35: Welcome, 2020

JJ is joined by everybody's favorite co-host, JP, and everybody's favorite leader, Brady President Kris Brown. Together, we're here to talk about all that Brady did this year--and what we resolve to have happen in 2020. After that, I’m going to drop some truth in our “unbelievable, but” section--namely, that this holiday season winds down, you should resolve to practice and discuss safe gun storage. Finally, we’re leaving 2019 with one last news wrap-up that covers everything from increased shootings to increased  funding. 2019 has been...a lot, but we’re here together to make 2020 safer.

And hey all--thanks for listening. As always,  Brady’s lifesaving work in congress, the courts, and communities across the country is made possible thanks to you. For more information on Brady, or how to get involved in the fight against gun violence, please like and subscribe to the podcast, get in touch with us at bradyunited.org, or on social @bradybuzz. Be brave, and remember: take action, not sides.

For more information on Brady, follow us on social @Bradybuzz, or via our website at bradyunited.org. Full transcripts and bibliography available at bradyunited.org/podcast.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255.
Music provided by: David “Drumcrazie” Curby
Special thanks to Hogan Lovells, for their longstanding legal support
 ℗&©2019 Red, Blue, and Brady

Transcript

Brady music: 0:08

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JP: 0:08

Hey everybody! This is a legal disclaimer where we tell you the views, thoughts, and opinions shared on this podcast belong solely to the person talking to you right now, and not necessarily Brady or Brady's affiliates. Please note, this podcast contains discussions of violence that some people may find disturbing, but it's okay, you're not alone. We find it disturbing, too.

Brady music: 0:46

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JJ: 0:46

Happy New Year! Welcome back everybody to this, the last episode of 2019 for"Red, Blue, and Brady." Today I am joined by fan favorite JP, and Brady President Kris Brown, and both of them are here with me today to talk about, you know, all the B rady did this year and what we r esolve to have h appen in 2020. Now after that I'm going to drop some truth in our"unbelievable, but" section--namely, that as this holiday season finally wi nds d own, you should resolve to practice and discuss safe gun storage. Finally, we're all go ing t o l eave 2019 with one last news wrap up that covers everything--unfortunately from increased shootings to fortunately in creased f unding. So let's get right into it.

Brady music: 1:28

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JJ: 1:31

So welcome back everybody to this, the last episode of 2019 for"Red, Blue, and Brady." And by the time you hear this, the bell signaling 2020s arrival will have rung, and we will be in a brand new year. Now I know personally for me, this was a really big year. Not only did I start my job at Brady, but you know, this podcast was sort of created-

Kris: 1:52

-launched!

JJ: 1:52

-launched, given birth to, in the world. But of course, you know this podcast is bigger than me. I'm just the one that happens to talk on it the most. It's all of Brady. We've had so many great people from Brady on. It's everyone who worked so hard on it every day. And so it's been a tough year, but a good year for a lot of us. So right off the bat here, JP is back!

JP: 2:14

Great to be back. I feel like we're now, we had a baby podcast and our podcasts, it's like learning how to walk. It's like, learning the ABCs at this point. So I'm just, it's amazing how far we've come just in the last couple of months with"Red, Blue, and Brady."

JJ: 2:29

Yeah, we've got a, we've got to potty train our podcast now, which is exciting. How about for you,m JP? What are some things that happened this year?

JP: 2:37

It's been a really exciting year. I mean the first thing that pops to my brain is all the work that we did in Virginia this year, probably because we're planning on next on the upcoming session. But we had the special session in July where we had a thousand advocates go down to Richmond and call after the Virginia Beach shooting on legislators to pass gun violence prevention legislation. And after 90 minutes, when they gaveled in and out, we got to knocking on doors, making phone calls, working with candidates. And in November we flipped both the state Senate and the house of delegates in Virginia. So that's one thing that I think is a huge highlight for me.

JJ: 3:17

Oh, see, that's an incredibly good answer. So now I can't shame you for being like,"not becoming my cohost"--

All: 3:22

***laughter***

JJ: 3:22

Whatever, JP! And then someone who also had, like, a kind of a crazy year but I know a year that involves a lot of, you know, grassroots organizing,'cause there you spent a lot of weekends knocking on doors, is Brady's president Kris Brown.

