ONCE AGAIN WE HAVE A MASS SHOOTING AT A SITE OF
HIGHER EDUCATION.
THIS STORY IS HEARD ALL TO OFTEN.
AT A COMMUNITY COLLEGE A GUNMAN OPENED FIRE EARLY TODAY,
AT ABOUT 1030.
HE KILLED AT LEAST 13 ñ
KILLING AT LEAST 13 PEOPLE AND WOUNDING 20.
THE IMMEDIATE SURROUNDINGS OF THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE ARE
BEING USED TO FUNNEL THE SHOOTING VICTIMS.
WE HAVE INFORMATION FROM THE FIRE MARSHAL THAT SAYS, "WE
ARRIVED TO FIND MULTIPLE PATIENTS IN MULTIPLE CLASSROOMS.
LAW ENFORCEMENT WAS ON SCENE AND HAD THE SHOOTER NEUTRALIZED."
WE HAVE ALREADY HAVE INTERVIEWS THAT HAVE BEEN DONE WITH
STUDENTS THAT WERE ON THE SCENE.
THEY SAID THEY HAD VERY DIFFERENT IDEAS OF HOW MANY
DIFFERENT SHOOTERS THERE WERE.
PEOPLE HEARD SHOOTINGS AT DIFFERENT LOCATIONS, SO
THERE WAS FEAR THAT THERE COULD HAVE BEEN ADDITIONAL
SHOOTERS ON THE LOOSE.
AS OF RIGHT NOW, WE DO NOT BELIEVE THAT IS THE CASE.
THE ONE THAT CAME TO THE UNIVERSITY HAS BEEN KILLED.
TWO PATIENTS DIED WHILE BEING TRANSPORTED TO A HOSPITAL.
AT LEAST 13 SO FAR HAVE DIED.
THAT IS THE HIGHEST NUMBER REPORTED TODAY REPORTED
FROM THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE.
THERE IS A CHANCE THAT WILL CHANGE AGAIN.
SOME SOURCES ARE STILL SAYING 10.
BUT EITHER WAY ñ
IT'S ALMOST EVERY DAY IT FEELS LIKE.
THERE ARE DIFFERENT STORIES, DIFFERENT REPORTS OUT THERE THAT
PEOPLE KEEP REFERENCING.
IT SHOWS THAT WE HAVE ONE MASS SHOOTING A DAY AT THIS
POINT IN THE COUNTRY.
IT HAS BECOME SO COMMONPLACE ñ
AND PART OF THE REASON IS BECAUSE EVERY SINGLE TIME
IT HAPPENS THE CONVERSATION IMMEDIATELY DEVOLVES TO TWO
SIDES.
THERE IS ONE SIDE FOR PEOPLE THAT SAY WE NEED TO FOCUS ON
MENTAL
HEALTH CARE, THOSE ARE THE PRO-GUN ADVOCATES.
THEN YOU HAVE THOSE THAT WANT TO MAKE A POINT ABOUT HOW WE
NEED COMMON SENSE GUN CONTROL.
THE SECOND THAT YOU BRING THAT UP, YOU ARE ATTACKED AS
SOMEONE WHO'S POLITICIZING A TRAGIC EVENT.
IF YOU DON'T USE THIS INSTANCE AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK
ABOUT SOMETHING THAT WE CLEARLY NEED, THEN WHEN DO YOU TALK
ABOUT SOMETHING LIKE THIS?
YOU SAID THEY HAVE NO INTEREST IN GUN CONTROL, WHICH IS TRUE.
I WOULD ARGUE THEY ALSO HAVE NO INTEREST IN ANY POLICIES
THAT HAVE TO DO WITH MENTAL HEALTH.
I THINK THEY HAVE NO REAL INTEREST.
I READ REPORTS THAT SAY FOUR WEAPONS WERE REMOVED SO FAR.
WE HAVE NO IDEA HOW THEY WERE ATTAINED.
WE WILL FIND OUT AT SOME POINT.
WE KNOW THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN GOING ON FOX NEWS SAYING
THIS IS WHAT YOU GET WHEN YOU CREATE THESE GUN FREE
ZONES, ASSERTING THAT A COLLEGE IS A GUN FREE ZONE.
BACK IN 2011 OREGON PASSED A BILL THAT YOU CANNOT
DESIGNATE A COLLEGE CAMPUS AS A GUN FREE ZONE.
BUT THEY STILL JUST SAY IT, BECAUSE THEY DO.
HE WENT THERE PROBABLY BECAUSE HE HAD AN ATTACHMENT TO THE
COLLEGE.
THAT'S WHY PEOPLE GO TO THESE PLACES.
HE DIDN'T GO TO A RANDOM COLLEGE.
