House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi answers questions about legislation to harden schools and

help prevent future school shootings.

Chris : A community,
as we all know, once again made victim by a school shooting
this time it was santa fe, texas, the high school there,
we have alexis wilson with us alexis is a senior
She was in the school last week.
She was there during the shooting thank God for her and her family,
she survived.
but lexis you care about this in a whole new way after seeing what happened to your
friends and classmates,
what do you wanna ask?
Alexis : hi, um:: i'd like to ask where does the government stand on arming in training our
teachers
hmm (0.1), @ much the way we use air marshals on airplanes.
Pelosi : thank you,lexis
please accept my , um, sympathy for the loss of friends that you may have lost at the
[school]
Alexis:[(xxx)]
Pelosi : and just tragedy that befell your school
I'm speaking for myself and and um : most of my colleagues on the Democratic side.
we do not think that that is the solution.
E-e we do think
e-e that we had testimony today was mentioning to Chris early we had testimony today
from children from a wide range of a schools e-e what e-e had um : tragedies, or just even
communities that have had tragedies,
and they were asking us um to have passed the common sense background checks
legislation,
to pass legislation that if you know that someone is uh can be problematic, that you can
report that in (0.2) different aspects of it and i know that it may be regional. and again,
 this is a -a following, a -a -a tragedy like this. All we wanna do is pray and for your ,
but I do not support arming teachers and the rest.
what some of the students would like to do though, is say, anyone who's going to be
armed should be trained.
And they came to my office last night, the kids from Florida and said, Can you help us
get training veterans know about weapons? maybe they could um :: train people who
want to buy a -a weapon
so that they um (2.0) then have to pass the background check, but at least have passed the
training.
so I would not be supportive a arm - arming teachers .
Chris : /You feel that there's a little bit of an either or a problem
with how we're trying to approach solutions first, let's be honest. We haven't gotten
anything done.
What killed me when I had to go down to Santa Fe again
was it's getting so hard to look in the eyes (0.1) of kids like Alexis are happy to meet her
because she's a senior, she's gonna go on with her life that god, she survived and she's got
better days in front of her, but their families,
every time [they're never gonna]
Pelosi : [They never been same]
Chris : be the same and nothing gets done about it because it seems if there's an either or (1.0)
will you put arm guards in the schools now we don't wanna talk about it let's not talk
about hardening the schools,
but the building were now the building that you work in
(0.1) the point of entry there is secure you don't walk in with a trench coat with the
shotgun underneath your jacket and get it, [you know this]
Audience : [((clap))]
Chris: it doesn't happen.
/You know it doesn’t have of the equation talk about universal background checks,
fine\.
talk about mental health, how to Identify them, the money for treatment,
but why either or why not make the schools safer? i know [it's a state issue]
Pelosi : [that is state issue]
Chris : but the free, you're gonna ask for money and that's where the federal government comes
in.
You could offer the money to make school so that when you go there as a guest and you
walk in, of course they'll have multiple points of grass for emergencies.
but you're gonna be looked at when you go in that school and you're not gonna walk in
with. the gun under your coat
Pelosi : (xxx) omnimbus bill we passed just- just few weeks ago, we have one point eight point
eight (xxx) six billion dollars in there for this purpose for schools to make –to give them
an opportunity to secure them.
um and those schools have to make those decisions,
but it isn't. um The children should not have to(0.1) be worried about going to school as a
place um that- that violence can occur that doesn't mean they shouldn't take the
precautions, um whether it's through infrastructure or whatever else they may decide that
they need.
but I don't think you should consider it in any way, an answer to what we have to do to
have responsible background checks for people um who want to have a gun. That - Most
people most people in the National Rifle Association have had background checks,
they they um they um they know what they're responsible for, but I don’t know in the end
the NRA is against background checks. There are other things that we can do in terms of
public policy and also in terms of of mental health that is very important and all of
this,um but this is not um this is not a total smartest board, is is you have to get to
systemically stop people from having guns who shouldn't have guns in the first place.
And [that's why... ]
Audience : [((clap))]
Chris : [so let's go one question. It's got a really questions] that's about to graduate from high
school and maryland. michael, thank you for joining this .
Nevet : thank you
leader pelosi,
you've indicated the gun safety will be a top priority of House Democrats over the next
[two years]
Pelosi : [yes ]
Nevet : however, while you served the Speaker of the House from 2007 to 2011,
gun safety was not a primary concern of your caucus or your party and no meaningful
gun reform was passed.
as the American people cast their ballots for the house of representatives this november.
Why should we believe that your priorities will have shifted?.
Pelosi : well, let me just say this, that we did do something. So when we had the majority,
and this whole next program, you know what this that's how the um after Virginia tech,
that was the big event at that time.
what was suggested that that we would have this program, this next program, national
how the how the localities give the information so that there is say a database where
people can check in to see if if somebody or should not have a gun.um We did that. Um
We strengthened it, we gave it more money and we recently gave it more money as well.
Um the um the world has changed since then. People are much more receptive um to
having a gun legislation. You have to have 60 votes in the senate,
remember that you have to 60 votes in the senate, and that is um a major obstacle to
getting many things done so-unless you think you can have 60 votes in the senate. It's
hard to pass legislation, but the -what was it look for then is what we did, which was the
um having the information of who had a gunner who shouldn't have a gun and and that
the next is a very important part of what we have now. but it certainly is not enough. We
only had (0.1) a time where we had two years with a president obama, and it was a
priority,
but we didn't win the election and so so we didn't get something else path. But that's you
know we should have um we can now I'm gonna tell you this, but in my friend go from
maryland. I'm from [Maryland too]
Chris : [is there]
Pelosi : /I'll tell you this,
(pause) /and I tell this to the kids all the time\
(pause) /I would rather pass\
(pause) /the background check\
(pause) /in the Congress (1.0)right now today\
 (pause) /than win the election\
(pause) [because it would save Doing it sooner [would save (xxx)]
Audience : [(clap)]
Pelosi : [would save (xxx)]
Audience : [(clap)]
Chris : /all right lets get to another issue here that's on people's minds last year, [president trump,
Pelosi : [ that usually ask
that’s question
Chris : @ well
Pelosi : @
Chris : /look. > we had two questions on the shootings because
(1.0)I don't know anything else that's consuming our culture with so much fear in a sense
of helplessness. And I heard my own kid, she's 15 years old, talking murder with her
friends about
/nonchalantly\ /okay.
well, /yeah, \this would happened at our school and I wonder who it would be and what
would I do, I guess I run this way and I wonder who be they're talking, who would it be,
And I'm sitting there
/what a failure as a parent.
/I feel like at a moment like that when my kid sees this as something that is likely that
happen
as –you know as anything else that happens in life so obviously, the need is [but]
Pelosi : [let me just]
said this one thing may 29th is a day when the students starting in Florida students, but
starting across the country are going to have a national registration day and it is with your
17, but you're gonna be 18 by the election in november.
You can register to vote.
So while they're still in school, they're having this massive registration drive across the
country.
 So if you want your views to be heard and people to pay attention, if you /vote, you
/count and /your voice is much more important and if you don’t so I urge everyone to
vote, all of us,
but especially the young people to give um force their voice by vote
Chris : so,[the participating vote]
Audience : [((clap))]