Kris: 3:37

I did spend a lot of weekends doing something that I have done since I was really a toddler, when my mom ran for office a few times in the state of Virginia; t here's nothing that I liked better than knocking on doors for gun violence prevention champions...And then seeing them win, that's really great too.***laughs*** So I share JP's excitement that we have in general assembly and many of the leaders who were elected, we've been talking to Christian and his team in policy and I think the general assembly is poised to pass lifesaving legislation in late January, maybe even early January of next year. And that's a tremendous boost to us.

JJ: 4:17

Yeah, that's something I've, I've really come to learn this year is that so much, particularly of gun violence prevention, you know, legislation happens at the state level that, you know, the federal laws are super important and we need to be really engaged with those, but that honestly, what happens in the 50 states, ugh, is vitally important and people should be really, I think much more keyed in on.

Speaker 5: 4:38

it actually tells a a nice success story, right? Because a lot of folks do do focus on the federal level, but more than half of the United States population lives in States with expanded Brady background checks. Now 17 States and the district of Columbia have passed extreme risk laws. Those are the laws that allow for the removal of guns from an individual who may be at raw risk to himself or others. So there's a variety of actions that have happened in the States and that are continuing to happen in the States that are really exciting for gun violence prevention.

JP: 5:13

And in addition to the state legislative work, one of the most exciting parts of my job, I think has been working directly in communities and at the education level. And we've been doing some incredible partnerships with some local school districts, whether it be San Diego unified school district where we've been getting out and family fire materials about safe storage of, of guns and homes. And we've, in addition to some of that state work, while we may see some roadblocks at the federal level, the community work and the community engagement is so important and that violence prevention work in areas like Oakland, Milwaukee, uh, Richmond, Virginia, we'll, we're seeing so much good work be done that we can't forget

Speaker 5: 5:58

about how important local communities are to this gun violence prevention work we do too.

JJ: 6:03

Well, and that gets us really to sort of the meat of why everyone is here today. Although, you know an excuse to hang out with Chris and JPS, you know, when I always will take, but is that we're here specifically to talk about, you know, what Brady did this year? Well, let me rephrase that. Some of what Brady did this year, we did what Brady did this year. I think we'd be trapped in this little Harry Potter studio for quite awhile. Hours and hours and hours. And we have work to do. We will have so much work to do. So just, you know, some highlights of what we did. But I think maybe even more importantly for our listeners, you know, where, where's Brady going in 2020 what do we want to have happen? So I'm going to kick right to you, Chris, right off the bat. And so for our listeners, one of the questions we get asked a lot is, you know, what is sort of the history of Brady, because we mentioned it, I think a lot in passing.

Speaker 5: 6:52

Well, obviously the namesake, it's more than just a name. Jim and Sarah Brady are the founders of this organization and they got engaged because Jim Brady was shot in the line of duty while serving as the press secretary for Ronald Reagan. He and Sarah were both gun owners, continued to be gun owners, they're Republicans, but they were tired of gun violence in this country, obviously for deeply personal reasons. So the history of Brady is the achievement of something that everyone thought was impossible at the time. And it took a little time, six years in seven votes, but that's the Brady law that just celebrated its 26th year anniversary policy. Obviously it continues to be a huge component of what we do at the state and federal level. But as JP said, we have communities across this country that experience every day gun violence as a reality. So we're much more engaged. And this is really an evolution in supporting communities to really find tools and mechanisms to prevent gun violence, to understand the flow of crime guns into their communities and to stop the flow of crime guns into those communities. That's really our crime guns work. And that's hugely important. But what's really exciting for me about the last year is the engagement that we've had through end family fire and a variety of other activities with gun owners, with veterans, with law enforcement. We're seeing a record number of gun owners join this organization and be engaged in this debate. And I'm so happy about that because Brady is United against gun violence. In order to solve this epidemic, we need all Americans and red States and blue States, whether you own guns or not to be part of this conversation. And so the exciting thing for me is to see a recognition that Brady is that organization that has a home for everyone.

JJ: 8:42

I feel like it's sort of the same way in gun violence prevention. We're not anti-gun. We're not programmed for nobody.

