more. there are no more excuses for inaction. i say to my colleagues, look at your children. look at the pictures that may be on your mantlepiece. think about the happy days with your kids. think about the enjoyment that you have shared together, and think about what we want to do to be able to continue those lives that we enjoy so much. the stakes are just too high. we've got to intervene while the memory, unfortunately,