This is an all ears English podcast, episode 1569.
Enough with thoughts and prayers.
Our perspective on guns in the us.
Welcome to the All Ears English podcast downloaded more than 200 million times.
Are you feeling stuck with your English?
We'll show you how to become Fearless and fluent by focusing on connection, not perfection.
With your American hosts Lindsay McMahon, the English adventurer, and Michelle Kaplan, the New York radio girl.
Coming to you from Colorado and New York City, USA.
And to get real time transcripts right on your phone and create your personalized vocabulary list, try our iOS app.
Start your seven day free trial at allearsenglish.com forward slash bonuses.
We just had two more mass shootings in the U.S.
Today, Lindsay and Michelle talk about their perspective on what needs to be done to end these shootings and the epidemic of gun violence in the US.
Do you ever feel like your English is good but not quite where you want it to be?
Maybe you can have conversations, but you still hesitate when expressing complex ideas.
Maybe you know what you want to say. but you can't always say it naturally.
If that sounds familiar, our B2 English fluency course was designed for you.
You'll learn how to speak more naturally, express yourself with confidence and finally stop feeling stuck at the intermediate level.
This week, you can save $50 on our basic plan or save $100 on our personal coach plan.
Go to allearsenglish.com slash B2.
That's allearsenglish.com slash letter B number two.
Hey, Lindsay, how are you?
Hey, Michelle, doing pretty good.
But it seems like today we're actually talking about a more somber topic, aren't we?
Yeah, this is this is a serious topic today, guys.
So, you know, our tone is a little bit different and you definitely notice that.
So, Lindsay, I mean, what are we talking about today?
Today we're talking about guns in America, in the United States of America.
So yeah, I mean, unfortunately, you guys might have heard, but we just had another mass shooting.
And it happened actually close to where I live.
It happened in Boulder, Colorado, which is only 30 minutes north.
And it happened at the same grocery store that I go to.
Not the same one, but the chain.
The King Soopers is the name of the grocery store which I go to every week.
Actually, I'm going there later today. to the one in here in Denver, in my neighborhood.
So this is something that could have happened to any of us, right?
It's so close to home, literally and metaphorically close to home.
So Michelle, what did you feel when you heard about that?
And the other one, what happened with the other shooting too?
Yeah, there was a shooting in Atlanta.
Um, They went around to different places.
Was it massage parlors?
Yeah.
Yeah.
And many of the... people who were killed, uh, were Asian, um, Asian Americans, or I don't, um, yeah.
Yeah.
And I maybe not America.
I'm not sure.
Um, I'm sorry for not knowing, but, um, Sorry, Lindsay, I felt bad that I just said that.
What?
That's fine.
Don't worry.
No, we don't know.
We don't know all the people that were involved.
It's okay.
Yeah.
So there has been a lot of kind of anti-Asian hate.
And I think some of it stems, sadly, out of the coronavirus pandemic.
And that's kind of a connected issue, a separate issue, but it seems to have collided with our issues with guns.
Yeah.
Right.
Right.
Exactly.
Exactly.
So so you asked me how I felt when I heard about this.
Yeah.
How do you feel, Michelle?
Oh.
I feel like I am almost in a hopeless, feeling hopeless.
Yeah.
That's kind of how I felt, honestly.
It was like, okay, I mean, it was just like, ugh.
It's just so frustrating and I don't want to say that it feels hopeless, because I don't say that to minimize it, because each time I get very upset.
I mean, I watch the news.
I was watching – I don't know if you saw on CNN that – that girl with her father at her wedding and it's just like you know when you, when you really hear the stories.
I mean it's.
It unfortunately happens so frequently in this country that it's almost easy to just imagine, like you know, to get desensitized to it.
But I don't feel desensitized to it.
I just feel...
Very frustrated, very frustrated.
And, to be honest, every time there's something like that, sometimes I say oh, I wish I could move.