Speaker 5: 8:49

No, we're not anti gun at all. And we recognize the rich heritage of guns in this country and the reality is we have over 380 million guns in this country and more guns than people. So we have to recognize that gun ownership, while it's declining, many people do have guns in their home. They're 4.6 million children who live in homes with loaded and unsecured guns and that we want to speak to the reality of that and make sure that if people are choosing to have guns in the home that they're safely stored. It's really that simple.

JP: 9:22

And we say a lot that Brady is the only organization that works across Congress, courts and communities uniting gun owners and non gun owners alike. Can you tell us why Brady is really the organization doing that work?

Speaker 5: 9:36

I, that's a great question, JP. I mean, gun violence in America is an epidemic, right? And if you look at an epidemic, you understand that you have to understand the causes of an epidemic. So about 40,000 people a year are killed by gun violence in this country. More than 80,000 are shot. And it's not all the same kind of violence. About 60% of all gun deaths in America are suicide, a lot of smaller portion are homicide is smaller portions. Still our unintentional injury of children with guns in the home. You want to focus on solutions that attack each part of that problem. And there's a policy piece of it, there's an enforcement piece of it in the courts and there's also social norm change engagement on the solutions like end family fire. So when we say we work at grass Congress, courts and communities, that's really the message we're sending and we have programs that attack each elements of this epidemic of gun violence and try to solve those, those issues that are causing homicide versus causing suicide versus causing domestic violence, et cetera. Yeah, I love that about us. I feel like it's sort of, we have somebody at every point on, almost increasingly at every, almost every geographical point in the U S but at every, at every factor that affects gun violence. Brady's doing something to help. Yes. And I think it also, and JP can can speak to this, there's so many people who want to be engaged in this cause an increasing number of Americans are saying, enough, how do I get engaged? And obviously getting engaged at the ballot box is one thing. Lobbying lawmakers at the federal and state level is another thing. But people are hungry for community engagement. How do I talk to my neighbors, my friends, my coworkers around this issue. And we want to recognize and honor that and find ways to act to activate people where they are comfortable and have them be part of the cause. And then so maybe this is a great time to, I thought it would be wonderful for, for folks. Chris, if you could just give sort of a brief overview. I know this is really unfair question to ask of you, but you know, what did Brady do and Congress, what did Brady do in the courts and what did Brady do in communities? Maybe just examples of each. Well obviously there's a lot that was done in Congress, but the particular victory that is a cause for great celebration for everyone here and in the movements as a whole is the$25 million in funding for CDC research that was approved by the house and Senate. Appropriators not yet signed into law, but we believe that it, it very soon will be that was a tremendous amount of effort and work. And I think that the fact that in 2018 the voters elected a gun violence prevention majority in the house of representatives allowed and facilitated that to happen because we had the house appropriations really leading the way to secure that funding. So I think it's also a shot in the arm for all of us who are out there organizing, making things happen and who went to the ballot box. So that's my number one reference for Congress for the last year. In the courts there were, frankly, too many cases to even name, but one of the ones that I think is really important because it shows the precedent setting role that Brady legal has played and continues to play over 30 years. O ur, o ur cases in which we're bringing legal action against armslist. com, and as we know, Arm's List is a seller of guns over the internet where you can go on and click private sale and click through and answer a series of questions about whether or not you're a felon, accept the terms--and of course there's no scrutiny of this--and find guns like AR fifteens that can be sold, no questions asked on a cash basis and we're bringing legal cases to shut down and stop that activity. Yeah. The facts and circumstances of the cases that legal brings are incredibly tragic. People who are victims of domestic violence, whose ex spouses were prohibited purchasers who were able to get the guns in this way. So those cases I think are really, really important. And then on the community work, there's really so much t hat it's hard to choose, which is my favorite, but the work of team enough I'm so proud of and this executive c ouncil that we have, u h, just incredibly diverse, so committed group of young people have done training with March for our lives of more than a hundred now. Advocates who are trained to go talk to members of Congress, go talk to their state representatives. And the idea here is this is a lifelong investment in the next generation of gun violence prevention activists. And if any of the listeners were to meet any one of these individuals, frankly they'd just be blown away. These are incredibly impressive next generation leaders for our c ause. So

JP: 14:34

there's nothing that has made me more proud to work at Brady than watching team enough students go toe to toe with sit in Congress, men and women about policy issues, about the importance to pass gun violence prevention legislation. And I sometimes wish that the Congress people would allow us to film those interactions so that we could show them to everybody. But these students are really the future of our political system in America.

