patients to find a way through this. it is a very dark path that you are entering that i cannot lie about. but there is always a way through it, threw it to something more positive. look to the people that love and support you. and embrace and take the embrace from your community, from those that want to help you. and from myself, i am certainly they are at anytime to be of any private or public assistance that can be of use. to share experience, to be a shoulder to cry, whatever you need. >> thank you nicole hockley, thank you and god bless you. this is not easy to do and thank you for doing it. we really appreciate you. and have a wonderful evening. as wonderful as can be had on a horrible night like this. that is tonight's reidout, our coverage of tonight school shooting continues next with chris hayes. chris hayes.

>> good evening from new york, i'm chris hayes. it is another unspeakably horrifying day in america, i was 14 children and one adults, at least, were murdered and one of the worst school shootings in our nation's history. the number of right now is somewhat influx. we have had reports from the spokesperson for the texas state -- juan gutierrez, he says that 18 were murdered. we don't know at this moment which is true. it began this morning in uvalde, texas, a small city 18 miles west of san antonio, about an hours drive from the u.s. mexico border. according to governor greg abbott, the shooter shot his grandmother and then abandoned his vehicle before entering robb elementary school with a handgun and then possibly a rifle. the school serves about 600 students in second third and fourth grade. about 90% of the students are hispanic.

nearly the same amount are economically disadvantaged. the last day of the school year, scheduled for this thursday, but the superintendent just announced that the district schools are closed for the year's year. officers confirmed they responded to a mass casualty events at robb elementary school 11:32 am. texas governor greg abbott confirmed that 15 people were killed. >> they shot and killed -- horrifically, incomprehensibly, 14 students. and killed a teacher. the shooter, he himself is deceased. it's believed that responding officers killed him. >> i should tell you at the opening here -- and this is a very upsetting and dynamic breaking news situation -- there has been some confusion about those numbers. there is a report, as i mentioned, have a higher number. we have not been able to independently confirm that. we are trying to run that down. of course, we know that some

victims were taken to hospital. right now we know that the shooter acted alone, which is, of course, key, according to the chief of police. and also that to local hospitals are treating injured victims. 13 children and one adult were transferred to uvalde memorial hospital, two patients were declared dead when arrived. two patients are in critical condition and another hospital in san antonio. there is a 66 year old woman and a ten-year-old girl. earlier this evening, vice president kamala harris spoke about the days of full events and called for -- >> enough is enough. enough is enough. as a nation, we have to have the courage to take action and understand the nexus between what makes for reasonable and sensible public policy to ensure that something like this

never happens again. >> later in this hour we are expecting to hear from president joe biden himself, in an address to the nation at the white house. correspondent morgan chesky is live on the scene in uvalde working in, i can only imagine, a great level of shock and grief going through that town right now. what is the situation there? >> chris, shock and grief, i think, is putting it lightly tonight. we just saw a hearse drive-by to the school, where all this took place earlier today. i have to tell you, in every direction you look in the neighborhood, in the community, you see people wearing the pain. this is a place of about 15,000 people in the texas hill country. but like so many other communities around our country who thought they were safe, they were not. right now there is a massive footprint of law enforcement that has converged at the school here, robb elementary school. they have roped it off, they

are gathering evidence, trying to keep everything intact as they build this case going forward. the person they say responsible for this, as you mentioned, is dead. an 18-year-old who grew up in this community. the motive is still unclear at this time. it has been reported by some authorities, although not confirmed, that he may have confirmed shot his own grandmother. then walked into the school with a handgun and potentially a rifle, where we are told he opened fire. we had a chance to speak to some of those individuals in this community at a civic center that has become a reunification center about a quarter mile from where i am standing. we have been able to get tragic snippets of what took place earlier today. there was one gentleman, chris, who said that he showed up this morning to give his wife of flowers. it was not just her last week of school this week -- he was retiring -- he gave her the flowers as he walked outside of the school. then he started to hear a sound and realized it was a gunshot. and he described the reaction by law enforcement, the response, as almost immediate,

in that, as he was running to his vehicle, another officer told him to get out of here, that shooting was taking place. so, that is the kind of response that took place. it was incredibly quick. and yet there was so much tragedy that took place. we are still waiting to hear more about those brutally tragic minutes, where the gunman entered the school and went into immediate lockdown until when it was lifted and who is been no longer deemed a threat. we do know that, according to police, possibly at this hour there are still parents waiting to hear about the fate of their children. about the students inside the school when this took place, many of them sheltering in place. the same man who dropped off our said that his wife huddled her students towards a stage in the cafeteria, an area that she thought was the safest, away from the windows. and that the kids did such a good job -- they stayed so incredibly quiet as those gunshots rang out.

