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Welcome to the Bullwark podcast. I'm Shirley Sikes. It is Monday, May 8, 2023 and once again,

we begin with a story like this. It's good happen anywhere in the United States. It could happen to you.

We're not immune from it and last night I was processing a lot of emotions. I was heartbroken.

Today I'm mad. Mental health didn't fire that gun. Those people were killed with bullets. I saw the bullets.

That's what killed those kids. Maybe he had a mental health issue. Maybe it was treatable.

But if that gun wasn't on the streets, chances are he might not have had access to it.

Joining me on our Monday podcast on my colleague Will Salitan. Good morning Will by the best count I can come up with.

This was the 199th mass shooting of the year so far.

Yeah, so good morning. It's another week, another day, another mass shooting and I think it's going to go like this for some time.

So I had to get up early this morning to do morning Joe and so at 5am my time I got thrown this question.

You know how I feel about this and the first words out of my mouth or I'm so sick of talking about this.

Not because I don't care. I guess it's the frustration of the doom loop that we're in and just watching one after another.

I mean, how many of these mass shootings in Texas? You know, you have Alan, you know, eight dead, you've all day 21 dead, 23 dead, Nell Paso, 26 dead in Sutherland Springs, 10 dead, Santa Fe, 7 Midland Dallas, 5 Austin American statesmen repaid.

Back in January during his two terms as governor, governor Greg Abbott has witnessed six mass shootings in Texas, shopping centers, churches and schools.

Has not used his executive powers to champion ways to reduce access to firearms. This is in stark contrast to how he has wielded his political clout on such issues, abortion, immigration and tighter election rules.

I am a believer and have been for many years in American exceptionalism, but I have to tell you will you look at the comparisons you look at this record you look at the number of children around the world who have been killed by guns compared to the rate in a place else and you have to wonder is this the new American exceptionalism and the other point I'm sorry to go on here, but Greg Abbott and others are you know to say this.

It's a mental health crisis about mental health, which okay that's fine, but are we exceptionally crazy in America are we exceptionally insane do other countries not have mental health problems is there something distinctly American about having mental health problems or maybe it's a little bit more complicated than that. What do you think will.

So first of all Charlie we're not just talking about American exceptionalism all those cities you named of course are in Texas and let me just talk about Texas for a minute because I want to talk about gun culture.

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