JJ: 15:01

Yeah, I remember you talking about all of the, the team enough lobbying collective that went and really fought for the CDC funding and then you know, to then see that funding come through and to happen. And again, it's sort of, it's the ripples of, you know, we do work in Congress, we do work in courts, we do work in communities. But so much of that work overlaps as well. It's not that we're all in little separate towers.

JP: 15:23

Well, yeah, lobbying in Capitol Hill, while it may be important at the federal level, those same students are now able to go to their local school boards. They're local and get resolution, get resolutions passed, and really fight against things like arming teachers in schools so that there really is a, an overlapping effect between all this work we're doing here.

JJ: 15:43

I have to be the Debbie downer every single episode. I apologize, but you know, is there anything that we really wanted in 2019 that didn't come true beyond the fact that all of the great work that happened in gun violence prevention was overshadowed by impeachment?

Speaker 5: 15:55

Yes, I have to admit we want things to happen faster than they're happening and it's a frustration that Congress, that the house of representatives passed two important bills that would expand the Brady background check system and allow more time for background checks and ensure that guns are not sold after three days when no background check has come back and those bills that are supported by huge proportion of America remain pending on Mitch McConnell's desk. That's a great frustration of mine and something that I'm asked about every time I go out and talk, no matter where I am. I just came back from Arkansas and talked at the university of Arkansas and folks were just incredulous about why that's still pending. So that's a, that's a frustration, but I certainly hope that will change in 2020 I remain hopeful that we'll continue to raise our voices and that the Senate will see the wisdom in enacting these laws.

JP: 16:52

And the background check system connects so closely to the legacy of our organization, Brady and the Brady bill, which was passed in the 90s have those background checks proven to be effective at saving lives?

Speaker 5: 17:03

Tremendously effective. Yes. We know that over 3 million sales of guns to prohibited purchasers have been stopped. So the background check system, and that's real, right? Those are purchasers who were convicted felons who were prohibited from buying guns because the Brady law was in effect. So that's a, that's a material savings of life that is hard to quantify and we're incredibly proud of that. We're also frustrated with some of the failures to actually really bolster this system because it's the best defense we have to ensure that dangerous people don't have easy access to guns.

JJ: 17:43

And so again, another unfair question, I should stop doing this to the person who runs the organization. I work, you know, is

Speaker 5: 17:50

it possible, I guess to have a quote unquote Goodyear and gun violence prevention and if so, you know, it was 2019 a good year. Was it a bad year? Is it possible to quantify in that way? Well, we exist for one purpose, which is basically to put ourselves out of business and it's hard to tell in any given year how much progress we're making. We do know that having better policies as part of the answer, having better enforcements as part of the answer and engagement with communities is part of the answer. We've talked about all of the ways that we've done that. I think once we get more of the data, what I really want to see, what would make a good year for me is knowing that there was a decrease in gun violence in the year in which we were operating. And unfortunately, historically what we've seen and the, there's lagging data as you all know on this, but gun violence in America is rising and part of the reason for that is not the gun laws don't work, but we need to have national standards. And national expansion of the Brady law would make a big difference and we need to engage with people who have guns in the home to ensure safe storage is a reality. We know that for example, 60% of all gun deaths are suicide. Having a gun in the home makes the risk of suicide five times more. It's that kind of education and understanding that we need to make sure is the national baseline, and I know if that happens meaningfully, we will achieve our goal of reducing gun deaths and injuries in this country. That's what we exist to do

JP: 19:22

and I think one way in which we could see that there has been notable improvement in 2019 has simply been in the conversations between presidential candidates on the issue of gun violence prevention, where we've seen in debates on their policy plans on, on each of the top campaigns, websites, gun violence prevention is one of the biggest issues. And instead of being scared to talk about ways in which we can make our communities safer, presidential candidates now want to be leading on the issue and want to be creating laws and pushing agendas that will no longer treat the issue like the third rail that some presidential candidates treated like in the past.