To be honest,
Yeah, so you would like to be able to leave the country, you mean?
Yeah, sometimes I do feel that.
I mean, maybe that sounds like...
Really extreme, but sometimes I feel scared.
That's how I feel.
What about you?
Yeah, totally.
Totally, Michelle.
It's enraging.
And I do feel hopeless and I feel helpless.
And it just feels like we're on the cycle, right?
Okay, this happened a few weeks ago.
It's on the news all day for a week.
And then we have people come on CNN.
We say we're going to do something.
We propose new laws to the Congress.
Nothing changes.
And then it happens again.
Yeah.
And I mean, just to show you, I mean, we've talked about this on the show before.
I mean, this isn't a new topic.
I mean, you know, we've talked about how guns are so much in our vocabulary.
Very we've talked about the situation.
I mean, so one episode if you want guys, I mean, put put like gun into the search bar.
But one episode I found that we did was 729, which was how to enter a conversation in English with guns blazing.
So it's really a part of our part of our vocabulary.
And Lindsay, I mean, you really learned a lot.
You've learned a lot about gun control and how it is in the U.S., right?
Yeah.
So guys, on my road trip which is what you get to do when you join our Connected Communicator course I actually did an entire module.
We did an entire module on gun control in the U.S.
So I went to a gun show in Amarillo, Texas, and I interviewed members of the NRA.
I interviewed a professor who was selling t-shirts about guns there.
I interviewed lots of people.
We took these interviews into the course.
So you guys actually get to use them to understand American culture and to practice your English skills.
So So we've done a lot about this.
But Michelle, every time it happens I mean especially after Sandy Hook I kind of feel like that's where the helplessness, hopelessness comes in.
If we couldn't change the laws after.
I don't know what was it 25 or 30 like five-year-olds were murdered guys.
If you don't know what happened at sandy hook right, that was a mass shooting that happened in an elementary school in connecticut.
A guy went in and killed all these little kids.
If we couldn't change anything after that, i kind of feel like we'll never be able to change anything.
Yeah, it's just – I mean I went – I mean there was a shooting then, I think Valentine's Day three years ago, at a high school, and that was Parkland.
Parkland, yeah.
And that was in the high school.
And then after that, people started getting very passionate again.
And all these amazing kids from this high school were really getting very active in the community.
And there was a march.
I think it was called the March for Our Lives.
And I actually went in my area.
I went to it.
And it's just, you know, then I don't know.
I don't know, Lindsay.
I mean the thing that you always hear guys, the expression they always hear is thoughts and prayers, right?
Hmm.
What is that?
What is that, Lindsay?
You hear that a lot with this?
This enrages me.
It enrages me because this, in my mind, is what one political party, who is everyone who is basically against stricter gun control laws.
This is what they go to.
To avoid the conversation of changing something.
So every time this happens, it's very predictable.
You know one party will try to put forth more rules and stricter gun control, background checks and no machine guns.
Why should I? a citizen ever be able to have a machine gun.
There's no reason for it.
These are common sense gun laws.
Then the other party and the NRA will say, this is not the time to take action.
This is the time to pray for the families and to honor the dead.
No, it's the time to take action, actually.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's really it's so.
I mean, I mean, do you think, with Biden in charge, do you think there we have any chance?
I think we have a better chance than we did with the last administration, obviously.
But, you know, I was having this conversation with a friend last night.
It's interesting because it comes down to our Constitution.
Right.
If you just talk about the citizens right to own a gun in the US, it's the Second Amendment.
And then you talk about, can you change an amendment?
I asked my friend this last night do you think that we'll never be able to change any amendment in the US Constitution right?
Because a lot of times what people will argue is that it's a slippery slope.
Even people that are, you know, Pro-safety, pro-gun safety.
They're very liberal.
They often will say you know, we shouldn't try, we can't change amendments, because then someone could come along and change the First Amendment, freedom of speech or freedom of the press or these other things that matter so much.