tonight, there are still so many answers to questions that we are hoping to hear from authorities. we anticipate another potential press conference here in uvalde but it is a heartbreaking scene here in this tight-knit community. as i pulled into the town today, chris, i park my car and was walking to the sidewalk unchecked with a homeowner to make sure he's okay. he knew why i was here and he said, by the way, that teacher who was killed today, she was my niece. chris? >> morgan chesky in uvalde right now, he will be coming back to you. thank you for being down there and thanks for that report. i want to go to jonathan deceased, chief reporter at w nbc, new york city station. he joins me now. i should say that, at one level, no amount of information that we get is going to make this make sense. so, we are just trying to piece together the facts as we know them. but in a broader sense, it is going to be impossible to piece them together in some way, we are in there is some light bulb

left over from this truly horrific action. but what do we know? and what are we hearing? >> the best statement i can offer at this time is the casualty count. the best numbers that we have our 14 students killed and that is second, third, or fourth grade students. that is the age. 14. one teacher, that is 15. and a grandmother of the suspect, that is 16. and the suspect himself, 17 deaths. that is the best information that we have right at this hour. there were numerous other children and adults taken to area hospitals and given the magnitude of the shooting incident, and that is why there is still some confusion as to the total casualty count, death and injuries. my best information now is that it is more than a dozen others -- and perhaps even higher -- in area hospitals at this hour. but again, we are waiting from clarity from texas officials.

as for the suspect, 18 year old salvador ramos, was a lone actor. that's according to police. this all started in some sort of domestic dispute in his grandmother's home, we believe. and he shot and killed his grandmother. that is the information. he had fled the scene and police were pursuing him, were in pursuit. he gets out of a truck near the school. and enters the school then with a handgun. and now we are seeing, from a bullet in, an ar-15 style weapon he. he goes into the school, the governor said. it was one handgun and perhaps one long gone. that's the best information now. things may change. handgun, ar-15 style weapon. then begins shooting inside the school. police are there very quickly, according to witnesses. and engaged in gunfire with that suspect. they shoot and kill salvador ramos, and a couple officers were hit. we are told they suffered minor injuries. and the shooting came to an end

and the search for the scene with a horrific finding of the bodies of second graders and third graders or fourth graders. inside the school -- as the governor said, a horrific tragedy. >> and if you are watching us just right now, i want to be real clear on what we do and do not know. obviously, this happened several hours ago but it was an incredibly chaotic scene and an incredibly dramatic one. there is of course -- we have to be thinking right now, as we all are, about the parents at the reunification center. and the children in that building today and they are profoundly traumatized. we believe there are individuals in hospital. in terms of the numbers and details here, those may change over the course of the day. there is a lot outstanding, that pattern however, it is notable in terms of what morgan chesky was saying, about the rapidity with which law

enforcement was present at the scene. but it sounds like they were actually tailing him the aftermath in the shooting of his grandmother. then he went to the school and they were there right then. >> that is our best understanding. there were some sort of pursuit where they were tracking him down. and somehow he got pulled over and he left his truck in the ditch and then went into that school. what the connection is to the school, is it just coincidental? that he drove to the direction? or if there is something more to it? we don't know and we do not know if we will ever know. we know that law enforcement is looking at social media. there was some social media that appears linked to the suspect, that is not yet confirmed. where some guns were posted along with some other images. we are awaiting word from all enforcement before we begin sharing that to confirm that those were in fact posted by this individual. so, that is some of the delay there. this will be a lot of work and backtracking. these things take time.

also taking time is the numerous children rushed to areas hospitals. obviously, given the i.d.s and conditions and notifying of parents and some of the scene that you see on social media, of the parents waiting outside the school, desperate for information, and what had happened to their child and where is that child's -- it is all very upsetting and very tough. >> yes, and i should say that at this hour that is not even clear, as morgan alluded to, that that reunification process has completed. that everyone now is with children who are in custody of the school, and have been told us that there -- whereas others have been told that their child has been deceased. that process is still playing out. again, having covered a bunch of these, this process is among the worst, in that there is a lot of chaos. and a lot of crossed lines of information. so, we are going to hope to give that some clarity on all this. one of the thing i should just

