gun policy analyst
Gun policy analyst and author of Making a Killing: The Business of Guns in America, and The Last Gun: How the Gun Industry Is Killing Americans and What We Can Do to Stop It; former Democratic counsel to the House Subcommittee on Crime, he also worked as a senior policy analyst at the Violence Policy Center in Washington, DC
Have Mass Shootings Become the 'New Normal?' After 13 people were gunned down in Washington's Navy Yard Monday, the White House and Congress took a moment to mourn and went back to business. One Washington Post headline read: " RIP" (Rest in Peace) "for gun control ." Gun control advocates predicted big change after the school slaughter in Newtown, Connecticut, but Congress did nothing. And, last week, two Colorado lawmakers were recalled for supporting background checks for gun buyers and limited magazines. Gun rights advocates say there'd be less killing if more people were armed to defend themselves. Is it time to decide what kind of country America wants to be?
Gun Ownership, Stand-Your-Ground Laws and Gun Control George Zimmerman is hardly the only American who owns a gun, and gun sales increase with every high profile shooting. "Stand Your Ground" laws in Florida and 24 other states protect more killers who use guns with increasingly broad definitions of "self-defense." But there's a paradox. The share of American households with guns has dropped like a stone, declining from 50 percent in the 1970's to 34 percent in 2012. Is there a chance that gun control could make a political comeback?
Designing Lethality: Innovation and the Gun Industry The Newtown massacre has prompted millions of Americans to ask what they can do to contain gun violence. As the White House is set to unveil a series of safety recommendations tomorrow , it hopes it can please all political sides. But even if stronger controls are put in place, can they keep up with design and innovation in an industry whose product is lethality? This show has never before discussed guns. Nor, it turns out, has the Museum of Modern Art, the preeminent museum of modern art and design, in New York, even though guns are central to American life and, if they achieve their intended goal, a perfect fusion of form and function. Barbara Eldredge is currently working at MoMA; previously she wrote her student thesis on guns and design museums. She tells us why the museum won't display firearms. Larry Zanoff of Independent Studio Services holds a Japanese Matchlock, circa 1590 Guns play another large role in American life as the stars of our motion pictures. Larry Zanoff manages the weapons department at ISS, the Independent Studio Services prop house in Sunland, California. He also trains actors and law enforcement in the proper handling of guns. Here, guns are stacked by the hundreds on shelves in a secured room. To the movie industry, guns are just another character in the story, and Zanoff works with actors and producers to create the illusion of violence. A wall of revolvers at ISS Older guns at ISS have a high level of craftsmanship That gun sizzle-factor in movies—often enhanced through sound effects—is just one piece of the story for an industry where increased firepower is central to its business model. Tom Diaz is the author of two books on the gun industry, Making a Killing: The Business of Guns in America and another book to be published soon, The Last Gun in America . Diaz is a from a military family and a former NRA member, and he became a gun safety advocate after working for a congressional crime safety committee. He has studied how the industry makes and markets its product and he says that movies are actually a very useful promotional tool for gun manufacturers. Gun parts produced on a Stratasys 3D printer by Michael Guslick So what happens when gun manufacturing technology is put quite literally in the hands of the people? Michael Guslick is an engineer based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin whose hobbies include remote-controlled airplanes, amateur radio, metalwork, electronics and paintball. But last year he received a great deal of attention when he wrote a story on his blog about how he managed to manufacture a gun using a 3D printer. Michael talks to Frances about the project and what he means by the term “functional” gun. Top image: An AR-15 rifle made by Michael Guslick combines a 3D-printed "lower receiver" with commercially produced parts; it sits alongside a paintball gun used by Guslick for testing prototype parts.
Is a Culture Captivated by Guns Ready for Change The National Rifle Association today broke the silence it's maintained since last week's elementary-school massacre in Connecticut. The NRA's top spokesman said, "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," demanding that Congress pay for armed guards in every schoolyard. Much of Wayne LaPierre's lengthy statement today played on the fear that mass killers are planning more attacks on American children. He was defensive about attacks on his organization and what he characterized as the media's predisposition to be against guns. Earlier this morning, President Obama released a videotape urging public support for renewing the assault-weapons ban and other new regulations. Can a culture captivated by guns ready for change?
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
Venezuela spirals into economic and political chaos Venezuela, a country whose potential for prosperity is unmatched, finds itself on the verge of civil war. What sustains the repressive government? With time running out, guest host León Krauze looks at what the international community can do to pull the country from the edge of collapse.
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
Trump's new look at civil rights and global warming President Trump is reportedly ready to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We look at the possible consequences. On the second half of the program, we hear about cuts in Obama-Era civil rights programs called for by the Trump Administration's first budget plan.