They're so important if we start changing amendments.
Fantastic.
I mean, that's a dangerous, dangerous place to go.
But I don't know.
I mean, isn't it true that a country could outgrow certain amendments?
That no longer makes sense.
I honestly don't think anyone should own a gun.
I actually, I have a very extreme perspective on this.
I don't think anyone should have a gun in their possession, any citizen.
Yeah, I'm not really... I'm pretty extreme on it too, actually, Lindsay.
And I feel very much... I feel pretty much the same way that you... I mean, I...
Yeah, I'm pretty extreme on it, too, actually.
And I think I mean, or if just getting a gun has to be so much harder and there has to be so much, there has to be a really good reason to have it.
And I I don't know.
I just I I'm embarrassed.
I'm also embarrassed when it happens.
Um, because I know that we're known for this and and that we like, can't get our stuff together with this.
And, you know, I, I just, I, I am very, I'm very embarrassed when it happens.
I mean, and I don't know.
Um...
I don't know what the answer, but as far as changing amendments yeah, I was watching something where it said if you would just add I don't know what I was watching but add a tagline to the amendment of why to have the gun.
And when we think about...
And why it was in the Constitution.
I believe it was more so about you know keeping safe from the government if the government ever tried any funny business and you know that people could have the power, but not for this.
Yeah, it's really not a lot of the, you know, the amendments outdated.
I actually know a couple of people who were in the Las Vegas shooting like they were at that concert.
They were getting shot at.
They didn't get shot.
Thank God.
But they were jumping over people that had been shot running out of the of the concert.
Yeah.
I mean, this is getting so close to home, like we're getting to the point where everyone is knowing someone who's involved, who has been a victim or has been close to it.
And so I mean the two big things on the docket that our government has been trying to pass especially, to be honest, Democrats have been trying to push these bills forward are a couple things right.
The Background Checks Act right, which I think a lot of.
I think both Democrats and Republicans support this, don't you think, Michelle?
Yeah, I think there are.
That's the thing is.
I think that there are a lot of people that from both sides that support these things, but I don't know why it can't Something about the Senate, I think.
I know why.
I think it's that the NRA gets in there.
They get their teeth in there.
The National Rifle Association is a special interest group.
They have lobbyists.
They're powerful.
And they are a club where people pay money into the club to be a member, gun owners.
And yeah, they have a lot of power over senators.
Yeah.
Yeah.
It's this power.
It's the money.
I mean, so this background checks act, like they're trying to get that through.
I believe the house has approved both of these a background checks act and the enhanced background checks act of 2021.
Okay.
So these are, I mean, guys, we can give you a link to an article.
You can read more about them.
But, you know, being able to, I mean, Lindsay, what is a gun show loophole?
Don't you hate it when you're trying to buy something online and when you finally make all of your selections and get ready to check out, your credit card is nowhere to be found.
When this happens, I love seeing the purple pay button at the top of the checkout, because I know I won't have to dig for my card.
This simple purple button is one of the best features in all of the online shopping world and can make a huge difference in sales for your online business.
Shopify is the e-commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world and 10 of all e-commerce in the US.
From household names like Skims and Thrive Cosmetics to brands just getting started.
Get the word out like you have a marketing team behind you.
Easily create email and social media campaigns wherever your customers are scrolling or strolling.
Best yet.
Shopify is your e-commerce expert, with world-class expertise in everything from managing inventory to international shipping, to processing returns and beyond.
See fewer carts go abandoned and more sales go... with Shopify and their Shop Pay button.
Sign up for your $1 per month trial today at Shopify.com slash A-E-E.
Go to Shopify.com slash A-E-E.
That's S-H-O-P-I-F-Y.com slash A-E-E.
Yeah.
I mean, this is a huge loophole that if you show up to a gun show and you buy a gun And I went to a gun show to interview people, like I said, in Amarillo Texas
You can pretty much just buy that gun as far as I know.