mention here, again, just to go back to the preamble with which i introduced the matter, the largest shooting and recovery was in las vegas. we never found out anything -- a motive. i mean, we just don't know in the end. it's sort of two of sandy hook as well. it may or may not be the case that that is what happens here. whatever information may manifest itself -- >> look, i think sandy hook story, that was a case of a child with mental illness. and you look at the timing and the events of notifying those families, to pass on the correct information. you want the families to hear it from law enforcement first before they briefly public on what is happening, which also explain some of the delay in information getting out to us, to give to the public, because they want the families to hear it first. >> yes, that is incredibly important, the most important thing right now, as the nation and the world looks on in

horror at this. thank you for coming here jonathan dienst, i appreciate it. a little over after an hour of the news broke, senator chris murphy, who has dedicated his career to responding to the sandy hook massacre. -- he took to the senate floor to just literally beg, to plead, with his republican colleagues to do anything to help curb gun violence in this country. >> there's 14 kids dead in an elementary school in texas right now. what are we doing? what are we doing? just days after a shooter walked into a grocery store to gun down african american

patrons, we have another sandy hook on our hands. what are we doing? this is not inevitable! these kids were not unlucky! this only happens in this country. and nowhere else. but i am here on this floor to bag big, to literally get down on my hands and knees and begged my colleagues. to find a path forward here. work with us to find a way to pass laws that make this less likely. >> and senator chris murphy joins me now. senator, i profoundly appreciated what you had to say on the floor. and just to highlight something key here -- again, whatever information surfaces about the shooter's motives, there is a thing that happens here that does not

happen anywhere else in the world, which is this recurring ritual of mass shootings along these lines. even in countries with higher levels of per capita gun homicides, this is has become a signature of american culture and policy and society. that we produce this outcome. but more broadly, it just does not happen in any other country. it feels maddeningly simple to say this, and repeat it on air, as you have, in public life. but it remains the case that that is what separates us from everyone else. that's the number and accessibility of weapons and death that we have here in the united states. >> listen -- my heart is exploding for texas but also for these families in sandy hook that i know so well. they are reliving their nightmare right now. i am a parent, i am literally talking to you at the same time that i'm thinking to myself when i'm going to say to my

kids when i get home later tonight, because i know that they have heard about this and i know that they will want to talk about it. but you are right. this is uniquely american. and my republican colleagues are going to want to talk about mental health and there is no evidence that the united states has any more mental illness than any other nation in the world. there is no evidence that we spend less money on treating mental illness. what is different about this country's ease of access to weapons of mass destruction. i heard for the first time on your show, just five minutes ago, that there was likely an ar-15 involves. but of course there was. any of us that listen to the details play out knew that there had to be one of these military style weapons in the shooter's hands in order to kill that many kids end in that short amount of time. that difference between america and these other nations is not that there are not people with homicidal thoughts. it is that they cannot go down to their local walmart and buy a weapon that kills 20 kids in

two minutes. we are the only country in the high income for world, in which that is a breaking possibility. so, why don't we just do something about it? my plea was honest, really. i don't want to call out republicans tonight. i just want to ask them, please, please, whatever you can vote for, come and talk to me about it. i am willing to let the good pass and set aside the perfect for now. but our missions to parents across this country who are really frightened, really frightened right now, it cannot be that we will do nothing. so, hope springs eternal in my brain. >> well, there is a ritual of mass trauma that we have now entered into. we have seen it since 1999 when columbine happened. i was looking about an individual from columbine, talking about surviving columbine, and his son completing his first year in college, because that's how long ago it was. sandy hook was ten years ago,

of course. i believe it was in december, if i'm not mistaken. there are two things that have happened since then. the amount of guns in circulation has gone up dramatically. we know this from new reporting, actually, from the atf and the cdc. we know that we have more guns in circulation now. but i also want to talk about the darkness and nihilism of gun culture which, to me, it has exacerbated an accelerated in the wake of the. so, now i have seen people already talking about -- ken paxton, the attorney general of the state of texas, talking about arming teachers. and it is sort of solution being more guns everywhere, all the time. how have you watch this develop in your public life? this cultural aspect and it's rhetoric? this fantasize a shin of guns in the last decade? >> yeah. there is a celebration of violence in this nation which has gotten drummond strictly

worse over the last decade. it has become a country that is just a wash in guns. ownership of a weapon is a way to sort of translate a set of water cultural values that you possess. again, nowhere but america is the ownership of a killing machine the way in which you translate values to your community. when you have this many weapons that are just so easily accessible, it is no wonder that the numbers have gone sky-high. you and i are talking about it tonight because there was a mass shooting today. but ordinarily, every day, gun murders have gone through the were roof in the last few years. that's not including the increase in gun purchases. the more illegal guns purchased, that means there are more illegal guns on our streets. we have to remind ourselves that every day is a nightmare in this country when it comes to the amount of gun violence.