WE HEAR THE SAME STORYLINES EVERY TIME AND IT'S FRUSTRATING.
ERIC HOLDER, HE IS NO LONGER THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, HE
SENT OUT THREE PRETTY GOOD TWEETS.
HE SAYS," ENOUGH, NOW OREGON.
WHAT REASON NOW TO OPPOSE SAFETY MEASURES?
OTHER NATIONS DO NOT HAVE THESE MASS SHOOTINGS AFTER
IMPLEMENTING REFORMS."
A COUPLE OF OTHER FACTS WORTH MENTIONING, THIS IS THE
45TH SCHOOL SHOOTING IN THE UNITED STATES THIS YEAR.
THAT IS INCREDIBLE.
IT HAS BEEN 34 MONTHS SINCE THE SANDY HOOK SHOOTING IN DECEMBER
2012.
THERE HAVE BEEN 42
SCHOOL SHOOTINGS SINCE SANDY HOOK.
IT IS ONLY THE SECOND SHOOTING IN 10 YEARS IN THE SMALL TOWN.
THIS COLLEGE IS ABOUT 70 MILES SOUTH OF EUGENE, OREGON.
IT IS 180 MILES SOUTH OF PORTLAND.
IN 2006, A HIGH SCHOOL FRESHMAN SHOT A FELLOW STUDENT FOUR
TIMES FROM BEHIND IN THE SCHOOL COURTYARD.
THANKFULLY THE KID SURVIVED.
THERE ARE OFFICIALS FROM THE TOWN THAT KEEP REITERATING
THAT THEY LIVE IN A VERY PEACEFUL COMMUNITY.
I THINK THAT IT'S RELEVANT TO BRING THAT UP BECAUSE IF
YOU LIVE IN A CULTURE THAT IS OBSESSED WITH GUNS, IT
DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU LIVE IN A PEACEFUL COMMUNITY.
IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU ARE IN A CLASSROOM OR IN A MOVIE
THEATER, WE ARE NOW LIVING IN THIS AGE OF EXTREME GUN
VIOLENCE.
IT IS SCARY TO KNOW THAT IT DOESN'T MATTER WHERE YOU
ARE, YOU COULD BE A VICTIM OF THIS.
I WANT TO CIRCLE BACK AROUND TO THE CONVERSATION WE
SHOULD BE HAVING.
YOU ARE GOING TO SEE CHARTS OF THE TIME BETWEEN MASS SHOOTINGS.
YOU'LL SEE ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE, THERE IS A MASSIVE
COLLECTION.
THAT'S NOT TO SAY THAT AMERICA DOES NOT HAVE A LONG
HISTORY OF MASS SHOOTINGS.
THEY SEEM TO OCCUR IN CLUMPS.
MOST RECENTLY THERE ARE A VERY LARGE NUMBER OVER THE PAST
FOUR YEARS.
YOU WILL ALSO SEE A SET OF CALENDARS, THESE ARE THE 45
SHOOTINGS OF SCHOOLS IN 2015.
THERE WERE THREE SCHOOL SHOOTINGS ON FEBRUARY 15.
THAT WAS A PARTICULARLY BAD DAY.
YOU WILL HEAR THE ARGUMENT NOW ABOUT ñ
THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE ON THE RIGHT THAT ARE IN FAVOR
OF THE ñ
THEY SUGGEST THAT YOU GET A GUY WITH A GUN WILL NOT STOP THESE.
THE ALWAYS USE THAT EXAMPLE.
THEY ARE ALL WRONG.
FREQUENTLY EITHER ANOTHER GOOD GUY WAS SHOT, AND ALMOST
EVERY TIME THE SHOOTER HAD STOPPED SHOOTING.
SOMETIMES HE WAS OUT OF AMMO.
WE TALKED ABOUT ONE THIS WEEK.
THAT'S RIGHT.
THE GUY WAS SHOT IN THE HEAD BUT THANKFULLY HE WAS STILL ALIVE.
THIS COLLEGE, UMPQUA, THE AVERAGE AGE AT THAT COLLEGE WAS
38.
THIS IS MOSTLY GROWN-UPS AND MOST PEOPLE ARE NOT FULL-TIME.
A THIRD OF THE STUDENTS ARE FULL-TIME.
IT'S A COMMUNITY COLLEGE, SO YOU WOULD EXPECT SOMETHING
LIKE THAT.
WE DON'T KNOW EXACTLY THE DETAILS ABOUT THIS STORY.
WE HAVE NO POLICIES THAT MIGHT HAVE DONE IF THEY HAD BEEN IN
EFFECT, OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BUT THE IDEA THAT IT IS JUST
A MENTAL ILLNESS ñ BEN CARSON HAS TALKED ABOUT THIS, DO THEY
BELIEVE THAT OTHER COUNTRIES DON'T HAVE MENTAL ILLNESS?