Speaker 5: 20:01

Yeah, and it wasn't that long ago. I mean I talk to elected officials who remember the days when they were running for office and they just hoped they weren't asked about their position on guns. It's a very different world now and we have candidates running and winning on both sides of the aisle who are championing this issue and I think that's really, really critical and a big part of that is also that young people, especially people between the ages of 18 and 24 list climate change and gun violence as their top two issues. They really are leading the way on this and making a huge difference for our movements and politicians are paying attention. I think one of my biggest wishes is that more gun owners in 2020 join this movement, more hunters, more sportsman. This is an organization that represents your interests. We believe in responsible gun ownership. We understand that. That's so important. That's what Jim and Sarah Brady were all about, but with that ownership comes responsibility. Yeah. I think people forget a lot that like Jim Brady owned guns. Yes, Sarah Brady's dad was an FBI agent. You know, I think that there was a a long campaign by the national rifle association to attempt to paint any organization that talked about responsible practices that embraced things like background checks. As you know, a lefty organization. That's certainly absolutely not the case. We're proud of our foundation as an organization led by Republicans who achieved a bipartisan federal law. That's the law of the land and we continue to preserve that heritage. We want, we want to continue to be a bipartisan organization that focuses on Congress, courts and communities.

JJ: 21:43

So JJ, do you have any resolutions for 2020 I know that like getting the podcast off the ground was a great start in 2019 I do what I can, so I would love to just see our podcast increase. It's been great to hear from listeners about things that they like and don't like about the podcast. It's been wonderful to see more and more people every single week tune into the podcast. It's been wonderful to hear people who wouldn't necessarily go, Ooh, gun violence prevention podcast. That's what I need. But like when I go to the elliptical, you know, after work, but to be like, Hey, this is really useful. My thing is, is that for 2020 I would love to increasingly get more unique voices on the podcast. There's so many aspects of gun violence and so many communities impacted by gun violence that we have barely even touched, you know, the tip of the iceberg on just because of time. You know, there's so many survivors whose stories we want to talk to. There's just so many activists doing amazing work. So that's my goal for the, for 2020 is just, I think to continue to churn out quality content, but to keep showing more and more aspects of gun violence. And Chris, do you have any resolutions for 2020

Speaker 5: 22:52

many resolutions? I don't really do resolutions. I have aspirational goals for 2020

JJ: 22:59

[inaudible] down and we're talking professionally, right? Cause personally I've got like a thousand things I want to accomplish that include that like start with like no longer drinking as much coffee and well

Speaker 5: 23:12

the point and aspirational goals JJ is that you put things on at the beginning of the list that you know are very certain to occur. So for example, for my professional aspirational goals, I will include the general assembly in Virginia passing gun violence prevention legislation, which is 99.9% assured to happen. I will also have on the list, Mitch McConnell moving HR aid and HR 1112 it may not be quite as high as the first one and it's momentum and there's so many things that will, I think be able to accomplish overall. What I'd really like to see is coverage of our issue and the media and news in a more in depth kind of way. I think that it's been a frustration of mine leading Brady, that the only time that we really get on the news and talk about this issue as a nation is after a mass shooting. And obviously mass shootings are absolutely appalling, but a hundred people a day are dying from gun violence in communities all across this country, especially black and Brown communities. And those stories are not told, they're not shared in the same way. And those, that loss of life doesn't matter any less. It isn't any less appalling. I'd love for us to see it's my top wish for 2020 really take a lead role in helping amplify those stories and helping amplify the simple, sometimes simple and straightforward solutions that we need to invest in to really try and reduce gun violence in communities all across this country where right now, where, where they're living is determining if they live. And that's not an America that I think any of us can take pride in. How about you JP? I'm going to make you follow up that Chris just showed me up there with a beautifully eloquently put together thing. So now it's your turn.