and there are just so many weapons in this country. we are being trained to believe that violence is a method by which you deal with your demons. and a method for solving problems. that has become much worse in the last couple of years in this country. >> i could not help but note a ad for a man who wants to join the senate mehmet oz. there are two problems if you need. he says one -- and i have seen ads like that, my entire life. the second part is, no, it's also there to take on a tyrannical government. and this this explicit idea of the gun and the messaging around it, the idea to take up arms. i've watched the increasing horror and it goes hand in hand

with this explosion in the availability, which is what our culture and society are swinging. yeah, this is a product and part of how the industry has changed. the industry a few years ago was facing a crisis because fewer americans are owning guns. and so the industry decided that they were going to market weapons to this very small subset of americans that believe they need to be armed to the hilt to defend themselves against government. when you have today is 50% of buttons in this country being owned by 3% of americans. and the gun industry makes money off of selling that weapons, they stop on this fear of government. a completely irrational fear. but unfortunately, not the operating methodology of the industry. >> i went to a gun shop two

days after the mass shooting in las vegas which i noted earlier is the most deadly, enough covered several dozen i think. they don't wanna tell me that autumnal shootings, there's always more interest in purchasing robins. so there is a self fulfilling prophecy. i want to just, as we're watching these images in texas, the report of the top, i'm senator stay with me one of the site here, we're gonna get to the president of the united states will speak very shortly. if you will just indulge me, for folks who are just joining trying to figure out was going on, the latest information we have is that 14 children have been murdered by a gun man in a school in texas about a list of san antonio. one teachers when, the gunman himself 18 years old is that.

we believe his grandmother, he shot and killed, although there are reports about her status, there are conflicting threats about her death. and arresting the four numbers, are trying to run that don. i will tell people hospitalized. middle parents are still trying to be reunited with the children. we're hoping to get more information about all of our as we watch this unfold. this happened just a week and a half after my shooting in a grocery store in the neighborhood in buffalo by a gunman there. and that happens in the context of a country that have seen a massive explosion in both the supply of guns and the commission of acts of gun violence. particularly shootings on homicides which have been untethered from other forms of homicide of several years. not coincidentally, i think, with increasing guns. senator chris murphy's working from connecticut, again, senator, your point here is

incredibly well taken about the fact that this sort of thing that we're covering right now on the soviet program is not the normal everyday face of what's gonna milestones, which happens the end, day out, not necessarily these numbers are these contexts. but it creates a side of grief you communities just as surely as this house. and yet, there is something about the darkness of the spectacle that has become an american national ritual that i find just truly unacceptable and horrible. and to still talk a little bit about trauma that reverberates through a neighborhood or a community like what you saw in sandy hook, because it is larger than just the people and the children. >> i want to be clear, on make

sure people understand that every single day there are over hundred people die from guns. i an egg knowledge that is completely understandable that there is a different kind of terror in this country will episodes like this happens. there's something in common civil about the level of evil that is necessitated inside human brain to turn a gun on the second and third or fourth graders. and it makes you think about the nature of human psychology. about what's inside your brain and people been all this was happening. i think it's understandable that these moments, around him a shootings, are the moments where the national conversation occurs. but it is important as you noted to just make clear that when it happens, the communities never the same. there is no way to recover because every one of these kids class cousins, brothers, sisters, best friends, on, average 41% was killed by a gun,

there are 20 people that experience diagnose-able trauma. as having been at that firehouse in sandy hook ten years ago, i know 70 right now. i know what that school looks like. i know the process of identification of these kids. that's gonna happen this evening. it's i think-able. it's unthinkable. and i just know that this community will never ever recover from this. these communities i defined no why shouldn't they have had to go through. >> earlier tonight, and i appreciate you joining us under these conditions as brutal and grueling as they are, where of course i think it was the folks there isn't within the lot of the screen, just to clarify, we are not the texas state senator earlier voted that he had been

briefed on the shooting. the state senator. that at least 18 children, and their adults were killed in a texas school shooting. that is almost kind of where we have. and that comes from the state senator who was briefed. the obvious isn't just some random person, he was in a position to know. like i was from him. that is the latest number we have. you may have seen other reporting to that effect. we are extending a hand to your republican colleagues in a spirit i think of charity and pragmatism. so i don't want to tear that apart. but, you, know the conference isn't samantha friday. i don't think i can imagine anything more ghoulish. more, just, morally repugnant, then to go cheer on the cult of

