EP 463 America’s Complicated Relationship with Guns
America’s Second Amendment is summed up in just a few words and yet massive amounts of ink have been spilled trying to explain it, massive amounts of blood spilled in defense of it and massive sums spent on legal efforts to try and curtail it and still gunfire rings out across our land like never before. This controversial subject divides the members of our two political parties, already fractured, like no other issue, including abortion. Instead of turning to a partisan in the debate, we chose to reach out to a legal scholar on the subject. Joseph Blocher is a professor at the Duke University Law School and co-director of the Center for Firearms Law at the university. Our conversation runs the gamut examining what the Second Amendment means, the importance of the Heller vs. D.C. opinion by the U.S. Supreme Court, state and federal laws applicable to guns and what the early efforts of the Biden Administration signal as to the direction of the debate. In fact, America may be at an inflection point regarding guns as pro-gun groups, like the NRA, face new challenges and groups wanting more controls gain strength and public support. And then there’s the matter of turning on the news each night to learn of a new mass shooting, which the President reminds us is an ‘international embarrassment’. This week we will focus on guns in two separate podcasts with two remarkable presenters.
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