TX Shooting, Police Reform, FL Social Media, NY Maps, PA Ballots, GA Races

Uvalde School Shooting [1:10]

Cory, Ravi, and Rikki first voice their profound distress at yet another tragic mass shooting in America. Rikki walks through the details before we turn to the debate over red flag laws and the extent to which gun reform can even prevent these horrific mass murders. Ravi stakes out an argument for stricter gun control, sparking debate with Rikki over the 2nd Amendment and American gun culture.

Pass and Enforce Red Flag Laws. Now. (The Dispatch, 5/24)
A Look at the State of Red Flag Laws (The Dispatch, 5/20)
America’s gun culture – in seven charts (BBC, 5/25)
The Hard Truth about ‘Tougher Background Checks’ (National Review, 5/25)
Gun-Control Laws Aren’t about Preventing Crimes (National Review, 9/2021)
What the data says about gun deaths in U.S. (Pew Research Center, 2/3)
Firearms Commerce in the United States (ATF Report, 2021)
What are the gun laws in Texas? (Dallas Morning News, 5/24)
The Real Reason America Doesn’t Have Gun Control (The Atlantic, 5/25)
How countries around the world have responded to mass shootings (Washington Post, 5/26)
The Overlooked Role of Guns in the Police-Reform Debate (The Atlantic, 6/19/2020)

Police Reform [24:09]

Cory brings us to Biden’s new executive order aimed at middle-ground police reform, as Ravi and Rikki explain the various measures included in the order and which might prove effective as a template for state and local departments to craft their own guidance. Ravi closes the discussion with the nuanced politics of qualified immunity.

Inside a Near Breakdown Between the White House and the Police (New York Times, 3/2)
Biden to Sign Executive Order Promoting Police Accountability (Wall Street Journal, 5/24)
Biden Set to Issue Policing Order on Anniversary of Floyd Killing (New York Times, 5/24)
FACT SHEET: President Biden to Sign Historic Executive Order to Advance Effective, Accountable Policing and Strengthen Public Safety (White House, 5/25)
Biden’s ‘fund the police’ comment draws backlash from some BLM activists, support from others (USA Today, 3/2)
Cori Bush Tweet (3/1)
Immunity Doctrine Often Shields Police from Lawsuits (WSJ, 6/9/2020)
Curbing Immunity for Police Could Affect School Employees as Well (EdWeek, 6/11/2020)

FL Social Media Free Speech Law [31:34]

Rikki tees off on Florida’s social media free speech law, sympathizing with the underlying motivations – censorship of conservative viewpoints on tech platforms – while criticizing Gov. DeSantis’ efforts to cast Twitter and others as “common carriers.”

An appeals court finds Florida’s social media law unconstitutional (NPR, 5/23)
Federal Judges Block Parts of Florida Law That Force Social Media To Carry Political Messages (Reason, 5/24)
Netchoice v. Attorney General, State of Florida (11th Circuit Court of Appeals)
S.B. 7072 (Florida State Senate)

A *Radical* Idea [38:55]

Ravi pitches Cory and Rikki on another one of his radical ideas, staying in the education world with some fair-minded questions on the tax status of wealthy private schools.

Political Round-Up [44:15]

Finally, the hosts end the week with a political roundup. Ravi lays out the Democrat-on-Democrat chaos of New York’s new congressional maps, Cory gives us the results in Georgia and what they mean for the Trump Effect, and Rikki updates us on the mail-in ballots that have Pennsylvania’s GOP Senate primary in limbo.

What Redistricting Looks Like In Every State (FiveThirtyEight, 5/23)
Judge Approves N.Y. House Map, Cementing Chaos for Democrats (NYT, 5/21)
Draft congressional maps cause headaches for Democrats (City & State New York, 5/16)
Raffensperger and Kemp Crush Trump-Backed Challengers (NYT, 5/24)
A brutal slog awaits: Georgia candidates draw battle lines ahead of November race (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/26)
Mail ballots spark bitter dispute in Pa. GOP Senate Race (POLITICO, 5/24)
McCormick sues to get more Pa. mail votes counted in GOP Senate primary (WaPo, 5/24)