american guns three days off to this in the state where it happened. >> yeah, and i know there are already some high-profile texas republicans who decided not to appear at that conference. and it's important to recognize that the nra is just a lot of the mentally different organization that holds even 20 years ago. in the wake of columbine, the nra supported expanding background checks in this country. today, they're hell-bent against any changes and gun laws, and in fact, the perpetrators mythology of a bill only way does not bad guys with guns as a lot of communities with blood guns. when you look at the list of nations of the highest gun violence, it's the list of nations that have guys gonna ship. yeah dose of states of the loses gun laws. so, the nra is not titled

truth. around texas republicans and texas democrats will maybe stand down and let that convention go on without cheerleading from politicians this week. >> all right senator chris murphy, i appreciate the words that they share on the floor of the status tonight. i'm thinking about your constituents tonight, and all the family members who've been sear by gun violence derby years another feeling tonight, so thank you very much. >> thank you. >> i wanna bring in jasmine crockett was a democratic member of the texas house of representatives. and she joins me now. stay representative, are you doing this evening? how are things in the community that your present? >> no, i think we're all pretty somber. and we're wondering why our leaders are failing to read. approximately two years ago, we

were having a similar conversation as italy style possible at the horrific shooting that we had there. and all the texas legislature had every opportunity to give this right, sadly, enough texans that the deal will give more guns to more people with no shining, and sadly enough, the most valuable amongst us has been attacked in a brutal way today. and i just can't imagine why we continue to put people into office that feel to lead and feel to protect even our little kids. feel to protect even our littl ki ds >> if my understanding is correct -- and i follow this relatively closely -- but you have served in this texas state legislature. so, i want to get your clarity on this. in the wake of that mass shooting in el paso, the texas state legislature has made a gun carrying easier. it has loosened gun regulations and made guns easier, both to obtain and to carry. >> absolutely.

house bill 1927, it was a bill that republicans pushed in this most frequent recent session session. that was in the wake of el paso. in this particular bill they said it was too cumbersome for people to have to actually obtain a license or try to get any training. instead, they said that every one can carry a gun so long as they were at least 21 years of age. they did not have to have anything special to walk around with a gun, whatsoever. as many of you know, as far as long guns are concerned, that was never an issue in the state faces anyway. everyone could walk around with their long guns, no matter what. >> so, per that legislation which republicans moved and pushed and was a key priority for them, any texan over a certain age, over 21, i guess, can just openly carry a handgun. right? there is no requirement, there is no process, there is no licensing, there is no training. there is nothing. it is the fact that if you are

a resident of texas over the age, you can carry a gun. >> absolutely. anyone can walk around with a gun. and here is the deal -- for the party that says that they and after the -- -- it was going to make it more difficult to keep us safe. so, under normal circumstances law enforcement could approach someone and they could say, hey, do you have a license for that firearm? well, they don't have the right to do that because there is no requisite that you have a license at this point. they specifically warned the house and the senator that this was a dangerous bill. they did it anyway. >> what is usually the case when the police unions or sheriffs groups come to the state house and lobby on specific legislation? my understanding in texas and in many states is that they almost always get their way. is that usually the way it works there? >> this is the only time that they did not listen to law enforcement. they absolutely are some of the strongest lobbies that you will see anywhere.

that's not just in the texas house or the state of texas. it's even on the federal level. usually, law enforcement gets what they want. this was the one time that they specifically decided that they were going to ignore law enforcement. and they said that this was because they were trying to push forward with an agenda as it relates to our second amendment. and for this party to care so much about life, it is just absolutely unthinkable that they literally are showing that they really do not care about lives. >> i have to say that the dynamic in texas -- and i've seen this in a number of other states dominated by republicans -- the gun legislating, to me, and i would like to hear what you would characterize it as, as we look at these images from texas, where there wasn't shooting in an elementary school there today. right now we think 18 children were murdered. and three adults. that is the latest numbers we have and i come from the state senator who represents that

area, and we are expecting the president of the united states, joe biden, to speak on this. my understanding, again, so that people understand the context here in the texas state house -- would ends up happening in the texas state house and -- i've seen this happen in a number of other republican dominated states -- it is kind of like there is a policy problem that they want to solve. that's vis-à-vis guns. the politics of guns require them to show, to ratchet up every legislative session. and because it is just them, and the democrats are not passing bills, they have to get every more extreme so that they have some new bill to introduce. because they have been making the rules in texas for two decades. it is not like it is hard to ghosn own a gun in texas for decades ago. but the politics of the issue are such that they have to own the lives, they have to show how devoted they are to the cult of the gun, such that they