There's no Compared to going to a shop and having your name looked up, and I'm not sure how the background check works.
But
It's pretty easy to get past that by going to a gun show and buying from a private seller.
Massive loophole that needs to be closed up for sure.
Right, right, right.
And you know, part of this is like.
You know again, guys.
So this is USA Today and CBS News.
You know where I was looking into some of this, but you know the waiting period.
You know again.
I'm not sure that I understand it completely, but if the background check isn't complete or something about a waiting period, it was a little bit tough for me to understand the whole bill, to be honest.
Yeah.
So but there should be a waiting period.
I think other countries have this.
I mean a lot of other countries, I think, don't even like necessarily allow the sale of guns or they have much stricter.
But of course, why should you be able to get one right away?
I also feel like we should be able to do a lot more with smart guns and smart technology.
I mean, if we can have a smartwatch that can sense when we are asleep, falling asleep, how much sleep we get, why couldn't a smartwatch sense if we're angry or something and shut the gun off?
Why couldn't that sense?
Oh, that's interesting.
I don't know.
Oh, wow.
Lindsay.
But this is not...
I mean, not like I could build this myself.
No, but that's an interesting idea.
I mean, how technology is there a way that technology could help us?
Right.
Like vital signs.
Vital signals that the technology could get from our body and say no, it's shut off or certain things you'd have to do.
Even just I know they're working on like to verify ownership, that that person who passed that background check could own that gun and could use that gun.
But even going further into vital signs and signals of the body.
I don't know.
It'd be interesting.
That is interesting.
I mean, then there's also, you know, Biden's looking into, you know, assault weapons ban.
So that's the other big thing.
You know, Biden wants to ban them.
But there was some there was a ban, I believe, that was started in 1994.
But it's not there anymore.
Right, Lindsay?
Yeah.
Yeah, I wonder what I'm trying to think of why this went away.
Guys, you'll have to research this yourself.
It could be a little project after today's episode.
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
Was it under Clinton that I guess it was passed in 94?
I don't know.
But, you know, it's it's crazy.
I mean on a fundamental level why does a, why does a citizen, a private citizen, ever need a weapon like that?
The MR or sorry, the AR where the bullets.
Yeah.
Yeah, the AR right, where the bullets are designed to spiral through your body to do more damage than just a rifle right.
Like, why do we need that?
There's absolutely no reason for a private citizen to have a military weapon.
Yeah.
But and then the thing is like apparently, in these two recent shootings correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that they both got the guns legally.
Sure.
Yeah, I think they probably did.
I mean, so that's part of the problem, too.
Yeah.
Yeah, it's just too easy.
I mean yeah, it's just like.
Oh yeah, somebody said I was watching something and somebody said you know, it shouldn't be easier to get a gun than it is to get your driver's license.
I mean, and I can even think like living here in Colorado.
You know, I was living on the East Coast New York and Boston for so long and things are a little different out here in Colorado.
Like I remember getting really angry back in the fall when we went to a brewery.
We go to breweries on Saturdays all the time after we hike, we get a beer.
We're sitting outside in the sun.
There's children, families, dogs, sunshine.
People are ordering food from a food truck and a guy gets out of the car and walks in with a gun on his holster.
And I'm like, OK, I'm sure this is a good guy.
I'm sure he's great.
I'm sure he has no intention of hurting anyone.
But why on earth do you need a gun in a brewery on a Sunday afternoon with children, dogs, families?
There's no reason.
A lot of people will.
They also use this other excuse that I think is ridiculous.
They say with a gun.
Exactly.
Exactly.
And that is total.
That's.
I do not buy that because most people are not.
Maybe there's the rare person that's going to stand up and save the people, but it's not going to happen most of the time.
Most people, I think, are usually going to run away.
That's probably your general like self-protection, right?
You're going to protect yourself.
You're going to run away.
