talking about the vitriol, the hate, the aggression that they are promoting as well? we have got to, like i said, stop silencing and expelling gun reform advocates who are in state legislatures, talking about this issue. and get to a point where we can have honest conversations about guns and the second amendment. their interpretation of the second amendment is incredibly antiquated. you re not using an ar-15 to shoot deer. that s just not how it goes. shoot deer that me read you some data from the pew research center, and that s according to the last, or the latest comprehensive data that has been collected. this is the number of u.s. gun deaths which include suicide and murder has changed overtime. the record 48,820 guns in 2021 briefings a 23% increase in
any numbers. but i think they ve said nine people were sent to the hospital. i was told that it was around ten by law enforcement. i was given a body count, and i know that i want to confirm, you have to confirm the body count, i said that earlier. where we are at right now in this country, where we are in this state, is in an unconscionable moment. in a moment in our history where we allow people in texas to walk around with these types of guns with impunity. we allow them the republicans have created chaos in this country. we have to understand this. and a chaos that we are seeing on the screen unfolds in the state week after week because republicans have made decisions to allow everyone and anyone who wants a gun to carry one without registry.
new law that said you can buy your gun without a permit license or training, and the number of background checks for guns is going up almost every year. so here we, are dealing with a simple routine act of heading to the mall, and shopping discursion, and dealing with a tragedy yet again. it is, clint, as frank was saying, saying that we have seen over, and over again this one playing out at a shopping mall. we ve seen it in every aspect of american life, this uniquely american tragedy. there was a little uneasiness about watching the press conference, the police chief mentioned the word nine victims that were transported in his vehicles to local hospitals. i think that moment captured a few journalist attentions, and he followed up that that was just the vehicles belonging to the allen fire department.
i have been on the air many times where i have heard from police chiefs, briefing reporters in the wake of mass shootings. whether it is uvalde, or nashville, or elsewhere. talking about the need to do something about the guns. in many cases they are sometimes outnumbered, not outnumbered but outgunned. even if they had the numbers. as we saw in the case of uvalde. what is the consensus among police departments, among police unions, about the need to do something on this front? i think the consistent event, most people in this country agree that we need some common government. i have to concur with what we have from the other guests here today that most folks know that we are not safer with more guns on the streets. no rules, regulations, and laws surrounding the approaches, and
having these weapons. particularly assault rifles where in some cases, we could be as young as 18. so i think that most folks would agree that we have to have the legislation. we know that our cops are not safer with all of these guns out in the field. as you mentioned, they are out armed. in this situation, just the tragedy. no one should have to be, you know, afraid of being a victim of a mass shooting at a mall, where there is shopping. but this is happening in all of this country and it is really time that people come together and force this issue through regarding having common responses to legislation. i was just looking at the gun violence archive. literally just in the last few days. may 5th, may 5th, may 5th. we ve had a total of nine shootings over the past two days. some of them don t even make national news anymore.