have to come up with a new thing for every session. >> you are absolutely right. i try to tell people all the time that we were dealing with so much political theater in the texas house -- and that is exactly what it is -- the sad part is that we live in a state that has 30 million people. we cannot afford to play political games. these are ponds. these are real people, realize. and sadly enough we continue to introduce policies that are not helping people. but instead we are hurting people and it was not just the guns. i mean, you guys have been covering this for quite some time now, well over a year. because we have continued to lead this country in the wrong direction. and this is just another example of texas getting it wrong. >> can you see any -- i mean, obviously, again, we have recent history. el paso, the mass shooting by a racist murderer happened in el paso. and the reaction at the policy

level and at the state level from the republican governor and state legislature was to expand access to guns. again, we are waiting to hear how this individual, who murdered these people today, at this elementary school, who shot and kill these children, how he obtained his weapons. bracketing that for a moment, given that reaction to el paso, can you imagine a universe with the nra scheduled to hold its annual conference in texas, with greg abbott likely to tweet about the fact that how -- how much he loves guns and how much taxes loves guns. and how invested he is in texans buying more guns and in californians doing so, and the horror that could possibly happen in your state that would shake that status quo? . >> sadly enough, i do not. we had members of the el paso delegation tell stories about the families that lost lives on that day. i mean, we had people that were

crying on the house floor. people recounted how the governor went to el paso and assured those in el paso that we would do something smart. but sadly enough, he has amnesia. and seemingly, so many other folks have amnesia. i cannot imagine what these parents are going through right now. but if this is not a wake up call, i do not really know what is. i mean, it doesn't really make sense. there was no need in a state that could not keep its lights on -- you would think that we would focus on trying to save some sort of lives by at least keeping our lights on. but instead, we spent hours and hours and how much money in the house making sure that we expanded access to firearms in the state of texas. it just did not make sense, especially in the wake of what we saw in el paso. and sadly enough, even though we do not go back into session until january of 2023, i do not have high hopes that they will

get it right when they go back into session. they will simply put this office some sort of random situation instead of trying to own up to the fact that there our terrible failed policies costing us lives, innocent lives, every single day. >> jasmine crockett is a representative the -- state representative in texas. she served in the texas house. thank you so much for making some time with us. i want to direct peoples attention down there to the screen. you see a podium has been set up in the white house. we are expecting president joe biden to give a live address at any moment. we should know that he is just back from a multi day trip through east asia. he is just getting back now. we saw the vice president kamala harris react to the news earlier today. joe biden has a long history with gun policy, of course. he was the mastermind at one of the chief authors of that crime bill during the clinton years that had a whole bunch of

things -- there is a violence against women act that was part of it. there was also, of course, a huge amount of police hiring. there was also a lot of mandatory minimums that were attached to different sentences. there are many people who pointed to as a fulcrum for the rise in mass incarceration. it was something that he spent a lot of time explaining and in some cases apologizing for, for one aspect of that legislation. there were a number of gun safety measures during the clinton years, of course, famously the assault weapons ban, that were then repealed once george w. bush was in power. this was a wedge issue for many years and the sight of contested conflict. and while the politics around this, both from the polling in public opinion has not changed, it is still a contested issue and in fact polling shows majorities -- and in some cases massive super majority of americans who favor some common sense restrictions

on gun ownership, what has happened in the last ten years, particularly, he's a kind of particularly total domination at the policy levers by the most extremist faction of american life. an extremist fashion faction that we should say is getting more extreme in its rhetoric and also more intense in just the number of guns being produced and bought. one of the most important things to understand about this country at this moment is that the percentage of households that own guns is declining as the number of guns in the hands of people's increasing. there you see the first lady of the united states, jill biden, and president of the united states, joe biden, coming to address the country now. >> good evening, fellow americans. i had hoped that when i became president i would not have to do this again.

