Reckonings
  • Home
  • About
  • Episodes
  • Subscribe
  • Connect
  • Support
  • Press
  • Home
  • About
  • Episodes
  • Subscribe
  • Connect
  • Support
  • Press
  Reckonings

R.

#10 || An unlikely friendship transforms the gun debate

5/3/2016

 

​"What really blinds people on both sides is thinking that it's either or: either we do nothing and put up with the horrendous tolls of firearm deaths and mass shootings, or we take all the guns away." That's public health expert and former CDC research director Mark Rosenberg, speaking to one of America’s most polarizing issues. Our country's fierce gun debate pits "both sides" against each other — proponents of stricter firearm regulation against gun rights advocates. But when it comes to finding solutions everyone can get behind, we have a major roadblock: there's been no federally funded scientific research on gun violence since 1996. That's when Republican Arkansas Congressman Jay Dickey, the NRA's so-called 'point man on the Hill,' spearheaded a bill that stripped the CDC of $2.6 million — the amount that had been funding Mark Rosenberg’s gun violence research.

Mark Rosenberg and Jay Dickey were on diametrically opposed sides of the gun debate, but fate took a twist. Their story a microcosm of what's so vitally needed in the arena of gun control, and our political arena beyond.

Friendly hint: listen til the very end and then enjoy this Daily Show sketch.

Short preview: Facebook

Full episode: ​​​iTunes || Stitcher || TuneIn​​ || Google Play ||​ PRX

    Categories

    All
    Abortion
    Bigotry
    Climate Change
    Coproduction
    Criminal Justice
    Drugs
    Electoral Politics
    Guns
    Health
    Liberal + Conservative
    Media + Truth
    Religion + Spirituality
    Sex
    Technology
    War + Terrorism
    Wealth + Poverty

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.