joining us now is rebecca peters.he later became director of the international action or on small arms. he was a senior fellow the open society in new yorkers to produce a landmark report, "gun control in the united states: a survey of state firearm laws." she is joining us today from san francisco. rebecca, welcome to "democracy now!" from newtown to new town, where the similarity. gun lovers in the united states, hunters and gun lovers in austria, at this moment shattered all of that in australia. explain what happened afterwards. >> in australia at the time, it was a country -- and still is a country where hunting is an important activity. australia went olympic medals in shooting. australia is a high premium placed on rustic masculinity. it has some similarities with the u.s.. another similarity is we had had in the previous couple of decades occasionally mass shootings, about once a year we had a mass shooting. on each occasion, there's a lot of talk about the gun laws, and politicians similar to hear, avoiding t

. >> i want to bring in rebecca peters, one of the arc 2ek9 ae texts of the gun legislation in australiaew. [ male announcer ] break from the holiday stress. ship fedex express by december 22nd for christmas delivery. trust duracell to power their donated toys? duralock power preserve. it locks in power for up to 10 years in storage. guaranteed. duracell with duralock. trusted everywhere. ♪ don't know what i'd do ♪ i'd have nothing to prove [ male announcer ] zales is the diamond store. save 25 percent off an amazing selection storewide, now through monday. >>> case of case by murderous rampage by disturbed and violent thugs the ability to assault weapons to kim and mooim, not just a few but 8, 10, 14, 35 people in just minutes, has been proven beyond any reasonable doubt. >>s that then, senator joe biden of delaware testifying or -- not testifying but talking about the assault weapons ban in 1993 when the federal version was being pushed three. this is rebecca pierce, former chair of australia's national coalition for gun control. thanks for joining us. walk us through what happened in

rebecca peters on the national network on small arms, rebecca before we talk to you i want to show theclip that explains what happens back in 1996 in australia. >> the 1996 transform gun control legislation in australia. semiautomatic weapons were banned, 700,000 guns destroyed in a buy back scheme. >> we should be going to the americans and saying, look what we did. >> the president has the guts to get it done. >> but they won't do it because they're worried about the gun control lobbyists and worried about the politics. >> cenk: rebecca, tell us what happened in australia after they had that very strict gun control? >> well, in australia we had had a mass shooting about once a year for the previous couple of decades, and each time the politicians avoided the topic of fixing the gun laws even though it was clear that they needed to be fixed because they were a afraid of the gun lobby but there were 35 people killed in one day, and by that time the public demand, the public outrage and discuss at our political leaders was so enormous that that was the moment that finally was the tippin

our guest host this hour, rebecca patterson and peter. check out today's lineup. it is a biggie. we have an exclusive interview with dallas fed pet jrichard fibber. and the interview of the morning you do not want to miss. it is a crazy story we've been talking about for the past two weeks. john mcafee will be joining us live on camera at 8:40 a.m. eastern. we're going to get the latest chapter in this mystery that has murder, mayhem and suspension. his life is the movie of the week, if you will, and we will have it live right here at 8:40. please, do not miss that. let's get you caught up on some of the other headlines this morning. house speaker john boehner and president obama met for the second time this week. both parties are trying to avoid the fiscal cliff. the men had a frank discussion and the lines of communication remain open, although no specific details were released. the meeting came after frustration in washington. this was house speaker boehner earlier in the day. >> republicans want to solve this problem by getting the spending line down. the president wants to p

rebecca's jewelry box intact. you can see the shadows on the top from where the jewelry was laying inside. >> the charred mementos and family photos are painful reminders of the past. bianchi-peters also strives to create positive ones. >> i know that sammy would have been honored for your hard work. >> she's started the just love foundation. named for the tattoo worn by rebecca and matching stencil worn by sammy. the foundation funds an annual scholarship to send a child from a low-income home to a local performing arts school. >> sammy loved to perform. it was sammy's safe place and we're gonna fight this ugly, horrible event by providing as much love and positivity as we can. >> the ochoas were arrested the morning following the fire and the story was widely covered on local news. >> brother baron ochoa was interviewed and police found scratches on his neck, head and shoulder area. >> the little girl's father conrad ochoa smelled of the strong odor of the karen lane fire. >> the person interviewing conrad stated very clearly that he smelled like the house, the burned, charred, sooty remains that it had that same odor. >> both brothers deny all these allegations. >> the officer

rebecca jarvis. >> and i'm seth doane in for anthony mason. coming up -- >>> our peterthe country's other great spots to ring in 2013. >>> then something to look forward to for next year. it could be a real blockbuster year for the movies and we'll preview some of the most anticipated films of the coming year. >> plus, it's been delighting kids for 60 years now and it's still going strong the children's classic "charlotte's web." >> i always love thad book. >>> first coming up this half hour, the negotiations to head off the fiscal cliff. there appears to be new optimism that a deal could be struck. we're going to get more from our chief white house correspondent major garrett who's at the white house. major, good morning again. nice to see you. where do things stand? >> good morning. well rebecca, the president said yesterday he's modestly optimistic as did the senate democratic leader. let's face reality. optimism and hope don't equal a bill and as of yet there's no bill. they're said to work today to try to compromise and what's the real sticking point? at what incom