DO THEY BELIEVE THAT THE U.K.
IS ODDLY FREE OF MENTAL DISEASE?
IT IS JUST THAT FOR WHATEVER REASON, NOBODY IS CRAZY IN
THE U.K.
NOW.
CONVERSELY IN AUSTRALIA, THEY HAD A PERIOD OF
AMERICAN-STYLE MASS SHOOTINGS.
THEN THEY PASSED A BILL THAT TOOK BACK MOST OF THE GUNS
AND MADE IT EXTREMELY HARD TO GET A GUN.
WE HAVE ALL THE EVIDENCE
WE NEED.
WE CAN SEE THAT WHEN YOU TAKE AWAY THE GUNS, YOU GET LESS
SHOOTINGS REGARDLESS OF THE LEVEL OF INSANITY IN THE
POPULATION.
I'M NOT AN EXPERT ON THE HISTORY OF AUSTRALIA, BUT PART OF
THE ARGUMENT IS THAT THE UNITED STATES HAS A VIOLENT HISTORY.
ITS INDEPENDENCE CAME VIOLENTLY.
THEN WE HAVE THIS PECULIAR AMERICAN ñ ONE OF THE THINGS
PEOPLE love ABOUT AMERICA IS THAT WE HAVE THIS RUGGED
INDIVIDUALISM.
IF YOU HAVE TO DEFEND IT WITH A GUN, YOU DEFEND IT WITH A GUN.
I FIND IT HARD TO BELIEVE THAT AUSTRALIA DID NOT ALSO HAVE
A SENSE OF RUGGED INDIVIDUALISM.
I'M GOING TO GUESS THEY ARE FIRST.
THEY STRIKE ME AS THE MOST RUGGEDLY INDIVIDUALISTIC
COUNTRY.
I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT THERE WERE MEN IN AUSTRALIA THAT LOVE
THEIR GUNS.
THEY GOT PAST IT.
AND WE CAN GET PAST IT TOO, BUT NOT IN THE CURRENT
POLITICAL CLIMATE.
PEOPLE TALK A LOT ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF DONATIONS THE NRA
GIVES OUT.
IT JUST MIGHT BE THAT BECAUSE THEY PROVIDE SOMETHING AND
THERE ISN'T AN ORGANIZED VERSION OF IT ON THE GUN-CONTROL
SIDE, THAT EVEN A FEW DOLLARS IS ENOUGH.
THEY HAVE THIS CONTROL, IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.
IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE ñ
I DON'T THINK IT MAKES SENSE TO THE NRA HOW THEY HAVE BEEN
ABLE TO GAIN SOME CONTROL OVER AN ORGANIZATION WHEN THEY
REPRESENT WHAT SHOULD BE SUCH A NICHE CONCERN.
I HAVEN'T LOOKED INTO THE SPECIFICALLY, BUT I AM
CURIOUS TO SEE WHETHER OR NOT WEAPONS MANUFACTURERS FUND
THESE CAMPAIGNS AS WELL?
IT'S NOT JUST THE NRA.
THE NRA IS POWERED BY WEAPONS MANUFACTURERS.
THEY IN TURN FUND THE POLITICIANS.
I DON'T KNOW IF THERE IS A DIRECT LINK BETWEEN WEAPONS
MANUFACTURERS AND OUR POLITICIANS?
THAT COULD PLAY A ROLE AS WELL.
ALSO, THE NRA IS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL LOBBYING
GROUPS IN THE COUNTRY.
THEY HAVE A LOT OF POWER REGARDLESS OF HOW MANY
DOLLARS THEY GIVE.
WE KNOW HOW CHEAPLY YOU CAN PURCHASE A POLITICIAN, IT
DOESN'T TAKE A LOT.
IF YOUR IDENTIFICATION WITH WHO
YOU ARE AS A MAN IS
THIS TIED UP IN YOUR GUNS, THAT IS MESSED UP.
AND THAT'S GOT TO CHANGE.
YOU HAVE TO CHOOSE TO IDENTIFY YOURSELF, TO FIND THE CORE
OF WHO YOU ARE SOMEWHERE ELSE IN SOME OTHER MANNER.
YOU CAN STILL BE EVERYTHING THAT YOU ARE AND STILL HAVE
YOU CAN'T WRAP UP WHO YOU ARE AND THE MEASURE OF HOW MUCH
YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR FAMILY OR YOUR LAND IN THE KIND OF
GUN YOU OWN, OR THE TYPE OF GUN YOU OWN.
THAT IS SOMETHING MESSED UP WE HAVE IN THIS COUNTRY.