And also like, you know, the shooting in Las Vegas.
How are you going to take that guy down?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
That's the thing.
A lot of these guys, a lot of these people, I mean, and I'm sorry to say, but they are mostly male.
They are male.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Yeah, they are male.
Um, but yeah, so when we say, Oh, take down that guy.
I'm not even not joking.
Like, I mean, I'm not just generalizing.
But, um, Yeah, how I don't I yeah, like, I don't know that you can stop.
You can't stop a mass shooting like with that kind of.
I mean yeah, so the whole Yeah.
He's shooting from the top of a hotel, the top floor of a hotel, a huge 100-story hotel.
You're never going to even see.
It's happening so fast.
You don't know where it's coming from.
You're just trying to save yourself.
Maybe you're grabbing someone next to you.
And I know that the people that I know that were in the shooting in Las Vegas.
They helped people right.
But they don't have the ability to take down the shooter.
No, absolutely not.
Absolutely not.
So...
Yeah.
Yeah.
So here we are again, Michelle.
Here we are.
I mean, you know, this episode for our listeners today is meant to be more of a stream of consciousness.
Just so you can get a glimpse of how we view this.
I mean, we have our own perspectives.
Not everyone agrees with us.
But this is a major problem in our country, Michelle.
It's a major problem.
And I'm really, honestly, I'm really, I'm really tired of it.
I'm really, really tired of it.
And I mean also, I mean this is really kind of gloomy but, like I think, in the I don't know about in other countries, but I just you know how we value lives.
You know like over 500000 people were killed, you know died from this pandemic so far.
And then, you know, this, that keeps on happening.
And it's almost like people.
It's like people I don't want to say people don't care, because that's really harsh, but it's like.
I don't know.
People don't seem to not nothing changes like nothing.
I don't know.
I think people basically get desensitized is what I'm saying.
For sure.
And then you could also bring this in other directions, this topic, right?
I mean, some people and this is very true.
I mean we have like a Columbine, we have a Sandy Hook, we have a Boulder event every day in certain cities in the US and around the world.
Detroit, I mean, certain cities, a lot of people die every day of gun violence, right?
So it's not just the occasional shooting that gets on the news.
It's happening all the time everywhere.
Right.
Right.
I mean, and also, you know, there are issues with guns.
It's not always the mass shootings, but even, you know unfortunately, suicide.
You know there's, you know guns gun, people die.
It's the leading reason of suicide in the U.S.
Yeah, yeah, for sure.
So guys, let us know what you think.
Let us know what you think could be done.
I'm curious in some solutions, right?
Some technology solutions, ideas, you know, come back to the blog for today's episode.
This is 1569.
Let us know the situation in your country with guns and let us know what you think we can do to solve it here in the US.
That would be cool.
Yeah, definitely.
Let us know.
I'm very curious to hear from our listeners.
Yeah, really good.
Yeah, this wasn't meant to be like oh, America's terrible episode, because you know, I don't feel that way.
There are many things I love about this country, but this is a huge stain on our record.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, I think luckily more money is going to the CDC now under Biden to protect.
This is a public health issue now.
I think the Biden administration is treating it as a public health issue, just like a disease, because it kind of is right.
It's like it's a pandemic.
So so I'm glad that we're treating it there.
I'm hopeful.
I'm hopeful, but I'm also a little not hopeful.
I don't know, Michelle.
Anyways, we got to get off the mic.
Anyway, we could keep going on this for a long time.
But anyway, guys, thanks for listening to a little bit of a toned down episode.
Very serious topic.
Very important, though.
Good stuff.
All right, Michelle, I'll talk to you soon.
Have a good one.
All right.
Bye.
Thanks for listening to all ears English.
Would you like to know your English level?
Take our two minute quiz.
Go to allearsenglish.com forward slash fluency score.
And if you believe in connection, not perfection, then hit subscribe now to make sure you don't miss anything.
See you next time.