JP: 25:07

Well, just one thing I want to say before I get into my resolution is how about getting some more questions at the democratic debate about gun violence prevention since it is the number one issue for democratic voters right now. And but my, I guess you can hear a little bit about what my resolution is from what I've been talking about over the last five minutes, but as to elect a gun violence prevention precedent in the United States because it's been an issue that even Barack Obama didn't prioritize in his presidency. But I think that if we are able to elect somebody who will make sure to put cabinet members who care about the issue to make sure that law enforcement is focusing on the ways in which to enforce gun violence prevention in the right way, that will save lives. I think that we could see a drastic change on this issue. And we have a lot to work, a lot of work to do in registering voters in making sure that the issue doesn't get put aside after the democratic primary. And I think that there's a lot of good change to be done, but we have a lot of work to do before November, 2020

Speaker 5: 26:13

how about let's discuss Brady as if it's the fourth person in the room. Chris. So does Brady have any 2020 resolutions? I think it's really expanding on the works that we have done. I think very effectively across the country. We do want to ensure that we're fully engaging, as I said before, gun owners, veterans, law enforcement as part of this movement and cause. So our goal is to continue that work across all of the States. Having just come back from Arkansas for example, there were so many people who want to get more engaged and really just need simple steps to help them do that. So part of Brady's goals is to find ways, as I said before, to really meet people where they are and allow them to engage in end family fire. Talk about that at their schools with their law enforcement officers who do community policing, get billboards in their communities on the issue and engage that way. If they want to do advocacy, we can also allow them to do that. We want to really mobilize and continue the momentum for our movements and Brady across Congress, courts and communities wants to find ways to do that even more effectively than we have in 2020. And I ha we have some exciting plans to help make that happen.

JJ: 27:33

Yeah. I, I think that's the hardest part about sort of the year winding down at Brady is that everyone is still running around, frantically going, we've got so much left to finish and so much we still need to do it. But also so many fun, exciting new projects. I think people want to jump on for 2020.

Speaker 5: 27:49

Yeah, there's a lot. There's a lot happening. And uh, we're all of us including Brady sitting here separately, uh, about what, uh, 2020 has to offer. And I hope that JPS wish comes true because a gun violence prevention president could make a huge difference on this issue.

JJ: 28:11

So on the last and final note, what are some resolutions or aspirations or sort of life goals that our listeners who are like, you know what, 2020 is the year that I get involved in gun violence prevention. 2020 is the year that I say I've had enough of lockdown drills. I've had enough of being scared of going to movie premieres. I've had enough of being worried when I send my kid out to a play date, I'm done. I want to do something about it. What are some things that they can resolve

Speaker 5: 28:37

to do? That's where I would start of course is a Brady united.org do a little bit of research. There's so much that we now have on offer. Younger folks can get involved in team enough, start a chapter if there is an already one a nearby. We also have chapters all across this country that are focused on many of the programs and advocacy that I've been talking about. Figuring out what aspect of gun violence is causing the most anxiety for you and figure out how you can connect with that in your community or at the state legislature and reach out to Brady. We're happy to work with you and make sure that your voice is heard. I think one of the biggest things that I find going out and talking to folks is, well, what I, what I do won't matter. This problem seems so big. How can I be a part of it? The reality is every voice truly does count. We saw this, right, JP, with the engagement that people who had never been a part of the cause before who were trained through team enough and went out and passed resolutions at their school boards because they were afraid of teachers being armed and changed, that every person truly can make a difference and that's the message that I really like to impart.

JJ: 29:54

Well, let's hope for a

Speaker 5: 29:55

happy new year and an end to gun violence. Yes, we always are. Should we should be. Cheers to that. That's cheers to that. Here we go. Chris gave up coffee guy. So she's cheering the water. Good job. I feel very hydrated for the first time in 2019

Speaker 6: 30:16

[inaudible]

JJ: 30:16

now, someone who unfortunately does not get to ring in the new year with, you know, the clinking of glasses and the wearing of fun party hats is the person and this unbelievable Buttes segment. Now I'm a tell you why your oven is not meant for gun storage. Not at all. In fact, it's a recipe for disaster. Yes, yes. I, I, I'm actually really proud of that joke. But Hey, I'm making a podcast on new years. Don't be mean to me. So a father in Ohio wanted to be a good responsible parent and gun owner. Great. In order to keep his revolver out of his children's hands, though he hid the weapon in the broiler of his oven. Not so great. Why? Well, one ovens are not safe storage areas. And two, he didn't tell his girlfriend about the hiding spot before she started heating the oven, you know, to do some holiday baking later that night. And um, guns don't do well in heat. She was alerted to the fact that the gun was there with a bang following which her boyfriend then yelled for everyone to, you know, run for cover. The dad who had hit the gun headed for the broiler himself where he was both burned and struck by two bullets as he tried to secure the weapon. Luckily he's okay now. How did he get strict? My bullets while apparently fun fact when a loaded gun gets hot, sometimes it can spin as it fires. To quote the local police chief Joe Mackie quote, don't store your guns anywhere that's hot. Don't put your gun in an appliance. They make things for that and an oven is not one of those things. In 30 years I have not had anybody shot by an appliance and quote, well set chief Mackey that folks is why you should properly secure your weapons. There are so many options out there to do that, but your oven should not be one of them.