another massacre. uvalde, texas. an elementary school. beautiful, innocent second, third and fourth graders. and how many scores of little children who witnessed what happened? and saw their friends die as if they were in a battlefield, for god's sake? they will -- the rest of their lives. there is a lot we don't know yet. there is a lot we do know. the parents who will never see their children again. and never have them jump in the bed and cuddle with them. there's parents who will never

be the same. to lose a child is like having a piece of your soul ripped away. there is a hollowness in your chest, you feel like you are being sucked into it. and you are never going to be able to get out, suffocating. it is never quite the same. it is a feeling shared by the siblings and grandparents and family members of the community left behind. scripture says -- and jill and i have talked about this in different contexts, in other contexts -- the lord is near to the broken hearted. he saves the crushed in spirit. so many crushed spirits. >> yeah. >> so, tonight, i asked the

nation to pray for them. and give the parents the strength in the darkness that they feel right now. as a nation, we have to ask, when in god's name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby? when in god's name will we do what we all know in our gut needs to be done? there have been 3348 days and ten years since i stood up in a high school in connecticut -- at a great school in connecticut -- where another gunman massacred 26 people, including 21st graders at sandy hook elementary school. since then, there have been over 900 incidents of gunfire reported on school grounds. marjory stoneman douglas high school, parkland florida. santa fe high school indexes. , i oxford high school in

michigan. and the list goes on and it grows. when you include shootings at places like movie theaters, houses of worship, as we saw just handing those days ago and igor storm buffalo new york. o ani was sick and tired of it. we have to act. and don't tell me we can't have an impact on this carnage. i spent my career as a senator and as the vice president working in passing common sense gun loss. we can prevent all tragedy, but we know they work it off because of them back. when we passed the assault loughlin ban, nationalists 1000. the long expired. as shootings tripled. the idea that an 18 year old kid could walk into a gun store and buy to o'sullivan's is just

wrong. in god's name he needed for except to kill someone. we are not running through the force with color vests offer got sick. it's just sick. and the gun manufacturers have spent two decades aggressively marketing assault options to make them the largest profit. forgot, sick of town the courage to stand up to the industry. most americans supported collinson's loss, common sense gun laws. i just got off a trip from asia, and a meeting with asian leaders. and i learned of the swallow us on the aircraft. and what struck me on that 17 hour flight, what struck me was, these kinds of mass shootings rarely happen anywhere else in

the world. why? they have mental health problems. they have domestic disputes and other countries. they have people who are lost. but these kinds of mass shootings never happen and the kind of frequency they happen in america. why? why are we willing to live with this carnage? why do we keep letting this happen? where and god's name is our backbone. have the courage to some of the law obvious. it's time to turn spain into action. for every parents, for every citizen in this country, we have to make it clear to every elected official in this country, it's time to act. it's time for those who have delayed or block the common sense gun laws, we need to let

you know that we will not forget. we can do so much more. we have to do more. our prayer tonight it is for those pants lying about trying to figure out, let me able to sleep again? or do i say to all the children? what happens tomorrow? may god the walls of innocent lives on the side today. and made the lord be near to the broken hearted, and save those crushed and spirit. because they're gonna need a lot of help, a lot of our prayers. god love you. >> will you go to texas, sir?

will you go to texas? >> president of the nsa suggesting the country tonight. clearly grief stricken and weary. a man who will, of course, famously knows grief. knows the grief of losing a child. and then of an adult son. of loved ones. why are we willing to live with this carnage, was the question he asked. i caution that people are asking since 1999, columbine shooting. i've been asking particularly since the send excluding in 2012, which any policy responses seemed increasingly difficult to achieve. one of the other people who knows this grief, sadly, so who has met with the president to discuss this issues, fred guttenberg, his daughter was killed in a mass shooting back

in 2018. fred, thanks for joining us. first, i just want to say, i imagine this is very difficult emotionally for you, i offer my deepest condolences, and thanks for making time to talk to us tonight. >> thank you. i honestly just listen to the president, it just continues to pull me back to a moment that is unfathomable. i mean, the reality is, my wife is downstairs very emotional. i should be downstairs with her. but the country needs to hear our voices. this is not normal. this is not okay. and i just want to touch on something the president said when he said, why are we willing to live with this? we are not. it's time to call out who is.

it's not we. 80 something, 90 something percent of the american people want to start with. but there is a very specific group, and they have managed to hold the country hostage on this issue. and currently, they all reside and one political party. a lot of them are side and texas. the texas governor, the texas lieutenant governor, the two senators, they mark the issue of doing anything to reduce gun violence. they are all scheduled this friday to be at the nra conventions, that, by the way, will be held in texas. this isn't week. i majority reckon people want something done. chris, i was on some of the earlier programming. and i'll say something i said earlier, senator murphy, you are a hero. you have been her like today.