Speaker 6: 31:59

[inaudible]

JJ: 32:00

now unfortunately I have to move from sort of the unbelievable but news into the unbelievable and awful news. Our last news wrap up of 2019 isn't a happy one. 2019 has been the biggest year for mass killings since the 1970s we lost 211 people this year and 41 mass killings nationwide, and that number comes from a compilation by the associated press, USA today and Northeastern university. These groups defined a mass killing as one in which four people died, not including the suspect, so we're not even talking about people who are injured in shootings and let's not forget that mass shootings where we've lost these 211 people are only a teeny tiny fraction of of all gun violence related incidents in the United States. There has also been a 26% increase in intimate partner gun homicides since 2010 also according to a study done by Northeastern university, a 26% increase, most of which came after 2014 so intimate partner homicides are deaths in which a person kills their spouse or an intimate partner and have increased every single year between 2014 and 2017 by 2017 we've had 2,237 intimate partner homicides across the country. You should feel safe with your partner, with your family and it's clear that increasingly people can't feel that way. Also, another place you should feel safe, your place of worship this week, Brady joins the West free Ray church of Christ community and all of the citizens of white settlement, Texas and mourning the murder of Tony Wallace and Richard White during a church service. Brady and the nation is outraged that this preventable Octa violence has torn apart two families and also wounded the West Ray Ray church community. While it makes sense, right? That people call for greater security at places of worship following an attack like this. Those ideas are often based on the premise that these attacks are unavoidable, but we know they're not right. We know that adding guns to a situation does not prevent violence. We know that adding guns in doesn't make places of worship safer. It it doesn't keep guns out of the hands of individuals that are a danger to themselves or danger to others. And a majority of Texans, including a majority of techs and Democrats, Texas and Republicans, Texas, independence, all of them support policies that achieve that goal. Things like extreme risk protection orders, the herbs we talk about so much expanded background checks on gun sales to to keep guns out of the hands of those who should not possess them. Those things help prevent violence. They protect citizens, but they haven't been passed into law. Now finally, I did promise that we would end on a happy note or the happiest that we get on this podcast. So, as Chris mentioned before, more than 20 years after Congress stopped funding gun violence research, they have now managed to pass a federal spending bill, which includes$25 million to research gun violence. This is huge because since the last time funding was included for the CDC to study this, more than 600,000 Americans have died from gunshot wounds. This super desperately needed funding will be divided between the national institutes of health and the centers for disease control and prevention. Now for a long time there had been private foundations and some States like California who have tried to fill the gap since Congress cut off research funding for gun violence, you know, but it's been incredibly difficult, if not impossible for them to match the resources of the federal government or you know, the super unique qualifications that the NIH and the CDC have in terms of their ability to gather data. And which by the way, are agencies specifically dedicated for protecting the nation's health. Now, these agencies won't be deciding if America should ban assault weapons or require universal background checks or even make any decisions on gun laws. But the work of our nation's leading health researchers is super important to providing those who do make those decisions. You know, Congress, state legislators, and most importantly voters with the information they need to make informed decisions. So, Hey, here's to a 2020 with lots of good data

Speaker 6: 36:20

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Speaker 5: 36:21

just for listening. As always, Brady's lifesaving work and Congress, the courts and communities across the country is made possible. Thanks to you. For more information on Brady or how to get involved in the fight against gun violence, please like and subscribe to the podcast. Get in touch with us@bradyunited.org or on social at Brady buzz. Be brave and remember, take action not side.

Brady music: 37:04

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Speaker 6: 37:09

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