but you can't do this alone. and the issue is in the senate. the house espousing legislation, they will continue to pass legislation. the president will sign it. the senate is a roadblock. i need any able monty reasonable republican, if you still exist, look at through senator murphy's office tonight, and grab him, and say i want to walk on the senate floor with you and join in this. it is the only option left, because the truth as, gun violence is predictable, and it's preventable, but i can already tell you, the next one is gonna happen if we sit by and continue to do nothing. >> fred, you do life change, obviously, with the death of your daughter. and in the wake of that, if on the resolve and the strength to commit yourself to this issue.

what have you learned in the course of that? you're not someone who's doing this before. you now have done this for a bit. you can become very involved. were there things he that i realize before you when and are clear to you know? >> i thought the country was actually maybe more divided on this, and actually, the country is not. 90% of the country wants this done. it is amazing to me how separated a governing body's from where the country is. and i will tell you, there is a common thread, a person, a common person who has stood by as the numbers of us on the street have increased, the number of killings of increased, his name is mitch mcconnell. he put out a statement today, it looked exactly like the

statement he put out after my daughter was killed. and you stood by and still did nothing. and so, i am actually amazed that this country, that the numbers of people that say they want something done are blocked by mitch mcconnell, and our governing body. and so, there is also for me a small sense of hope there, goes in on exactly where the problem is, and you exactly what we'll do about it. if this latest shooting doesn't shake them, and nothing gets done, it's election not too far away, let's kick their butts out of the senate. because they're not doing the job. >> have you, on occasion, in your work, and i imagine you have, talk with others who have also had their lives affected

by this. images folks who want to dog school, or whose family members were taken or wounded by a muscle shooting, but other forms of gun violence, things that happen every day in our country 100 times. and what that bond is like. and what is happening in that community that we're watching. >> chris, of some of the year since may that was killed callings got. and sadly, we need all the new families affected by gun violence. in fact, in a few days, i'm gonna travel to buffalo. for that reason, to be with those families. i continue to be amazed by these amazing people who have become shattered and broken and and up going forward despite of

the fight to do something about gun violence. i continue to be amazed at how this entire universe of survivors, knowing the challenges that exist in the senate, continue to push forward, if they don't want to top and someone else. and, i'll just say this, and i've said it all saw the earlier programming. there is a whole new community now affected. and they're gonna be struggling. and they're gonna not know which way is up for that. if any of those families are watching this, i just want them to know, they can reach out to your program. i hope that's okay with the. so you get in touch with me. because i am here, there is survivors all around this country who are here. i spoke to my friends at the

kitchen earlier today, they are sending 18. it may already be in the area, top assist with ensuring that these families. my wife and i, honestly, chris, i can tell you how my family, for a couple of weeks, eight. i just know it happened, because of my amazing community. automation of this community is taking care of as well. and so, anything that i can do, i just want you to make sure that message gets delivered. >> fred guttenberg, please extend our thoughts and's or to your wife, and we're thinking what are. or think about all the folks from florida. elephant liz are watching this with a special pain in the heart. the knowledge of knowing what is likely to someone, and i really admire you as a person.

and for doing we've done, an appreciating time on a night like this a talk to us. thank you, fred. >> thanks, chris. >> and bring in chris bryant, was the president already, an organization that works on gun violence prevention. chris, it's good to have you here. obviously, the worst of possible circumstances. i think for a while, part of what is very difficult for people to process, and in some way, is evading, to the advantage of the nra, and other forces that are defending the status quo. is that, sense that no shock the conscious would dislodge the trajectory that we are on. what do you say to people who feel despair, as someone of spends every day from the time we get up to the time you got out of but on this?

>> look, i'm a mom. i just celebrated her from last weekend. . it's devastating to be in america where this happens. and when i say to my friends, my family, and all those who support us, for everyone's changes. the laws, gun safety laws really do work. at that, and whatever they want to see happen is the change that we can pass. that we common individuals living in a society where we go out in public, where we take our kids to school, where we go to the movies, and we shot.

aren't targeted in any way because of that. and, unfortunately, there are way too many families the count right no. and i feel it in my bones because we have way too many people had brady and across this country who are gun violence survivors. like everyone else we've talked to, chris, i cannot imagine. and it makes me want to cry. i'm thinking about it now, with the families are experiencing. and it doesn't have to be this way. and that is what i want to import. because gun safety laws were. it's not even vivian-able, chris. we know that permits to purchase saves lives, we know the brady law saves lives. these aren't debatable. and divestment geordie of americans agree. why are we arguing about